The Fashion Family

Female Family Business - Hanna Kawasaki (l.) and Clod Bernegger don’t mess about; they build their business step by step.

Mak ing Things /ZURICH . First women, then men, and now even children - the life of Clod Bernegger and Hanna Kawasaki always revolves around the family, both professionally and in their private life.

Text: Dörte Welti. Photos: aekae.com, Dörte Welti It was pure luck that these two women, who are so similar, crossed paths at all. Clod Bernegger hails from Zurich, where she completed her textile design studies at the Zurich University of Arts in 2004. Hanna Kawasaki is from Munich, where she earned a fashion design diploma at Esmod. For a while the two women even worked at the same design agency in Zurich, but not at the same time. They were introduced to each other by a common friend. Hanna Kawasaki had just returned from New York. She had initially planned to relocate to the Big Apple for good, but decided to come back after she learned she was pregnant. Clod was - in a way - also pregnant. However, her baby was the idea to open her own store. Hanna’s search for children’s clothes that cannot be found on every corner resulted in her wanting to open a store that offers self-made items. Thus, one thing led to another. Right from the start, Making Things was about making things yourself and only stocking selfmade products. The name really says it all, don’t you think?

Making Things Bigger

The first location in the up-andcoming Circle 4 of Zurich was soon too small. Word about the two women - both mothers by now - that offer extraordinary items for children and women

spread like wildfire. After two years the store was moved to a larger location just ten house numbers down the road. The new premises were also large enough to bring the flock that had increased to a total of three kids to the store too. However, the two women soon realised that the noble ideal of combining children with their career, their own silkscreen printing shop with the sewing studio, and their own boutique with their family lives and partners simply cost too much energy. One element simply had to go, which is why the concept of self-made products had to be scrapped. Only the store equipment in the new premises was made by the women themselves - all of it.

A Man for Making Things

Clod and Hanna were solely focused on giving their female customers exactly what they came into Grüngasse for. They look for rare labels that come from smaller production batches and can therefore be described as sustainable with a clear conscience. Quality is extremely important to the two women. It’s not about trends; it’s about beautiful materials and suitability for everyday use. These criteria also attracted the interest of men. However, Clod and Hanna soon found out that men shop better when there are no women in the store. The consequence was the opening of Making Things Men in the trendy Geroldsgarten. This store is now the realm of Hanna’s partner, who took a 100% interest in the business and runs the shop in the small container town himself. The initial fear that the turnover in the women’s store could suffer when the men stay away was completely unfounded. Business is better than ever.

One or Two More Kids

Clod and Hanna travel to Paris six times a year to visit small trade shows to look for special labels and general items that fit into the store. The products have to be self-made, but should still have a certain look. The two women also research in Internet blogs. And if they have some spare time - the two families go on vacation together too - they reminisce about the time when they made everything themselves. So why not? After the women’s store and the shop for men, they have decided to return to what the name stood for at the beginning of their wonderful co-operation: a children’s store named Making Little Things. They already have a location and the opening is scheduled for August. The new store will stock self-made items from Clod and Hanna’s own studio. The circle is closed, for the time being. The exact date of the opening will be announced on the website. You’ve probably already guessed it; they are also planning an online shop that will act as a showcase for their products. Additionally, Clod and Hanna are also working on a tablet-based payment system. Thanks to temporary staff, partners, and a little reorganisation the two women still have creative capacities. They’re making business.

Space development - Making Things Women is housed in three adjacent rooms.

Making things

Owners: Clod Bernegger and Hanna Kawasaki www.makingthings.ch

Making Things Women

Grüngasse 20 8004 Zurich/Switzerland T. 0041.43.243 3188 Founded: 2005 Sales area: 75 sqm (plus 25 sqm warehouse) Employees: 4 Brands: A Kind of Guise, Base Range, Folk, Libertine Libertine, Maska, Samuji, Steven Alan, Won Hundred, YMC Accessories brands: Ayame, Centre Commercial, Karakoram, Saskia Diez, Steve Mono, Qwstion, Uniform Wares, Veja

Making Things Men

Geroldstrasse 23 8005 Zurich/Switzerland T. 0041.43.321 3308 Founded: September 2013 Sales area: 65 sqm Employees: 1 Fashion brands: A Kind of Guise, Folk, Howlin’, Libertine Libertine, Norse Projects, Svensson, Uniforms for the Dedicated, Won Hundred, YMC Accessories brands: Ayame, Baggy Port, Centre Commercial, Hestra, R.T.CO, The Hillside, Veja