The Tåsenbutikken has been open for almost a year

The Tåsen store has been open for almost a year, hidden behind roadworks: – It's tough

Line Houge and Janicke Lorange, the founders of Smallmatters. Photo: Stella Oter Lindeberg

By Stella Oter Lindeberg, Nordre Aker Budstikke Published: 07.02.23 12:13

Janicke Lorange and Line Houge opened Smallmatters in April 2022. However, not many people know about the sustainable company, they say.

The premises at Tåsenveien 26 have been home to Smallmatters for just under a year. Since its inception in 2018, the company has been a purely online store, but now you can physically shop for everything from tote bags and folders, to towels and sweaters – all made from textile remnants, textile waste and surplus textiles.

But the two founders wish more people would stop by. Not much traffic

– What can you say? There's not much traffic here, says Lorange to Nordre Aker Budstikke.

Previously, the premises were home to the interior design and clothing store Same ol' story . Smallmatters now uses Tåsenveien 26 as its retail outlet, but also as a showroom and office.

The lack of customers in the store is probably due to the roadworks on Tåsenveien, they believe.

– It won't be a natural place to walk past. It's a difficult place to run a local business.

Still, they had many people stop by in connection with Christmas gift shopping in November and December. But not everyone was aware of what kind of store they were entering:

– Same ol' story was here for ten years, selling candles, clothes, cards and everything. But we don't have those products.

Reconsidering opening hours

The concept at Smallmatters is to create sustainable products that also make great gifts, preferably things that can replace a bottle of wine as a host gift. They initially started with businesses, and have worked with Hurtigruten to reuse expired bed linen.

It was when customers wanted to touch and see the products before ordering that the two decided to open the outlet. Now it may be time to reconsider the company's role as a neighborhood store.

– We are open three days a week, because we also work a lot with businesses. When you don't have that many customers, it's almost like you consider only being open when we're here. That we are open more for inquiries, more like an office with a showroom.

– Isn't that a bit of a shame?

– Yes, it's a real shame. It's a very cozy place, and I would think it would be really nice to have a small shop in the local area where you can buy gifts. But we are very tied to the opening hours, when we actually have meetings outside.

But there are also some positive aspects, say the founders. Once customers discover the store, they are happy to come back again. “And everything is made from leftovers, so nothing is the same.”

There are more people who visit Smallmatters to shop for clothes, since there used to be a clothing store on the premises. Although that is not the main focus of the sustainable store, the unique cashmere sweaters made from leftover yarn have many fans, says Lorange.

– So now we're going to make some more clothes. We've got some leftover fabric to make new clothes, which will arrive after the summer. And there will be design in the front seat – a new clothing brand, quite simply, with Smallmatters as the sender.

Now they hope that the completion of the Tåsenveien project, brighter days and more clothes can contribute to more traffic in the store. Also, there is currently no danger to the future of the company itself, even though it is tough to run an entrepreneurial business, they say, referring to the corporate customers and the online store.

– If we are going to be able to live 100 percent off of this, we still need to get more customers in the local area.

– But we are very responsive to what people are interested in having here! What does it take for people in the local area to come by, is there something we can make from textile scraps that will make customers use us more often?

Read the full article here: https://www.nab.no/tasen-butikken-har-vart-apen-i-snart-ett-ar-gjemt-bak-veiarbeid-det-er-toft/s/5-143-319414