After a very early morning flight IS arrived safely in Denmark, Copenhagen. With IS WORKS I am joining a market orientation trip with 15 other entrepreneurs. This business trip is c ommissioned by Agentschap NL Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coöperation with Modint and prepared and guided by Market Link. As this trip was also planned during Copenhagen Fashion Week it didn’t took me long to decide, beginning of this year, to particpate. All the other entrepreneurs and businesses from Holland who joined sell a product, for me my product is me! I am excited to introduce IS WORKS and myself to parties in Copenhagen and tell my story in real life or through this blog which I will update in english in this daily update from Copenhagen.

Stilverket Berg

Maurice Groenteman, initiator of these orientation trips and representing MODINT, was joining me on my travel by train to Sweden. It took us 20 minutes to get from Copenhagen to Malmö where we would meet Mia Berg, owner of Stilverket Berg. Mia’s concept is about personal branding and a part of that is to give style advise to private persons but also to entrepreneurs and CEO’s. Mia is also a designer and a blogger on opinion and fashion and she is a teacher at Modefabriken. Her network in South Sweden is extensive. The meeting was set up because our concepts are quite alike and we were interested in eachothers (approach to the) market. Stilverket, in english, means Style Counsil by the way.

Mia Berg

Mia grew up in the 70′s as a child of very artistic parents. She learned how to sew, embroider and knit from her family. Mia has a very clear way of looking at fashion when it comes down to wanting to create only unique pieces (and no production) : Do it as a hobby please! While she was working at a travel agent she got inspiration for her ‘hobby’ around the world. When due to physical problems she could not do that work anymore she finally DID make a businessplan focussing on her own strengths and qualities (instead of only studying the market)
This autumn Mia will release a book about personal branding in which also clients of her are portrayed that she helped with their personal branding and look. 

We had a very pleasant talk about the drives behind our mutual concepts and I got more insight in how the Danish work and think and how they are coming from a quite socialist economy and values into an economy where entrepreneurshiup is socially more accepted. How (fashion and design) educataion is far more practical than in Holland. Mia tells me that students are not educated (only) to be an independant designer and ‘their own label’ but to be an entrepreneur! (Think a while about the difference between these 2 options…..)

Thank you Mia for your time and your inspiration and I loved your spontanious remark which is saying much about your personality: ” I meet with everyone who wants to meet me!”