Creating with linen designer Sophie Gandar
INTERVIEW BY IMO
Q&A
WITH sophie gandAr - designer of milou milou
melbourne . Vic
I’m excited. Really, really excited.
This week I’m sharing with you the story of Sophie Gandar the designer behind a new brand that’s just popped up on my radar. Meet MILOU MILOU; luxurious, zero waste, 100%, pure flax bed linen - custom made to order just for YOU. Now if that sentence alone doesn’t get you excited I don’t know what will.
Sophie and I connected recently because she was looking for a bed to photograph her linen on, we are now in the process of creating a custom bed for Sophie and during that time of emailing back and forth I discovered MILOU MILOU. The emails quickly turned into a coffee date at my local Common Ground Project where we lost time talking what we do, small business and living here on the beautiful Surf Coast of Victoria.
I had the opportunity to work with Sophie over the weekend and photograph our Feature Headboard Square Bed and matching Side Table with her beautiful bed linen. The one thing that really surprised me about this brand is that the colour combinations are epic, I didn’t realise how much I was going to love this linen until I saw all of the wild combinations we put together on the bed. Everything just worked.
I’m excited to share with you Sophie’s story because -
I love the product and I believe in it. I touch a lot of linen and I can vouch that this ticks all my boxes in design, functionality and quality.
Choice. Isn’t that what everyone wants in life? I have lost hours searching for the right colour bed linen. The MILOU MILOU website has a feature where you can see the colours next to each other and test out different combinations. Al and I are in the business of “made to order” and there’s something very special in designing something that is just for you. The other great part of ‘made to order’ business is no-waste which leads me to my next point.
Their commitment to sustainability within their business practices, which you can read more about below. This is also a good time to mention MILOU MILOU was shortlisted earlier this year in The Design Files Awards Program in the Sustainable Design category.
I feel it in my bones that this is brand to watch and I am looking forward to many more collaborations with our bright neighbour.
MILOU MILOU will make you feel brave and luxurious.
x IMO
Feature Solid Headboard Square Bed & Square Side Table
Box Drawer Ledge Bed
What got you interested in customisable linen?
Of course, a love for the product. Pure linen is a luxury, but it’s the healthiest option for sleep, skin, and body function. I’ve always loved interiors and design, but I’ve also personally been pursuing a less wasteful life for my family and I, really being conscious of what we buy, need, how we use those things and ultimately how and where we discard them. Only as recently as the 60’s people were still commissioning the products they needed for their lives, and the enormous growth of mass manufacture and fast demand is inextricably linked with the demise of our planet. I was keen to have my own bedding made to order, with fun and vibrancy and variety what I wanted to see when I opened my linen closet.
How would you describe your style and where do you get your inspiration?
I think my style changes all the time! I probably have quite a fixed style in other people’s eye but I don’t know if I could define it myself. I like uncontrived things, less is more interiors that look effortless, but lived in. I find inspiration in art and form, architectural materials and rap music. I’m also finding an immense amount of calm in a huge old eucalyptus on our Surf Coast property – I can see why people talk about how powerful trees can be to ones psyche.
Feature Solid Headboard Square Bed & Square Side Table
Feature Solid Headboard Square Bed & Square Side Table
Milou Milou Pillowslips
I feel the most exciting part of your business is that your linen is all customisable, can you tell me more about how that process works and for someone like me who is incredibly indecisive how do I pick from all of the amazing options?
We carefully select all of our shades specifically so our customers can’t go wrong in terms of pairing. Certain pairings are more textural or loud or conservative, of course, but these shades are all beautiful and no two tones clash.
It’s not at all different from buying anything online! We encourage people to start with one piece, or one duvet and a set of pillowcases, get to know those tones and then build from there. We hope people find in us a long term linen brand, and we have some customers placing their 4th or 5th orders with us already which is fantastic.
Like all objects we have in our homes, our sentiment towards them undulates and changes – sometimes you need to put something away for a short time, or move it to a different spot for a different perspective. Or position it next to another object. Linen is just the same, and with every piece you add to your collection, the variety and bed dressing options grow exponentially.
We're here to make that task something to look forward to, and often that can mean new colours, or new combinations.
We also offer a personal bespoke service – people are welcome to write in and tell us about their interior or which shade of ours they love, and how to build a set to hero that shade best. This is the part we find most fun, and we know these core tones so very well, we know how they’ll endure, and what pairings provide what mood our clients want in their bedrooms. We'll wait for your email, Imo!
Starting with a new vibrant one tone, or muted two tone pillowcases is a low-risk purchase, and already you’re on the way to invigorating your current bedding. From there you can move on to single sheets, and it’s yet to happen but if you receive something you genuinely don’t like, we’ll find a solution.
For people that do need an overhaul now and want to invest in a full set, we encourage going for mostly one tone, but introducing a second shade on the second side of the pillowcase, and the flat sheet. If your favourite shade on our site is MARDEN, then opt for a MARDEN bottom sheet, duvet cover, and go for cases in MARDEN and JIM, and a flat sheet in JIM.
From that foundation you can start to bring in a variety of other pillowcases and single pieces over time, but you’ve gone for a base of the colour you most like – you can’t lose.
We absolutely adore each of shades, in real life they are stunning, and we only need to look to our customers to verify that!
“They’ve been chosen not to adhere to market trend, but to have longevity and continue to satisfy even years after purchase.” - Sophie
Feature Headboard Square Bed
Feature Headboard Square Bed
milou milou is your side hussle, is it the plan to make it your full time gig?
I work part time for an architecture firm, and I’m still very much doing the juggle. It’s growing at its own pace, and when the time is right I’ll know. I’ve been a business owner before, and in many ways I’m most productive when under pressure and the to-do list feels insurmountable.
“It’s growing at its own pace, and when the time is right I’ll know.” Shopie
What does a typical day look like for you?
Ha, it’ll be hard not to sound like a cliché here. Wake at 6am, hopefully after more than 5 hours sleep, usually to my toddlers open eyes about two centimetres from my own. Coffee, toast, and if I’m not heading to Melbourne for the day, crack into it at 7.30am. Juggle for 8 hours and try and head to the beach with our son, and look forward to a glass of good pinot noir at 7pm when the house falls quiet again. Probably squeeze in some more work while my partner cooks dinner, or seek strength in him after a tough day.
Feature Headboard Square Bed
Box Drawer Ledge Bed
Box Drawer Ledge Bed
Have you implemented any practises into your business and life to be more sustainable?
Just a few, yep! Our pieces use ‘deadstock’ fabric – usually over-ordered by corporate fashion brands. For this reason our shades come and go, or vary slightly in tone like any small run or hand-dyed product. It also means new ones come up regularly, and this facet of the model actually also allows us to offer exclusive shades to retailers, interior designers or the boutique accommodation market.
We’re plastic free, zero waste, carbon neutral and as our products are tailored, we don’t have any ageing stock sitting in a warehouse which we may need to discard. We plant trees with every order via our partner One Tree Planted. We request recyclable packaging only from our suppliers.
There is much more to do, but we need to get a little bigger to take on the more complex challenges.
Feature Headboard Square Bed
Your top 5 practical tips for running a small business?
Hustle but don’t clamber. You can be a fierce businessperson and still kind.
Don’t sweat the small stuff – your bad day will be irrelevant in as little as a week.
Lean into the positive feedback, ignore the rest, but hold yourself accountable to mistakes and stay committed to being progressive.
Do a little accounting every day – don’t lose track of any facet of your business as you should know them all. It’s hard.
Remember to eat.
“Lean into the positive feedback, ignore the rest, but hold yourself accountable to mistakes and stay committed to being progressive.” - Sophie
Box Drawer Ledge Bed
Feature Headboard Square Bed
Advice for others wanting to pursue their passion?
If you have a passion or idea, you’re half way there. There are lots of entrepreneurs out there still waiting for their eureka moment, so start chipping away. Even if you do it dramatically, what’s the worst that can happen? Money is just money – acquired and lost every moment of the day. Everyone fails! Success is a matter of timing, and determination. There are things to be learned, and people who want to share and pass it forward, literally everywhere.
This feels a little like Baz Lurhmann’s Sunscreen Song. Definitely wear sunscreen, and do things that scare you.
“There are things to be learned, and people who want to share and pass it forward, literally everywhere.” - sophie
Square Side Table
Feature Headboard Square Bed
Exciting new projects on the horizon?
Our second campaign shoot will be out early into 2020, and we have a lot of cute collabs in the pipeline. We’d like to close our loop, and offer a collection and donation service for any unused linen that carries our tag.
Lastly, How do you slow down?
Ask me in 5 years, I hope I can answer this question then!
SOPHIE GANDAR
MILOU MILOU was founded by Sophie Gandar in 2019 with brand and web development by Rosaria Gandar.
With backgrounds in design, a personal commitment to environmental sustainability and an affinity for flax linen bedding - we wanted to find a reputable custom service offering unique shades that gave us full creative control over our bedrooms.
We knew other linen brands were utilising a fast fashion model of production, and saw an opportunity to find a better way.
MILOU MILOU was born from creative optimism and determination.
We’ve started this journal in hope that through us sharing stories like Sophie’s it encourages others to -
Be creative.
To follow your passion project.
Support local artists and makers.
Our hope is that through us showcasing small, local and ethical artists/ makers/ businesses it encourages others to support locally, handmade.