Dancing in the Grass brings fashion, family and a healthy lifestyle together in a line of high quality clothes for children from 2 -10 years old. The products are Swedish and made for playing. Comfortable yet fashionable, with a sporty touch. All Dancing in the Grass garments use materials that are either organic certified GOTS or recycled certified materials and are produced in a sustainable way. No chemical pesticides or artificial fertilizers have been used throughout the whole process. All products are animal-friendly.
It’s about time for an interview with Carla Högström, the founder of Dancing in the Grass.
Would you mind introducing yourself and your brand to our readers?
My name is Carla Högström, I’m Portuguese, married to a Swede and we have one daughter who is 6 years old.
We moved to Stockholm almost 20 years ago and I truly love it, it the place I call home. Nowadays we live between Lisbon and Stockholm and that is also nice.
The clothes are made for playing –comfortable yet fashionable, with a sporty street touch. Always with one thing in mind that is good for our environment. We only use organic GOTS materials or recycled materials, and all clothes are made in Portugal.
What is your background prior to starting Dancing in the Grass?
Life before Dancing in the Grass was completely different, I did a Masters in Economics, MBA in International Business and worked in the IT & Telecom Business.
What’s the farthest place where you have sent a package?
To Australia.
At what age did you first notice fashion around you?
From very young age maybe 3-4 years old, according to my mom, who loves fashion and passed on that love to me and my sisters. Lots of girls in the house so no surprise.
What sort of clothes and or accessories did you enjoy wearing as a child and what did you hate wearing?
Love dresses, hats, sunglasses, and ski clothes, always did and always will. Scarfs are not a favourite, cannot say why, I buy them but never use them, they end up at the bottom of the drawer every time.
Why did you decide to start Dancing in the grass? And where does the name come from?
Dancing in the Grass, is about inspiring to a healthy lifestyle. My passion for nature and healthy food, particularly fruit, berries and vegetables, whose wonderful colours and tastes truly enrich life and always bright my day were the main motivators to bring Dancing in the Grass to life.
Nowadays, it’s very difficult for parents to make healthy food choices. Inspiration is the only way, but it needs to come from the heart, and you only touch hearts with LOVE. With my brand I want this simple happiness to shine through the clothes and that children and their parents get motivated to a healthy lifestyle. Children who spend time in nature early on in life are much more motivated to get outside and care about nature when they are older, the same goes for eating healthy.
What are the top selling pieces in your shop?
The Swan dress in Royal Fruit, and all the Svala dresses with puffy shoulders in all prints. Sold out not long after launching and all our retailers bought them too.
What do you love most about your job?
Getting feedback from parents about how the children love the clothes, how they feel very comfortable in them and don’t want to take them off. That’s the most rewarding part.
In terms of kids fashion, do you think “less is more” or should children be able to wear everything they want?
Children should be able to choose what they want to wear. On the other hand less is more, we cannot support fast fashion if we want to support the sustainability cause and help our planet.
What’s the funniest reaction you have got from a client?
A 4 year old Swedish girl that fell in love with our happy seal swimsuit and slept with it on according to mom.
If one of our readers is in your city, Stockholm, for 24 hours. What things would you recommend they do?
Summer in Stockholm – If you know how to navigate, rent a boat and visit the most beautiful archipelago. There are 30.000 islands just around Stockholm and the whole place is magic. If you don’t know how to navigate, get yourself Swedish friends that can do it with you. Ahahaha. Otherwise,there are tourist boats that go around some islands but the very best is to navigate yourself among the non tourist islands.
Winter in Stockholm – put your Ice Skates on and all the safety gear as well, get info from SSK where the ice is safe and good and just enjoy a beautiful day on the ice around the islands.
Summer or Winter you are welcome to come to Ingarö, the island in the Stockholm archipelago where Dancing in Grass has its headquarters. Swedes are always happy to offer you a ‘fika’ (best translation to English is to have coffee, often accompanied with pastries, cookies or pie) in a healthy style of course!
Website: www.dancinginthegrass.com
Models: Eva- Luuna and Ruben
Maillot-swimwear: Dancing in the Grass
Photo’s taken by Ahmed Bahhodh – www.ahmedbahhodh.com
Ass. Coralie Foulard – Ophélie Taïder
