The Woman Behind Lah Lan is Inspired Most by Her Children
Hygge is a Danish word for a mood of coziness and comfortableness with feelings of wellness and contentment. In other words, it is complete bliss. So wouldn’t you want to wrap your little one in all that goodness? Well you can do just that with the brand Lah Lan. Established in Helsingor, Denmark Lah Lan is all about quality and comfort. Founder Josephine Harlid describes her brand as “Sustainable garments created with room for aesthetic visuality and comfort in soft materials, minimalist design and an earthy colour palette to calm both children and adults in the everyday development.”
The Denmark native launched her first collection in November of 2019 and clearly made an impact (the website is also quite exquisite.) Even though there are many cute children’s clothing brands out there, finding high quality ones can actually be a challenge. “I wanted to create something. And wanted to be the one to determine when and where I wanted to work. I noticed a gap in the industry, and wanted to make a clean, sleek brand. Also I love to learn new things, and to challenge myself – and I must say that by starting Lah Lan, I truly did.”
Perhaps Josephine was able to figure out exactly what parents wanted because she is a mama herself. She came up with the concept for Lah Lan while she was at home raising her two little ones. “Princess Suri who is about to turn 3 and little man Cali who’s 1,5. They’re so cute, always happy to help out with mommy’s work. They are a huge part of my inspiration behind the brand – but really I find that everywhere. Taking pictures of the sky and nature, to fall in love with colours and textures. Inspiration is everywhere – we just need to look…Actually our oldest was the real inspiration to start Lah Lan, could not stand to force myself to work everyday, doing something that wasn’t me and being away from her. Now I can do what I love, and still prioritize short time in daycare and days off with them – kids must always be the most important thing – if not, we need to change something!”
However, with no previous fashion experience, diving into design was a bit of a curve ball. “I was a deer on ice skates! I have spend so many hours researching and reading up about this industry. Luckily I have met some amazing people on my journey who have taught me so much.”
The typical Lah Lan customer is many different things. “I design to every kid out there, and try to create something they will fit and feel snug in, clothes making for a neat addition in any kid’s wardrobe – and I do think I succeeded. But surely it’s not a secret that Lah Lan garments have a higher price point than some of the fast fashion brands out there. So the customers that buy in my shop are also aware of the good quality of the clothing, and that they are making a sustainable choice! If I were to produce on the other side of the world for example, and wrap everything up in plastic – I could produce to half of the price. But it is so important to me not to do that, but to make a choice to be more sustainable!”
Sustainability is a core component of Lah Lan and the future of the fashion industry as a whole. With staggering statistics like people doubling the amount of clothing they throw away every year over the last two decades from 7 million to 14 million tons and H&M and Zara reporting their shocking clothing waste numbers, retailers are finally waking up and Lah Lan is definitely part of that movement.
As for a typical day for Josephine, well, that may not be an actual thing. And surprisingly she doesn’t even set an alarm. Her mornings are all about her children, which is quite fitting considering her brand and life’s work.
“It’s important for me that the kids gets to wake up in their own pace, and I value our slow mornings together so much. If I have a stressful morning, I reckon it’s hard for me to come back to a peaceful mind.
“When my children wake up we take the duvets to the couch, and they all get the chance to wake up slowly, snack some fruit or sip on a smoothie while I cook up some breakfast. While they eat I drink my tea and get my skin and face ready for the day. Then we get dressed and I take them to daycare around 9, after a morning filled with love, kisses and happy little faces.
“After dropping of the kiddos I head to the gym for a workout, and then its time for a nutritious brekkie for me. From here on my days are never the same; sometimes I have meetings, and some days I work on the computer from home – and of course everyday I pack all the webshop orders and ship off for delivery.
“I pick up the kids around 2 pm; I simply cannot stand to be away from them for too long. I think we need to choose our time with them wisely and spend as much moments together as possible as long they are in need of it. This doesn‚t mean I don’t work a lot, I actually really do, I just priorities. I work many late nights and weekends!”