2_9_ScanMag_75_April_2015_Text_Q9_MADS_Scan Magazine 1 07/04/2015 21:40 Page 57
Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Children’s Universe
LipFish: Happy clothing for happy childhoods Since 2004, owner and founder of LipFish, Jenny Boije has been providing young children with colourful and joyous clothing and toys. With an impeccable eye for detail and a sense of market demands, she has managed to turn a small start-up into a blossoming international success. By Astrid Eriksson | Photos: LipFish
“I have been very creative all my life and have always enjoyed making things, so when I got the idea for my company, I was ready to go for it,” Jenny Boije says. Determination and a good idea go a long way, as proved by her label LipFish, which became an instant hit as soon as the market got a whiff of it. The LipFish clothing line is a delightful mix of colours and happiness conveyed through cheerful animals stitched onto comfortable wearables. “The frog and the monkey that I use on some of my most popular items have been with me from the start and have become something that you instantly connect with LipFish,” Boije says. “Customers write to me and say that they are hardly allowed to wash the ‘frog-shirt’, because their children want to wear them all the time, which is of course phenomenal to hear.”
With full autonomy in design and product development, Boije has been able to build a recognised and popular brand in a short period of time. “For me, it’s crucial that we keep launching clothes that kids love and that they want to wear. I don’t want to create children’s clothes that match their parents’ outfits – that’s not me. I want to express the playfulness of kids through my clothes, and the children seem to agree with what I do,” Boije says with a laugh. With her business constantly reaching new heights there is no telling where LipFish and Jenny Boije will end up. “I’ve been thinking a bit about designing some clothes for adults within childcare,” Boije explains. “I received an email some time ago that through my clothes, a childcare
professional was able to get through to a troubled boy who hadn’t been the most social or responsive before. They were able to connect somehow in his fascination for my animals, which is amazing! Imagine if, for example, nurses’ clothes could distract children from the discomfort when taking a vaccine shot? It would be a dream to have my products be a part of something like that.”
For more information, please visit: www.lipfish.com
Issue 75 | April 2015 | 57