THInK loCal: BERGLIND ÓMARS
Icelandic
BeRGlInd ÓMaRS: local schools are the entryway
“ IT DoeSn’T helP YoU To STAY AT hoMe” Three and a half year resident in Luxembourg Berglind Ómars gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy. Interview: Aaron Grunwald — Photo: Olivier Minaire
Berglind Ómars was born and raised in Vestmannaeyjar, a small island off mainland Iceland famous for its 1973 volcanic explosion. She moved from Reykjavik to the Grand Duchy with her husband and two children in the autumn of 2008. Today she is an independent fashion designer and dressmaker in Itzig. AG: What brought you to Luxembourg? BÓ: We came here because we wanted to try something new. My husband was offered a job here. So I left my business in Iceland--I had my own tailoring company--and we decided to just give it a try. AG: Did everything go smoothly? BÓ: We had only been here for two or three weeks when my husband lost his job. He had worked for a bank in Iceland for five years, and they had been trying to get him to work here. [But then] he lost his job because the bank collapsed. We were renting a house in the name of the bank, so we had to move. He found another job very quickly. He’s in IT, so it’s easier I guess. AG: What about your work? BÓ: I have my atelier at home because I have two sons. One and half years ago, I was trying to get out of the house and find some place to rent. Well, actually it was too expensive, so that’s why I decided
38 - delano - May 2012
to wait for one or two more years before I get my dream atelier. Right now I have the garage, but it’s nice. Most people are impressed when they come there. It’s a good working space. AG: What do you make? BÓ: Mostly I costume people for special occasions: people who are going to a wedding, some wedding dresses and I made a suit for a man for his wedding last year. [I design for] mostly women, but I have my degree dressmaking and tailoring. AG: How do you find customers? BÓ: A happy client works, so I’ve been very lucky with that. My first clients here were teachers from the school my boys are going to. And they were happy and told some friends. AG: How did your fashion show at Check Inn at Findel go last September? BÓ: The house was completely packed. It went very well. Afterwards I got some clients, so it was very successful for me. AG: What do you think about fashion in Luxembourg? BÓ: It’s kind of boring, I would say. The difference between Iceland and here is that we have a lot of stores where the designers are working in the stores. On the main street in Reykjavik, every other store is this little design store and you can meet the designer there.
AG: Would you like to open that kind of boutique here? BÓ: Yes, I would like to [but] it’s too expensive to rent here, so we will see. AG: Do you speak Luxembourgish? BÓ: No. I tried. I took some courses, but it was difficult because the teacher was speaking French the whole time and I don’t speak French. So it was very difficult. Now I’ve been trying to learn French. But it’s tough. AG: How long are you planning to stay? BÓ: We are happy here, so we’re not planning on moving for, I don’t know, the next couple of years. AG: What advice would you give newcomers? BÓ: It doesn’t help you to stay at home and wait for someone to come. You have to go out there and try to integrate with other people. My boys are in the local school, so it’s good because we are getting friends through them. Because if they have some good friends, then of course we get to know the parents. AG: What Icelandic foods do you miss? BÓ: Dried fish, sometimes I miss that. Skyr, it’s like yogurt but it’s a little bit thicker. They have been selling it to America and I think they’re starting to sell it in Germany, but not here. But that’s ok. We have better quality fruits and vegetables here.