Our business Philosophy.
Inspired by Filip.

People often ask us: “What inspired you to create Swopper? You must have done a lot of research before starting production, right? Went through all the pluses and minuses and calculated the risks?” Actually, we didn’t. Today we can call ourselves experts in the innovative baby clothing field, but back then the inspiration was our baby boy Filip, who at the age of six months became our new business director and one of the youngest senior managers ever. Or more specifically, HR managers – because it was our relationship, family atmosphere, and connection that kept being interrupted by frequent dressing and undressing with lots of crying and discomfort.

As a mother, I couldn’t help but to think there must be a better, more gentle way to change Filip’s clothes. I didn’t want to see him cry and get agitated every time he messed up his clothes and I had to pull his head through yet another small opening as I kept changing them. I still remember the day I was dressing Filip, putting on one of his favorite bodysuits, when I said to my son (who probably didn’t hear me, he was busy protesting): “This is it. No more struggle, no more stress for you, my dear boy. I will talk to your dad and tell him what I have in mind. A new philosophy!”

The two of us sat together (the third one fell asleep), and since I’m an architect, I decided to use my professional skills to solve this specific baby clothing engineering issue. I wanted more space for my son – I needed a more elegant, more subtle and comfortable way to change his clothes every day, several times, for years. So I was both desperate and passionate, and I just knew I had to make it happen. Still not thinking business-wise at the time, but simply trying to help myself and my son.

And so I did. One of an architect’s main jobs is to find a successful solution to any problem – be it a shape, space, weather, or character condition; to balance the physical and economic advantages of a specific material and design with the aesthetics, and many similar conflicts. I found that my university degree was very helpful in coming up with a solution that would work. First I chose materials, selected carefully for their ability to withstand the environment and all kinds of food, drooling, chewing, squeezing, pulling, and most of all frequent washing. Then I started working on the design. It was not long before I would make my very first Swopper prototype and test it on our son.

Both my son and husband loved it! The rest is history, or more hopefully – the future. I made this product for myself and my family at first, and we had no idea it would become our passion, let alone eventually a business. There was no science or market research or analysts behind it, no reports or board meetings or investors – nothing but a mom’s desperation and dedication to figure out how to change the way we change babies.

And that is how Swopper was conceived. At the time, we didn’t even name it, that came later. We launched our company, Olandino, and started marketing this product. We were so proud. Our boy was our first customer, and our nightmare turned into a dream that turned into reality. I knew immediately that we had something special. We also decided to add another aspect to Swopper – sustainability, which is something we’re passionate about as well.

The green part

It came as naturally to us as the Swopper creation part: As parents and fellow humans, Nik and I couldn’t help but to constantly think about the future of the world – not a bright one, to put it mildly.

If we were to create a product, we wanted to it to be sustainable, so we addressed one of the world’s most dramatic environmental issues: textile industry leftovers. The textile industry produces millions of tons of waste per year – there was no chance our product would add to that terrible pile. And again, as an architect trained to make the most of every inch of space/material, I realized how to put leftovers to use. We have made an additional, portable, superb add-on Talis, which transforms the Swopper into a regular bib. Our new eco-hero, was born!

Mission

Our mission is to create a long-lasting relationship with the people who choose our product. At the same time, we want to boost public awareness of thinking green – the Swopper is only the beginning. Our company Olandino makes it its fundamental strategy and mission to create responsible, innovative, and people-, baby-, and nature-friendly products and services, because Nik and I choose to be the change we want to see in the world.

I hope you have enjoyed it so far. We know our family did.