At Work+Shelter we have a number of brands and designers who retail the custom items we sew for them. Staying competitive as a retailer, especially in a brick-and-mortar context, can be extremely challenging. Further, newer brands oftentimes have the added challenge of needing smaller production runs as they build up relationships and production volumes.
It can be a useful edge for retailers to offer items that are not available anywhere else. Custom production allows retailers the opportunity to provide unique items that are tailored to their audience. It’s a great way for any retailer to set themselves apart — offering items that aren’t available anywhere else.
Bergen Anderson of Lilla Barn in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago is an example of how retailers can lean into hyper-local goods designed for a specific customer. As a small, independent brand, Lilla Barn was looking for smaller production runs while maintaining quality and staying true to their stance on ethical business practices.
Bergen was raised in Iowa, lived in Sweden, studied in Minnesota, and has called Chicago home for over 20 years. All of these places influence her design choices and she draws deeply from the Nordic experience. Inspired by Nordic design, Bergen’s pieces embrace rich colors, clean lines, echoes from nature, the use of negative space, the intersection of form and function, and most of all JOY. It only made sense to add home goods like our new tea towels to complement our already existing aesthetic within a Swedish neighborhood like Andersonville. Multiple waves of Swedish immigrants had a lasting impact on the neighborhood, extending to the local arts scene and the Swedish American Museum.
Bergen also explored the local/custom product connection in a unique way. In the process of opening her storefront, Bergen wanted to cover her shop windows with something colorful, eye-catching, and reflective of her brand. She designed and printed this bold stripe print to cover the windows and was inspired to create more. With the help of her friends at Earth Cadets, they re-worked the same print and added a brand-friendly color story to be printed on organic cotton.
Now, the scarves she commissioned from WORK+SHELTER are available at her shop in Chicago, expanding on her design aesthetic, catering to her local customers, and adding a unique offering to complement her other products.
Feeling inspired by Bergen’s story and interested in working with Work+Shelter on your own custom line?
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