Name: Laura Lawaetz
Age: 35 years old
Current occupation: Founder of Lalaby
What did you dream about as a child?
I dreamed of becoming a designer. Both my grandmother and aunt were designers, and I was deeply fascinated by their aesthetic and creative world.
What key experience impacted you to move in the direction you are moving today?
I lived in London and Paris after high school working in some exclusive clothing stores with luxury goods and customers from all over the world. It opened my eyes to how many opportunities there are outside Denmark. For the first time, I experienced what good quality and great design are. And perhaps most importantly, I suddenly discovered the many opportunities to work in fashion and design - without necessarily educating myself as a designer. After that year, I decided to study Cand. Merc. at Copenhagen Business School and take a completely different path into the fashion industry than I had previously thought.
What choice you’ve made in your life are you most proud of, and why?
Professionally it must be to jump into self-employed life in 2019. For many years I had been working independently with my business as a blogger and influencer alongside my job as Digital Director at ELLE. So having my own business wasn't new to me. But jumping into life as 100% self-employed was, and still is, a wild thing, I believe.
What choice has been the easiest, and why?
The same. I always knew I wanted to start my own business one day. I got my first CVR number when I was 15, selling my homemade accessories to shops in Copenhagen, so somehow it was always in the cards that I would be self-employed and start my own business one day. When the ideas for my own children's clothing brand began to bubble in earnest during my second maternity leave, there was no turning back.
What has been the hardest choice you’ve taken, and why?
It was a difficult decision for me to stop working as a professional influencer. I started my blog in 2012 and was a part of the whole Instagram wave from the beginning. I had some fun and eventful years as a blogger and influencer until 2020. But when my brand Lalaby took off, time, tasks, and values started to clash. I was on one hand dependent on the income as an influencer, but I couldn't find the time and energy to create inspiring quality content. A job as an influencer is far more time-consuming than many probably imagine. I was facing a crossroads because I wanted to dedicate all my time to Lalaby. I had to choose to stop all professional collaborations on my personal Instagram and throw myself one hundred percent into Lalaby - then it was neck or nothing. Thankfully, I haven't looked back once.
“I have always been surrounded by people who believed that I would succeed in whatever I set out to do. And if I didn't, they would be there anyway. “
How do you find inspiration and confidence to step out of your comfort zone?
I have always been surrounded by people who believed that I would succeed in whatever I set out to do. And if I didn't, they would be there anyway. That has given me a fundamental belief that everything will work out. I sometimes think; what's the worst that can happen? I find that often helps a little if the worries get too much. As long as I am passionate about what I do, that I am doing the best I can while being surrounded by my family and loved ones, it will all work out.
What personal characteristics do people most often use to describe you
Positive, creative, ambitious, and hardworking.
” Because of my personal and unique choices, I am right here today. It gives me inner peace and strength to think about life this way”
How do you feel these unique characteristics have impacted your way in life?
I see my positive mind as a huge strength in my life - both professionally and personally. And I think being creative, ambitious, and hardworking all go together very well. Since I was very young, I remember the feeling of being able to stay up all night if something interested me. It could be a school assignment or a sewing job. In general, I love to work, and I easily get absorbed when I throw myself into something.
What is your best advice to others who would like to feel more comfortable about making personal choices?
Personally, I think of life as a lot of choices, and I try to be conscious of that. It makes it easier to feel what is right for me. Every time I choose something, I also choose against something else. And every time I don't choose something, I choose something anyway. I think it's important to be aware of your choices so that you live your life instead of the years just passing and life flying by. Because of my personal and unique choices, I am right here today. It gives me inner peace and strength to think about life this way.
Follow Laura on Instagram @lauralawaetz.