Meet: BKND
“A product must feel complete and pure to us. Not only in design or quality, but also honest and with heart”
It was a lovely Saturday at Hey That’s Nice in the Bruchquartier, Luzern…I was chilling in the store, listening to some tunes, etc etc…when in walked two LOVELY gentlemen with nice smiles - and I thought, this is rare that two handsome gents pop in at once! These two that I speak of turned out to be two of the creatives and founders behind bknd - a fashion label based in Zurich. After a nice talk with them - I realized…how could I let two guys who are telling the world to “be kind” and who work closely with people with cognitive impairments to help run their business get away? And thus, a collaboration was born. Welcome bknd to the HTN community and read further for some insight in to their brand and process!
Tell a little about your brand and who is behind it?
We‘re a brand which is focused on fairness, culture and sustainability. The brand has its origins through a strong friendship. We thought as a hobby that we wanted to craft our own shirts and now here we are!
Why “be kind”?
We want to encourage everyone to be themselves and to think about the pieces that they wear and where they are coming from. We choose this message because it fits to all our personalities, behavior and mindset.
Can you tell us about your partnership with Züriwerk and your favorite thing about it?
We leverage our production with Zueriwerk so that we can integrate a social institution in our production line. On the one hand we can create a unique piece and on the other hand we can be a part of supporting and integrating people with cognitive disabilities in to work life and culture. As already mentioned each piece is unique and our most favorite thing is to see how encouraged and passionate the people of Zueriwerk are while crafting our orders.
Do you have advice for creatives wanting to start their own business?
For this question, we would like to refer to our slogan which says to just be yourself, don‘t compare yourself with others and be passionate in what to do in order to reach your goals.
A little fun:
Where are you based? We ware living around 20min away from Zürich City, in Weisslingen (Zürich Oberland)
What are your favorite places there for hanging out? shopping? coffee? etc?We have actually many favorite places around Zürich. But we love to drink really good coffees at the Rare Street Coffee in Rapperswil Jona. It’s the best place to catch a good coffee and have the best ideas for our Company and Products.
Thank you both for your visit and a chance to collaborate with you!