Kamilla Byriel is the founder and CEO of Lollys Laundry, a success story on multiple fronts for 17 years. But the Copenhagen-based fashion brand was close to shutting down after just three years, facing both the financial crisis and personal crises. The adversity taught her to see opportunities no matter the situation.
Kamilla Byriel has been part of the Danish fashion industry for most of her life, with a background at Stella Nova and Bruuns Bazaar before starting Lollys Laundry in 2007. With a clear design direction, good industry relations and an ability to spot trends everywhere, the foundation for Lollys Laundry was laid. After one to two years, there was no money left, and crises lined up. First, the financial crisis hit hard, then she got divorced and moved alone with her three small children, and shortly after, Kamilla Byriel’s mother passed away.
In an office in a back building in Østerbro, two remained. The rest had been dismissed. Kamilla Byriel had to go back to designing herself:
“Those were tough times in every way, but I rolled up my sleeves. Fortunately, I had built goodwill with customers over time, so when I came with a new brand and presented the new collections, they paid up front. I survived on my good relationships, and it clearly shows that you should treat people well – both in good and bad times,” says Kamilla Byriel, continuing:
“Lollys Laundry is a success story – I have no investors and have always managed on my own. Today, I have 30 dedicated employees. I follow my heart, and I am not deeply interested in the numbers. But it all ties together because I believe that everything you give love to grows. And that is the case with Lollys.”
Today, Kamilla Byriel continues to design about 600 styles a year, doing so with a positive mindset. The clothes must reflect joy. Her enthusiasm for details, patterns, materials and all things visual is ever-present. She was born with an innate love for creativity, adding “20 percent quirkiness”, as she puts it.
Sustainable mindset
Kamilla Byriel grew up with her father in the 1970s, living in a spartan home with a few classic furniture pieces. She was raised sustainably with a strategy of never throwing anything away. Therefore, she never got new clothes:
“That approach made me creative. I became good at seeing possibilities in secondhand clothes. I cut and pasted them until I also became one of the trendy ones. I can make something out of nothing, and things do not have to cost much to work and turn out well,” says Kamilla Byriel.
She has brought the same mindset into the company. Lollys Laundry operates from the same back yard office as 17 years ago, and for the first 12 years, she did not buy a single new desk, finding them instead on Den Blå Avis. The Lollys stores in Aarhus and Copenhagen are also furnished with secondhand finds, speaking to both Kamilla Byriel’s frugality and her philosophy of making things work out of nothing.
As Lollys Laundry gained international success and momentum in the Danish market, the Østerbro office got busier. More tasks were outsourced, and a lot of money was spent on everything from marketing to IT systems. But that has come to a halt:
“It has always been hardest for Lollys Laundry when things went out of our hands. Today, we have all the skills in-house with talented colleagues. Lollys is a small business that has grown incredibly big. But we manage things ourselves, and I am involved in most aspects,” the CEO explains.
Last year, she invested in the German market, opening their own offices and showrooms in Düsseldorf and Munich. Lollys Laundry has exceeded their expected turnover by 20 percent at this point. This has given them the courage to also target new markets in Australia, New Zealand and France with distributors and agents.
“Lollys is overall a great joy for me. We are a small, solid company where we thrive. We are responsible in our DNA – both internally, towards our partners, suppliers, customers and in relation to charity,” says Kamilla Byriel.
She has experienced a bit of everything. She has lived in the big villa in North Zealand in Denmark and had the expensive car – and she has been alone with the children without money. But Kamilla Byriel would rather live frugally if she can just do what she is passionate about: The creative work, designing something others want and getting a lot out of very little:
“What I have learned about life, I have learned from my crises – both professional and personal. But I know that things can succeed – where there is a will, there is a way. I do it with heart and put energy and love into everything,” concludes Kamilla Byriel.
