Staying competitive in brick-and-mortar retail is tough. For independent businesses, one of the best ways to stand out is by offering custom items that customers literally can’t find anywhere else. However, newer retailers often run into a major hurdle: needing smaller, accessible production runs as they build their audience and volume.
Bergen Anderson, founder of Lilla Barn in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, is a perfect example of how to navigate this. As an independent brand, Bergen needed smaller production runs that maintained exceptional quality and stayed completely true to her ethical business standards.
Our businesses genuinely go hand in hand because we share those exact values. Last summer, CBS Chicago interviewed our founder, Theresa, about WORK+SHELTER, and we actually filmed the segment right inside the Lilla Barn storefront. Bergen was there to talk about her business as well. It was a great snapshot of how ethical manufacturing and independent retail directly support each other.
Designing with Intention Drawing from her time living in Sweden and her Midwestern roots, Bergen’s designs lean heavily into the Nordic experience. Her pieces consistently embrace:
- Rich, vibrant colors
- Clean lines and intentional negative space
- The intersection of form and function
- Most of all—pure joy
Because her shop is located in Andersonville, a neighborhood famous for its Swedish heritage, adding custom home goods like our tea towels was a natural, hyper-local fit for her customers.
From Window Display to Wearable Art Bergen's creativity really shines in how she approaches product development. When setting up her storefront, she designed a bold, eye-catching stripe print just to cover the windows during construction. She loved the design so much that she partnered with her friends at Earth Cadets to adapt the pattern and colors for fabric.
WORK+SHELTER then took that printed organic cotton and manufactured her custom scarves. These scarves are a staple in her shop as a completely unique, ethically made offering that caters directly to her community.
Feeling inspired by Bergen’s story?
If you are a retailer looking to build out a custom line, reach out to get started.
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