Scan Magazine | Design Profile | Gugguu The beanie.
Her Royal Sweetness.
Gugguu is growing in China, Sweden and Estonia.
Spill the beanies Two sisters, Anne Valli and Miia Riekki, breathed in the first wafts of entrepreneurship helping out in the flower shop owned by their parents. When you look at the colours of their eco-friendly children’s clothing brand Gugguu, it is easy to see where the collection has its roots. By Taina Värri | Photos: Eveliina Mustonen / Gugguu
Valli and Riekki have three children each. They had been looking for nice, functional clothes for them during a time when ‘60s and ‘70s retro styles were dominating children’s fashion in Finland. It started to seem as though the only way to get eco-friendly, modern clothing for their kids was to produce it themselves. They started their business in 2013 from a home office with just ten products. After one year, they were able to draw salaries from the business, and today, Gugguu has an online shop, a warehouse and several retailers around the world selling their products. In the early years, the Gugguu website crashed every time a new collection was launched for sale. Enthusiastic parents 22 | Issue 110 | March 2018
struggled to get that very special beanie or hoodie for their toddler. Often, the coveted item was sold out in the online shop. Desperate pleas on Facebook followed, as Gugguu fans tried to track down the available items from retailers around town. There is a pre-order list now, and an online queuing system on drop days. It is still always a challenge for the Gugguu entrepreneurs to predict which colours or models might be the super hits of any given season. Valli has a master’s degree in administrative sciences, and Riekki is studying economics. The two sisters are in many ways like day and night, which they now have learnt to use as a great asset for the company: Valli is a morning person, Riekki loves to stay up late; one is me-
ticulous, the other is spontaneous. Both love to work hard however, and they love what they do. Gugguu truly is a family business. The six children spend time with their parents at the warehouse too, watching and learning, sometimes crushing cardboard boxes for recycling, or doing other small tasks. They also work as test users for the new pieces before the clothes are sent to production. The company name, Gugguu, came from the family too: it was Anne Vallis’ one-year-old son’s first word. New collections come out twice a year.
Web: www.gugguu.com