With a background in fashion and as an experienced photographer, Springstof’s Christel has an excellent feel for exciting children’s clothes.
Springstof is a webshop based in Holland selling a great collection of clothes. Brand such as Mini & Maximus, Loud Apparel, Soft Gallery, Moi and more.
We caught up with the owner of Spingstof, Christel, to find out more about the person behind this webshop.
How would you describe your webshop?
Springstof is the fun, stylish and a bit artistic webshop for little fashionistas. Clothing is an important tool to show who you are and what your style is. Children are so imaginative, so original and creative, it is only logical for me that they can express themselves by what they wear, just like grownups do.
If you receive a package from Springstof, it should feel like a special present that is selected and wrapped with lots of attention and care. I want people to experience that when they visit the webshop as well, that’s why we put a lot of effort in the look and feel and do our own photo shoots every time the new collection comes in.
What lead you to working with fashion?
After working as a freelance photographer I had the chance to work as a product-manager in the fashion industry and worked for several labels. When my son Mees was born, I noticed that a lot of children’s wear was so standard, so uncreative. I decided to start selling the labels that do have a specific style, that are fun, bold and original.
How do you define your own personal style?
For myself I combine stylish and feminine basics with an artistic edge. It can be as simple as a little black dress with red high heels. But of course I have simple jeans days as well.
Who has been your biggest fashion influence?
I am not really influenced by one specific designer or label. I read many magazines and blogs and I go to fashion fairs. Currently, I am very interested in what Tine Holt Møller and Barbara White from Soft Gallery are doing. The illustration style they use is hard to define, but is very inspiring to me.
What’s the biggest highlight of your career until now?
I don’t have a biggest highlight yet! Don’t get me wrong, I am already proud of what I accomplished with Springstof. But the party just started! I want to extend Springstof’s exposure to countries like Japan, the USA and of course France. And I would love to start my own label one day.
What do you find most rewarding, and most challenging about your job?
The most rewarding is the appreciation from my clients. Some call or email me spontaneously to compliment me for the beautiful packaging or ask me for additional styling advice. That gives me such an energy boost. The most challenging is to make everything happen in the high pace the fashion industry works in. Selecting and ordering the perfect items, doing the photo shoot and making the look book, ensuring the logistics run smoothly, doing the promotion: it never stops. Luckily I don’t need that much sleep!
What is your favourite item from the AW13 collections?
Do I really need to choose? I can’t choose between these three favourites: the Mini and Maximus dress Take Off, the Mini Rodini Panda Parka and Loud Apparel’s Frank sweater. I’m also happy that we could add Bobo Choses and Mói to the shop, I really love these authentic and creative brands.
What do you like and dislike about the fashion industry?
I like the creativity of the fashion industry: new inspiration and new energy is presented every season. That keeps things interesting and enables me to keep up with the high pace. The poor labour conditions of people actually making the clothes is something that I dislike. That’s why I select labels that really pay attention to this.
Click here to visit Spingstof’s webshop.
