My Creative Cup of Tea

June 26, 2023

#InPartnershipwithMCCOT

ENTROPIE

Stockholm

Sweden

Being happy at work is what we all deserve. Finding the perfect job, the one which makes us smile and feel grateful, is what we all dream of. Former committed political and environmental journalist and activist then, more recently, lobbyist for a large nature conservation organization in her home country, Dutch-native Inger de Bruin was lucky enough to find it finally in a small Swedish village located near to Stockholm where she settled with her husband and her two sons (5 and 3-year-old) in 2021. Protesting (she started in her twenties as a student and quickly got a taste for it) was not the solution anymore. Quite disappointed by the political system and its rules and laws which are clearly unable to ensure the preservation of our precious planet, Inger quit her job. As starting fresh and contributing in a more practical, positive and concrete way to the society with complete freedom and without having to make any compromises, is what she deeply felt the need of, she decided to put her long-time dormant creativity first. She indeed used to enjoy working with her hands. In 2018, during her first pregnancy, every time she had a free moment, she started to sew and quilt in a gipsy wagon, turned into a tiny atelier, located next to the Dutch farm she was living in with her husband at that time. It quickly became quite an obsession for her. She was so happy because she finally had the perfect opportunity to use all the vintage garments she has collected for years. Just arrived in Sweden in 2021, she went to a textile craft school to learn garment design and construction, dyeing and embroidery. After the training was over, eight months ago, as she felt ready, she launched ENTROPIE, her small slow fashion brand, that is trying to be as radically sustainable as possible. 'A name which comes from the second law of thermodynamics, which describes the principle that all matter around us naturally declines if no effort and energy is put in. It’s the perfect name for my brand because it describes so accurately what I try to accomplish: I take materials deemed worthless, and put love and energy in to make them defy entropy so they last another lifetime'. she proudly explained. Working from her lovely countryside home where she has set up her atelier, Inger is now an happy and passionate busy founder and female entrepreneur on a mission trying to make a difference on her own: Making vintage and organic garments with a past desirable again, and showing that they are in no way inferior to ‘newly’ produced ones, at the contrary. As a One-woman brand owner and a multitasking woman, Inger is taking care of everything by herself: From carefully sourcing in thrift stores, antique shops, old warehouses, people's attics, the vintage, used and pre-loved organic (never synthetics) materials selected on quality, comfort and beauty to designing, from dyeing the textiles to sewing the garments, from marketing to bookkeeping. As to her opinion, good clothings does not have to be complicated, all Entropie garments are designed and made to be unpretentious, comfortable, functional and versatile and have this one-of-a-kind modern feel with a hint of nostalgia. Inger draws a lot of inspiration from antique and vintage garments. She pays a lot of attention to the details and finishes and to the way the seams are done; and whenever she has a moment to spare, you can find her browsing fashion history on Etsy and Pinterest. It is always beautiful to see a woman find her own path. It is never too late to consider reinventing oneself professionally and finally reaching a well-deserved professional happiness. Giving old materials a new beautiful life is what makes Inger happy. ENTROPIE is growing slowly but surely. Self-confident for the future, she is working hard and dreaming big. Though she absolutely wants her business to always stay small, she however would love to have a large sewing studio, a dye garden, a plot of land where she can grow her own flax and set up a whole infrastructure. We wish her good luck!