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As Newbie celebrates 10 years, we caught up with Brand Manager Anne-Charlotte to find out more about the much-loved sustainable Swedish brand.
Newbie, the cult sustainable Swedish childrenswear brand and launched 10 years ago in Stockholm, first arrived in the UK in 2017 and has since become a staple in lots of little wardrobes. We got to know the brand a little better when we spoke with Newbie’s Brand Manager, Anne-Charlotte Lindquist, about the celebratory collections Newbie has launched to celebrate its anniversary.
Newbie’s story began in 2010 when designers at the Swedish fashion brand KappAhl created a collection of baby clothes. What started out as a small collection of 12 products quickly became an international brand built by a community of customers, known today as ‘Newbie Lovers’.
To mark its first decade, Newbie kick started the year with a new interiors collection in February; Newbie Room. A first for the brand, the collection is made of entirely sustainable materials with products ranging from bedding with matching nightwear, wall hangings, storage and adorable cushions.
Another first for Newbie is the most recent the launch of Capture Spring, Newbie’s first mother and child collection. A limited edition launch, each print has been beautifully hand-drawn and is teamed with exquisite embroidery.
Newbie believes in timeless, sustainable and affordable design. For the brands designers, sustainability isn’t only about the materials used, but the garment’s life cycle. Their design approach has been developed to create garments that won’t age and that can be passed down and loved by generation after generation.
To find out more about the brand, we caught up with Anne-Charlotte Lindquist to quiz her about her work and keeping the brand’s values at the core of everything they do.
Q&A With Anne-Charlotte, Newbie’s Brand Manager
Tell us a little about yourself?
I am the Brand Manager for Newbie, which means that I am responsible for the brand and its development. I live in Sweden with my husband Pehtr and we have two kids, a daughter who is soon to be 15 and a son who is has just turned 12. Something I love doing for me is singing. Every Monday I sing in the Håkan choir, there are roughly 100 of us who meet and sing Håkan Hellström songs. It’s so much fun and a great start to the week!
What’s your background? How did you get into fashion and childrenswear?
I grew up in a family that worked in fashion and textiles – my grandfather owned a textile factory that sewed and sold suits and my father ran stores. It was through his contacts that I got the opportunity to take a step into the industry myself, starting a summer job at a KappAhl store. After that, I knew I wanted to be involved in and influence the ranges that the customers bought. I moved to the purchasing and design department at KappAhl. I started working with Newbie in 2012.
What is the essence of Newbie?
Timelessness, nostalgia and sustainability are very much at the core of Newbie and the decisions we make as a brand, from the sourcing of materials to the timeless design process, both of which take our philosophies into account. We spend a lot of time and care on the details, ensuring any Newbie product has a look and feel that lasts over time.
“The design team is very much inspired by old photos, wallpapers, porcelain, fairytales. Our collections are always themed, that is, we build a small story around a collection, where we create a colour scale, patterns, and decide which garments to include and what details they should have.”
How do you start the design process?
We update our ‘Newbie colour map’ each season, always ensuring there is a focus on harmonising with the previous seasons – colours are often calm, muted and relaxed. A large part of our identity is our beautiful prints, hand-drawn by the wonderful design team here at Newbie – we put a lot of time and thought into making them as magical as they can be.
Newbie turned ten this year! How are your marking the occasion?
Working at Newbie is by far the most fun I have had during my professional career. We started with a collection of only 12 garments in new-born sizes and have grown over the last 10 years into a brand with a much larger size and collection range. Today we celebrate being a lifestyle brand, with clothes, accessories, and interiors for little one’s rooms, including sustainable wallpaper through our collaboration with Boråstapeter.
How has the journey been?
It has been 10 years of hard work, a lot of passion and a lot of laughter. Of course, a large part of Newbie’s success is owed to our customers. We have always had a relationship with them through social media, Instagram and groups on Facebook etc. Our customers – our Newbie Lovers – dreamed of larger collections, more sizes and we have always listened to them and tried to deliver what they want and need. Myself, the team and our customers have one big thing in common: we love Newbie!
What inspires you?
As a person and as a leader, my dad is my inspiration. Throughout my upbringing and even now that he is retired, people who worked with him or had him as a manager still contact him and stay in touch. It is important that you mean something to each other when you work together and that what you create means something. My dad often talked about team effort in the workplace, which I hope I have brought with me at Newbie.
To shop Newbie’s latest collections visit Newbie Store online. Newbie loves hearing from its customers, so be sure to share your Newbie picks with @NewbieLovers for a chance of being featured on its Instagram page.
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