Cultivating Confidence: The Self-Concept Secret
On my journey to building self-confidence [which is still a work in progress], I realised that I was outsourcing a lot of my inner power to events, circumstances, and people
What was the initial inspiration to start your own business?
The seed was planted at an art exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2017. In one artwork the Turkish female artist Pinar Yoldas accused yoga practitioners of acting hypocritically. She pointed out that they often think they are acting very sustainably, but then they do not think about their yoga mat. Through this artwork, our founders Anna and Sophie felt caught. Ever since that day they have been working on building a sustainable yoga brand that offers closed-loop products.
Explain ‘the first closed-loop yoga brand’ to our readers.
hejhej’s vision is to reduce the amount of plastic waste on our planet and promote conscious consumption through their yoga products. Every product is recyclable at the end of its lifespan. That’s how we close the loop, how we do not produce further waste and give our mother earth a break. We are enthusiastic about raw materials that flow in endless cycles. After all, we are motivated to make this planet a place worth living for future generations. Another benefit of recycling is that we spare lots of natural resources by using as many already existing materials as we can. By doing so, we can proudly say that we are the first closed-loop yoga brand.
Where can we purchase your mats?
We sell our hejhej-mat and our other yoga products like the yoga mat bag, the yoga strap and soon our yoga bolster online in our own web-shop. Our mats are 100% made in Germany.
Luckily we also have a bunch of partner yoga studios and shops that use and sell our products. There are a few local stores and yoga studios in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Ireland for example that we’ve also listed on our website for you.
Why yoga? Where did the passion to produce a gorgeous yoga product stem from?
Anna and Sophie are both passionate yoga practitioners. So the idea really came from an inner calling, as one could say. We weren’t all about founding our own business at first, but we were all about our passion to do something good for our environment and combine that with something we truly appreciate. That’s how we got to creating our own yoga product.
We love your content. Have Social Media helped to build your brand?
Thank you so much. We’re all about minimalistic and natural vibes. Social Media has definitely helped to build our brand, it is such a beautiful platform to create a whole story around our yoga brand. It also allows us to connect with yoga-lovers from all over Europe, and even beyond. Especially right now, we’re happy to see our hejhej-mats in many people’s home-practice. We share those special photos regularly in our hejhej-moments. We love the sense of community those photos create. We might all be at our homes right now, yet we are still connected through yoga and our interest in making this world a little healthier.
We find spending time on the mat helps with mindfulness and leading to a more productive working space. What are your productivity hacks?
A clean desk (less distraction), open the windows regularly, do intentional breaks where you really do not look at the laptop or phone, stretch (lots of it) and lots and lots of liquids (tea, water, and a little coffee). And then, whenever we feel tense, roll out the mat and move!
On days you are feeling uninspired, what are your top tips to shake the funk?
Definitely spending time in nature and digital detox. To us, there is nothing more relaxing than the sounds of nature. It really helps us to recharge and reconnect with our inner muse.
What advice would you give to your 20 year old self?
Open your eyes, open your heart, embrace life! There are so many beautiful people and opportunities around you. Embrace them and ask yourself.. ‘what do you really enjoy doing?’.. Then- do more of that!
Finally, what piece of advice would you give to other entrepreneurs at the moment?
Stay strong, stay healthy and never hesitate to ask for help or advice. That’s a lesson we’ve learnt early on. And lastly, believe in your self and your beautiful idea. You got this!
… and are there any small businesses you would like to say ‘hello’ to?
Yes! hej to Mit Ecken & Kanten, an imperfect online shop. Hej to dariadéh and hej to our local zero waste shop, and also hej to natural products and inclusion, Mari & Anne.
On my journey to building self-confidence [which is still a work in progress], I realised that I was outsourcing a lot of my inner power to events, circumstances, and people
Your products are so trendy… as well as being made from materials with 100% no nasties and are entirely sustainable. Lizzi, tell us your story. Ah, thank you so much!
Hi Hayley, welcome to our Journal. We are so proud to feature you. Now, we know you from the Hub and know firsthand how incredible it is. For our readers, tell
