One of the things we love most about connecting with like-minded people pursuing their dreams is that through one person’s (or in this case, two!) idea or business, positive change can happen. We sat down with Sam Seljak, co-founder of Seljak Brand. a sustainable brand making recycled wool blankets out of offcuts from mil in Tasmania
Sam shared with us how Seljak Brand started, the purpose behind it, and advice for going after your dreams.
“We’re at a critical point in time where we need to shift the current profit-focused paradigm and create more innovative and alternative business models that can be supported in the future economy. ”
Meet Seljak Brand…
Where are you in the world?
I’m based in Malmö and Copenhagen and Karina, my sister and Seljak Brand co-founder, is in Sydney. We both hail from sunny Brisbane but now run our business from opposite sides of the world. The upside? We pretty much have 24 hour opening hours 😉
How do you follow your bliss?
Building an amazing community is how I find my bliss, whether it’s with family, friends or other entrepreneurs and changemakers… Then it’s just enjoying and exploring the world with those that make you feel at home!
Tell us your story… what are you passionate about and what led you to wanting to be a business owner?
I’ve always been a doer with a community spirit and strong sense of social justice and environmental awareness. Before Seljak Brand, I started an art gallery and community space in West End, Brisbane with a crew of friends. I was also one of the founders of No Lights No Lycra Brisbane. Alongside this, I worked at small businesses (Gilimbaa Indigenous Creative Agency, Ruby Olive and Wray Organic) so I had a great insight into the hows when it comes to running a business, but I also knew that it takes A LOT of hard work. It was very natural for me to move down the entrepreneurial path.
When did the idea for Seljak first come about?
When Karina and I decided it was time to start a project together, we were inspired by businesses driven with purpose. We came across the circular economy concept and became obsessed with using waste as a resource, and finding ways to close the loop. After a year of research and concept development, we were super excited when we found a mill in Tasmania who used the offcuts from the factory floor to make new yarn. That, coupled with a desire to use an Australian resource like wool, lead to the idea of blankets.
What impact do you hope to make with Seljak?
Seljak Brand envisions a world without waste. We want to use waste to make useful and beautiful things. So far we’ve diverted almost 2000kg of textiles waste from landfill. We also donate one out of every ten blankets sold to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne to provide warmth and comfort for those making their home in Australia. Finally, we want to ignite conversations about doing business differently and not exploiting the world’s depleting resources for profit.
What steps did you take in order to go from idea to making it a business?
We did a lot of market research, consumed as much information as we could on the circular economy, permaculture principles and closed loop thinking, and spent three months in India learning about textiles manufacturing (which is sadly a dying craft in Australia). Karina had studied Fashion Design and Advertising at university and myself, Economics and Journalism so we are like yin and yang when it comes to running Seljak Brand. When there’s something that isn’t intuitive to me, it usually is for her, and vice versa.
Tell us about your process of launching you ING Dreamstarter campaign – what was it like, why did you do it, and how did you ensure your campaign was successful?
We had a great experience crowdfunding and encourage anyone with an idea that needs a cash boost to do it! We chose crowdfunding because we had a project idea that hadn’t been done before. So we needed some capital to make it happen; for R&D and testing, so we could prove our concept. We were lucky to reach our goal within 48 hours and that mostly came down to mobilising our community and networks to help us spread the word. Even our parents were telling all of their friends!
Why is having a brand with a social good purpose important to you?
I think there are so many problems in the world that I couldn’t run a business without the purpose of at least tackling one of them! We’re at a critical point in time where we need to shift the current profit-focused paradigm and create more innovative and alternative business models that can be supported in the future economy.
Where is your favourite place to adventure?
My favourite place is Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) off Brisbane. It’s absolute paradise and every time is an adventure… it’s rich with wildlife and you can surf with dolphins, camp within metres of the beach or just read a book in a hammock for hours on end and completely switch off. Definitely my happy place.
What would you recommend to someone who has an idea, but hasn’t gone for it yet?
Talk about it with your community, gauge people’s interest, read Lean Startup to understand the concept of launching with a Minimum Viable Product, research the market, refine your idea and start small!
To learn more and purchase your blanket head on over to Seljak Brand.
