Interview; Named
February’s Luxury Boxes featured the gorgeous Sointu Tee pattern from Finnish pattern company Named. I chatted to Laura to find out more about their inspiring company.
Hi Laura, have we caught you on a busy day? What are you up to today?
Yes, it has definitely been a busy start of the new year for me and Saara! Right now we are working on new products, which is always thrilling! We have lots of exciting new things planned for this year. Today I’m replying to emails, drawing some illustrations for sewing instructions, fine-tuning written instructions, and later we will have a meeting with a graphic designer.
What does a typical day look like at Named HQ?
It could look like anything! At this time of the product development process the day I described above is quite a typical day for me. Saara replies to our customer emails, ships out orders and edits patterns.
Tell us a little bit about how Named came to be?
Well the two of us are sisters, and we were taught to sew and do crafts by our mother when we were kids. After high school Saara went to study fashion design and pattern making, and I studied footwear design. A little over seven years ago Saara and I – quite unexpectedly – came up with the idea of having our own pattern label. And that idea was too tempting to let go, so we started to work towards that right there and then. Literally! It took a year to set up the web shop and design our very first collection of patterns.
What are the best and worst parts about running a pattern company?
The best parts are being the boss of yourself, and getting to make all the decisions. It allows you to be just as creative as you want or can, without restrictions! The worst parts are that sometimes you have to work in a lot of hurry and stress. But luckily that’s not all the time.
Where do you find inspiration for new patterns?
The inspiration could come from anything, usually from something that we are excited about at the time. We have been inspired by menswear, childhood summers, travel, play and geography! Often the source of inspiration is hard to see in the finished garment, but it just works as a spark.
Do you have any new projects coming up that you can let us in on?
Well, we have a few projects in the works, but at the moment we can’t tell more about them. So boring, we know!