Another year is wrapping up, and after sprinting through the last weeks, juggling work, school events, strategy planning, and the general December frenzy, the dust is finally settling. It feels like the right moment to look back and breathe.
This was my first full year living in Singapore with my family, and wow… What a chapter. The move to the other side of the world felt bold and brave on paper, but living it, settling in, finding friends, discovering routines, and learning to lead O My Bag from 10.000 kilometers away, has been both eye-opening and grounding. It’s been the year where personal dreams came true, while the business was facing its most challenging moments since we started.
Last year, around this time, my life was boxes everywhere, visa appointments, goodbye drinks, and a wild leap into the unknown. Now? The unknown has become home.
Singapore has welcomed us with the warmest arms. The boys made friends instantly, embraced their sun-filled days, and adjusted far better than my pre-move worries predicted. I’ve met inspiring people, discovered the joy of exploring a new region, and found that even in my 40s, making new friends is very possible.
Professionally, though… This year was not the smooth sailing chapter of my founder memoir.
I kept hearing the voice of a former business coach in my head:
Is there a plan?
Is there a team?
Is the team working on the plan?
Simple questions, very inconvenient when the honest answer is: “Kind of…?” Targets were missed. We were short on key roles. Execution lagged. And managing all of this remotely introduced an extra layer of complexity. No spontaneous desk chats. No hallway pulse checks. Sometimes it felt like the business slipped through my fingers.
But the beauty of turbulence is that it shakes loose what isn’t working. And by the second half of the year, pieces started falling back into place.
We hired incredibly strong new team members. We sharpened our vision. And – big sigh of relief – the business started climbing again.
Our FW25 collection was a total knockout. Dark Cherry and Chocolate were the colors of the season, and the customer response was beyond our dreams. Leo confidently claimed her moment. We celebrated her “It Bag” status with a beautiful lunch at Dinette. That same energy carried into our Goodnews Coffee Holiday Takeover, where we mixed fashion with a cozy community vibe. These moments created a wave that lifted the entire second half of the year.
And that momentum didn’t stay in the campaign imagery; we felt it across the business. Our stores were buzzing again, and sales were climbing back to pre-dip levels. E-commerce kept pace with remarkable growth, a testament to the strong collection, sharper storytelling, and the dedication of a team that truly clicked into place. With the right people in the right roles, the vibe shifted from firefighting to forward motion. You could feel it everywhere: a grounded confidence, a collective “we’ve got this.”
Copenhagen Fashion Week was a standout: a breakfast with 40 inspiring creators, and our designs popping up in street style captures from The New York Times and Vogue Scandinavia.
This was also a year of stepping boldly onto new stages. We hosted brand activations across New York, Copenhagen, Munich, and Amsterdam, each with its own energy.
And of course, though it was back in March, it deserves a special mention: Drew Barrymore. Seeing our bag on her shoulder on her show was surreal, joyful, and even a bit emotional. That clip is still on repeat in my camera roll.
