CH.04 / the conversation
“I thought: that's easy. Let's do it.”
Maison Cœur started as a school assignment and a miscalculation. A first production run that went wrong at almost every step, stock that got stuck at customs, models who pulled out on the day of the drop. Taha stayed. A conversation about learning by failing, about why the heart sits inside the supply chain, and about the table he eats at when he visits his manufacturer.
Let's start at the beginning. When did you know you wanted to do something with clothing?
“It actually started at school. I had to start a company with a group of five, and I thought: it has to be something that can make decent money and is fairly easy to get going. I was very naive about that. I saw people on social media selling enormous amounts of clothing and I thought: that's easy, let's do it. I was so wrong about how hard it is to run a clothing brand.”
When did that illusion break?
“Visiting the manufacturer. We made a huge number of mistakes. That led to production faults, and even to our stock being seized by Bulgarian customs because of incorrect export papers. And the quantity I'd carried back in my own luggage I couldn't even sell — not to friends, not to family.
There was something else on top of that. For that product we'd done a shoot with models we'd found through people we knew. On the day we were dropping, they messaged to say they didn't want to be posted on social media after all. Those are also the things you have to arrange.”
That isn't one setback. That's the whole chain collapsing at once. Why didn't you stop?
“Even though everything went wrong, I just really enjoyed working with clothing. We paused for a moment, and after that we carried on anyway.”
I'm nowhere near done learning, but I'm a good deal further along than when I started.
What did you do differently the second time?
“I learned an enormous amount from all the mistakes, and through them I learned the process. From the fabric to the finished product to the import. I know exactly what I did right and what I got wrong. I'm nowhere near done learning, but I'm a good deal further along than when I started.”
What does that mean in practice?
“We decide the fabric ourselves now — composition, weight — instead of leaving that to the manufacturer. We approve a sample before the bulk run starts. And agreements with models, photographers and freelancers we put down on paper.”
And the export and import paperwork, the thing it fell apart on the first time?
“Export can only be arranged after production. Once the clothing is finished, all the weights are concrete and the value has been officially determined. A freight forwarder handles that for us now. We have a very strong relationship with them and stay in close contact, so that side is sorted.”
The three of us
You're not on your own. Who does what?
“We basically do everything together, but if I had to assign everyone a role: Bengt is mostly on marketing, Boika on the technical side, and I'm on operations — which covers things like the design and the photography.”
Where do you clash?
“Most of the discussions are about how and what kind of content we want to make. But we always work it out.”
Maison Cœur — house of the heart
Where does the name come from?
“We work with our hearts, and we'd tell anyone to do the same. Intuition, feeling — that's something really unique, and beautiful things come out of it. Friendships, collaborations, love, you name it. Your feeling plays a part in everything. And that's what we want with our clothing too.”
Do you see that back in the product?
“I think we're a brand that maybe needs to express that more in the clothing itself. Our logo has a little heart on the i, but really it sits more behind the scenes. In the production, in who we work with, and in how our manufacturers make us feel.”
I'm sitting there eating at the table with everyone. Not just the owner, but also the cleaner or the person packing the clothes.
How do you know a manufacturer is the right one?
“We're always received really well by our manufacturers, and we don't settle for less than that. In our manufacturer's country they eat a hot meal in the afternoon. It isn't a huge factory, and I'm sitting there eating at the table with everyone. Not just the owner, but also the cleaner or the person packing the clothes. There isn't that strong a hierarchy. We like that. In the evening we eat with the owner, who arranges everything for us. And on top of that it's just good company. A really great partnership.”
What's next?
“By the time this goes live we'll be working on our autumn collection. It's going to be quite a bit deeper than anything we've put out so far. The longsleeve is coming back, along with the blouse. We're going to put more of our feeling into the clothing.”
Maison Cœur — limited run, no restock.
