Replic: the blog

Interview with Ann Ringstrand, Founder of HOPE and Ann Ringstrand Design Patterns

Ann Ringstrand grew up surrounded by sewing machines and, despite heavy caution from her family, found her way to running one of Sweden’s most respected fashion brands. Ann shares how a childhood spent in textile factories shaped her path, the story behind her brand’s name, the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and her advice for aspiring designers.

Photo credit: Mattias Bjorklund Bremer

What prompted you to start a business?

To start a business is one thing. To start designing, to have the urge to make things, that’s quite another. For me, one led to the other. I come from a textile city in Sweden. I was born practically on a cutting table and my daycare was among the factory threads. I grew up surrounded by entrepreneurs. My mom was a teacher but sewed everything for us, my grandmother sewed for everyone, and my dad had a sewing factory with his father.

When I was nine, I started sewing. As a teenager, I began dreaming of creating my own fashion brand. But my parents begged me not to go into it. They had seen the industry collapse in the 1970s when Swedish textile factories went bankrupt or moved abroad. They wanted me to do something safer like become a veterinarian!

But I carried my sewing machine everywhere. I kept sewing, making clothes for myself and others. Eventually, I told my parents I still wanted to become a fashion designer but promised I’d go to university. So I studied for five years. Seamstress school, art school, the Academy of Pattern Design, and then three more years at a fashion university in Sweden.

After my studies, I wanted to start my own business right away, but my parents convinced me to gain experience first. I worked for about ten years as a designer and creative director for Swedish companies before finally launching HOPE in 2000. Looking back, I understand their fear but I also know I had to do it my way.

Where does the name Hope come from?

I had played around with so many terrible names when I was younger. Thankfully, I never registered them! A year or two before we started the brand, I was flipping through an art book and came across a large oil painting titled Hope. It just struck me. What a good word! It looks beautiful, it’s simple, it has such a positive meaning, and it’s graphically strong.

I called my colleague, who became my co-founder, and told him, “What about Let’s Hope?” He called me back a few hours later and said, “Just Hope.” It was perfect. Such a good decision.

It took me about five or six years to get the trademark approved worldwide in multiple categories. It felt almost impossible, like trademarking “Jesus”! But we managed, through persistence and luck. I’ve never once regretted the name. I love that it’s not personal. It stands on its own, as something universal.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of running a business?

The best part? When you finally see a new collection come to life. It’s like Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and your birthday all at once. After six to eight months of designing, sketching, and sampling, you get those boxes from the factories. At first, it’s chaos but then you start hanging everything on the racks, coordinating the fabrics and colors, and it all comes together. That moment is pure happiness.

The worst part? Money. Running out of liquidity. I’m terrible at handling that stress. I never want to see red numbers, and in twenty years with HOPE, we never did thankfully. But it was tough! There were moments when I had to put up my car, my apartment, everything, to keep the business afloat. Paying for production is always a cash flow nightmare. I remember once, after paying for the Autumn collection, I was literally on the floor crying with relief. We managed, but the banks, the credits, the constant pressure? That was hard. That’s the part I don’t miss.

Any favorite fabric stores or pattern designers you admire?

• Bawn Textiles in Glasgow
• 1000Stoff in Berlin
• Tygverket in Stockholm
• Brooklyn General Store in New York
• Azienda Tessile Romana in Rome
• The Draper´s Daughter in Sussex

As for other designers, I don’t browse too much. I usually find inspiration from different fields, not necessarily within fashion or patterns. But I love that the internet helps me cross paths with other creatives. There are a few out there doing really strong, concept-driven work. I do not really follow that many other pattern brands, but I have some inspiring textile creatives that I follow:

• Dosa Flying Fish – US
• Ogawa Tomoko Desu – JP
• Norlha Atelier – Tibet
• Toogood – UK
• Mary Little Studio – US
• Blue Mountain School – UK
• London Cloth Co – UK
• Weaving Hand – US

What advice would you give to someone considering starting a pattern brand?

Starting a pattern brand isn’t so different from starting any other brand. The first thing is to be very clear on your concept: how it looks, how it feels, how it sounds, who it’s for. Do your mood boards carefully, show them to someone you admire and ask for honest feedback. You need a strong tone of voice.

Then, do your Excel homework, your budget. Don’t overestimate. Assume you’ll sell little, not a lot. Figure out how you’ll survive for about three years selling little. This way you can stay creative without panicking. When you have that foundation, you can actually enjoy the creative part.

And specifically for sewing patterns: don’t make what’s already out there. We don’t need more basic, easy patterns with elastic waistband. Bring something new. For me, I focus on tailoring and pieces that connect more to the fashion scene. You have to add something the market needs, not just something you like. Be where people need you to be. And it is also important that you feel comfortable with selling your product, to speak with joy, in public about the value you have created.

What are you most looking forward to right now?

I just released a new single pattern this week, so I’m really excited to see how people use it: their interpretations, hacks, color choices. I love when makers modify my designs, when they shorten sleeves, remove collars, dye or print their own fabric. That kind of creativity really inspires me.

I’m also building a new design studio in the countryside, where I’ll start working on a new sewing book coming out in 2027. It’ll be made entirely there, surrounded by nature. I’m planning to include makers in the process and even in the photoshoots. I’m so excited to create that space and get into the mood of hands-on creativity again.