Co-founder issue with Alexa
We sat down with Alexa, Almada's other co-founder, at the newly opened office in Helsinki. While chatting about all things style and running a fashion label, she shared her ambitions for the brand and the joy of sharing the journey with her best friend.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I'm Alexa, soon 30 years old entrepreneur and mom. I come from a family full of creative entrepreneurs, so I have always been really passionate about being an entrepreneur myself and coming up with my own (sometimes a bit crazy) projects.
What is it like to run a brand with your best friend? What is your role as one of the founders?
They say you shouldn't mix business and friendship, but I couldn't disagree more! I love to work with Linda, we complement each other, and work doesn't feel like work. The setbacks don't feel as bad when you share the load, and the victories feel even better when you celebrate together.
We work together on product designs and the branding and marketing side of the brand. We also have our own individual tasks. Linda takes care of the e-comm, and I'm responsible for the admin side of the business, such as paperwork and business development.
"We want our pieces to be feel-good items — you should feel good purchasing and wearing our pieces."
What does your typical workday look like?
My toddler wakes me up at 7am, and the first hour goes by getting him ready for daycare. After that, I take an hour for myself as it's the only time of the day when I'm able to be by myself. After getting ready, I head to our office. The days are different, sometimes it's back-to-back meetings and paperwork, sometimes photoshoots and running errands. My favorite days are the creative ones with our team when planning new designs and fitting samples.
What inspires you at the moment?
Currently, I'm very inspired by elderly people! I love how chill they are and true to their own style.
Describe your personal style, and how does it reflect on Almada's collection?
I love to wear classic pieces and spice them up with a fun pair of earrings or shoes. The same goes with interior design. I would go with a classic sofa and pair it with a funky design table lamp. I'm all about comfort too, it makes me feel confident. We want our pieces to be feel-good items. You should feel good when purchasing and wearing our pieces. The quality is top-notch and lasts a lifetime when taken care of and stored ideally.
In Scandinavia, knitwear is in season all year round, so I wear our buttery smooth pieces daily. During the weekdays, I pair our knits with suit pants or denim, and on weekends I transform into my chill mom look by pairing the knits with leggings and trainers.
As a long-time entrepreneur, what has surprised you in starting a fashion label?
I'm thankful to the naive youngsters we were back in the days! Growing a start-up (regardless of the industry) requires endless working hours and money, and as we have been self-funding since day one, it's been quite a journey. Sometimes very stressful too, especially as it's been quite unstable times in the world. Regardless of the challenging times, we have always trusted our vision 110%. We have shared this good (almost magical) gut feeling, which has carried us through here among hard work.
What ambitions do you have for the brand?
We want to be the top-of-mind brand for high-quality knitwear. We are also eyeing the right retail partners globally as our customers have been hoping to shop our pieces locally in boutiques.
