It was a glorious Sydney morning in early March when I’m scheduled to meet Marie and Annica Eklund, aka the BOLON sisters, at the first Australian showroom for the much-loved Swedish brand. If you know anything about Marie and Annica, you’d know these ladies are absolutely always dressed to kill. I mean, holy-shit kind of outfits. So naturally, I make sure I wash my hair that morning and put on my ‘good dress’, however it was clear from the outset that I might as well have turned up in my daggy PJs because the sisters are looking freaking ridiculous in their fashion-forward get-up. Well, at least I tried.
Of course, there’s so much more to Annica and Marie than their exciting fashion choices. These women have been at the helm of for the past 17 years, and have singlehandedly transformed the company from a family business into an internationally renowned design brand. This is entirely not surprising as, from the moment we meet, their candid nature, vibrant energy, genuine curiosity, disarming charm and generosity of spirit are evident every step of the way – the sorts of qualities all good leaders ought to possess. I guess you could say I fell in love with them a little during our morning spent inside the light-filled BOLON Sydney showroom, chatting about our shared love of design, the importance of having a clear vision, making mistakes, stepping outside one’s comfort zone and what it takes to stay relevant in the era of digital overwhelm.
Read on for a short extract from our conversation. And if you’re in Sydney, I suggest you get yourself to. Once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, of course. In the meantime, I have no doubt , BOLON’s exclusive Australian partner, will be happy to assist with your enquiry.
Fun and frivolity during the loveliest morning spent with these two amazing women, Marie & Annica Eklund. Marie was super inspired by our morning treats and had to take photos before we were allowed to eat. I was teasing her that she was such a millennial, and a food blogger, hahaha! And of course, every great chat needs to be commemorated with a selfie, even if I kind of suck at it.
Hello Marie & Annica, welcome to Sydney, welcome to Australia and WELCOME TO YELLOWTRACE! Could you briefly explain what your jobs look like as CEO and COO of BOLON respectively? What do you love the most about what you do?
Marie: Both of us are responsible for all parts of the company. We are involved in a lot of things, as our visions need to come to life. But we trust our experienced team for the details so we can concentrate on the big picture, the next steps for the company. We swapped roles 2 years ago as it felt natural – Annica was more into the creative aspects and I had become more interested in the business part of the company. Today I am the CEO which means I oversee everything. I am highly involved in the business, the finance, the strategy and the production.
Annica: I am the COO and I work with all the campaigns, the creative tools, the imagery and the brand appearance. For me, I love to inspire and guide BOLON by challenging our comfort zone, but still within a trustful frame by adding a twist. Combining that with a business mindset is the ultimate motivation. I just love my work!
Marie: I love all parts of taking the company forward, but also that I work with my passion – to be part of the design business is, for me, fantastic. For me to see that we have the power to do ourselves – almost anything with our own production and our team – gives me great satisfaction. I love being a part of the changing design industry!
The entrance of BOLON Sydney Showroom in Paddington features a wall with black & white photos that tell The Bolon Story, capturing some key moments and collaborators over the years.
You have transformed BOLON from a family business into an internationally renowned design brand, which is truly remarkable. You are also two leading women in the traditionally male-dominated global design industry, which makes your success even more impressive! What would you say have been some of your key lessons and learnings over the last 17 odd years of leading the company?
We always want everything to happen so fast, almost immediately when we get an idea, we want to bring it to life. But of course, that is hard – we definitely learned that some things take time and need time to be a high-end product. So sometimes patience’s is needed.
We feel that our ideas have been a strong value. Because if you believe in something, that passion is also what’s going to give you success. For BOLON, it has been a great value that we have had a strong vision from the beginning, to make the company into a global design brand, we knew that it was a good decision and together with the team we have built something of value. We are more than a product and a brand; BOLON is a lifestyle with unique attributes.
Also in at the entrance of the showroom is this image of BOLON’s latest campaign, photographed by Annica. She explained how complex the creation process was – for example, this particular image was stitched using 63 individually shot frames.
Since taking over BOLON, you have really built a sense of desirability, glamour and luxury around the brand. The idea of hospitality is also very important to you with your boutique hotel on a vineyard in northern Italy, and two guesthouses in Sweden. How have these ideas of hospitality, food and community been translated into your new Sydney showroom?
For us BOLON is more than the products, as we mentioned before. Hospitality is in our DNA, that’s why we run Villa la Madonna in Piemonte and have our guesthouses in Ulricehamn. Without the hospitality part, BOLON wouldn’t be the same.
The showroom in Sydney will have the same look and feel as any of our other global showrooms around the world, but of course with its own identity. It’s important that we show Australia what BOLON is all about. And we have the best confidence that The Andrews Group will run the place and show visitors the family side of BOLON. They also have the high-end service at the top of their mind; we couldn’t be prouder to finally have a BOLON showroom in Australia.
Annica and Marie Eklund of BOLON.
The dark, transitional space inside the BOLON Sydney Showroom bridges the entrance with the light and bright back room where the kitchen and most of the samples are located.
What do you feel is the most challenging part of being a part of the design industry today? And equally, what do you think are the opportunities? If you could change one thing about the design industry, what would it be?
It is important that the design industry comes together, that we dare to collaborate between brands in order to, for example, solve the sustainability issue that is so important for the future. The business will be stronger if we dare to collaborate. The possibilities with new technology and new research are endless, we look forward to new exciting and durable materials.
And we also think that design objects in the future will need to consist of more functions in one product, so people can use them for more than just one thing for a lifetime. Smarter objects that is developed for how people live and exist, is something that needs to be done. We can’t only produce new objects in the future, we need the design industry to become more sustainable in a smart way.
The coolest campaign imagery created by Annica for BOLON’s latest Art of Performance collection launched at Stockholm Furniture Fair in February.
What excites you about your work and what are some of your methods to stay motivated, focused and expressive?
Annica: That we are able to continue to create an interesting business, inspiring injections to our brand by working with open eyes, having the guts to dare to walk our own way and relay on a bright future. I find inspiration daily, my lifestyle is a mix of everything of travelling, interesting network and stay positive and curious.
Marie: Being able to develop the company, the team and the organization keeps me motivated every day. Also meeting new and interesting people, following new things/ inventions going on around the world, and then feeding those thoughts into our organization stimulates me. I find my inspiration from travels, exhibitions, social media and meeting people.
What’s next – can you share with us your vision and some of your goals for BOLON?
We are developing new products that will be launched in the near future. We’ve had a dream for a long time to see BOLON take the whole room not just only the floor.
The earlier mentioned dark, transitional showroom space (excuse the crappy iPhone shots) and on the right is a detail of the kitchen bench that features a counter covered in a typical BOLON woven floor backing finish with offcut inserts – a little experimental sample which I sincerely hope they put into production, cause it’s super cool, no?
LET’S GET REAL!
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
Annica: Learning from them – mistakes mean you dare to act.
Marie: To start working at BOLON – it was never my intention. I started only to help out for a while, I had a degree in fashion design, but it was fantastic to see the potential in the company and to turn it into what it is today. So definitely my best mistake ever.
What rules do you live by?
Annica: Dare to be yourself in our (quite hard) society. Think positively – life is much more fun then.
Marie: Be positive and believe that everything is possible!
Your most treasured belonging?
Annica: My camera as I also work as a photographer. And a bracelet I got from my family.
Marie: My summer house and my boat, so I can take it to my favourite place on earth, Hallands väderö.
What’s one thing other people may not know about you?
Annica: I’m very handy. And I’m licenced to drive all vehicles, except motorcycles.
Marie: I was once a professional horse rider.
It’s not very cool, but I really like…
Annica: Doing nothing, stay lazy in bed for a full day and watching rom coms.
Marie: Eating candy and just doing nothing. It’s freedom for me to have nothing in my calendar.
Designed by Snarkitecture, BOLON’s impressive stand at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2020 was a crowd favourite.
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[Images courtesy of and Dana Tomić Hughes/ Yellowtrace.]
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