Tove
Tove Ohlander is the Co-founder, together with Rich Arentzen, of the AO Glass factory in Burlington, VT.
From occupying the bench blowing glass and physically creating glass products, I am now working as a product developer, designer, and illustration artist. I branched into clothing in 2017 and developed the Original Maker Skirt. Not only in a classic A-line cut with just the right pockets and a tool loop - but equally important, by working with a large team that already knew how to grow organic cotton, to cut and stitch garments with perfect craftsman-and woman-ship, while supplying fair living wages and so much more.
Together with my local team, photographer Brian MacDonald, models Callie Flynn and Luci Young, and our amazing staff at AO Glass, I am creating a clothing brand that has the same ethos as the State of Vermont does; organic, sustainable, common sense, global & local, mindful, resilient and innovative. I had missed this garment on the market: something to wear while at work, but also when representing at events and beyond. Out of, actually, decades of cravings for practical clothing that looks good, can get dirty, and can hold things, surfaced the Maker Skirt - a denim wrap-skirt for folks at work and play. It folds in the back fully covering you, and has big front pockets. I developed several designs and our clothes are seen on people everywhere: Makers, Hipsters, Farmers, Stylists, Baristas, Gardeners, Moms, and beyond.
Tove Ohlander
I work as a designer, artist, and entrepreneur. I am the Mom of three amazing people, and together with my husband Rich Arentzen I own AO Glass, @ao_glass, a glass factory in Burlington, VT, providing hand blown glass for US and Canadian companies and designers.
“In tune with how strong and intuitive women interact with the natural world, Tove’s designs enhance one’s sense of power, practicality and connection. Whether it is a skirt or a bowl, her work, elevates the experience of the every day.”
Rich Arentzen.
The idea to start Tove by design
I grew up in Sweden by loving and creative Parents in a relatively lagom boring small town, loving the nature, and I did appreciate it again as I was back in the forest for the two years at the Orrefors Glass school. I had the fortune to grow up knowing three of my Grand Parents. From them I learned a lot about living and viewing the world, what it was like for them to grew up when they did, and about their challenges and their successes in life and work. They all practiced Common Sense, and did not take anything for granted. I learned that failing is ok, that there are always solutions. You just have to change the question, or change the viewpoint.
Work & Maker Skirt style
Over the years I worked at the drawing table and in the glass studio. As I represented our glass company over the years, both with our glass company Egenart outside Oslo, and with AO Glass in VT, I could not find that great garment that made me feel put together, and look “the part” of my trade. A few years ago, I met with Annika Axelson, and with her and Amanda Nordin’s help I developed the original design, the Maker Skirt: a wrap-skirt that folds in the back, allowing for front pockets. The garment I always wanted. It became The Maker Skirt, for folks at work and play.
Tove by design style.
"Thank you Tove for creating a classic! The Maker Skirt in it’s simplicity, inspired by work wear and free from embellishment is a work of art. There is something reassuringly constant and no nonsense about the Maker Skirt that provides true functionality and crazy hip cool. As reliable as your best friend, you’ll want to get to know the Maker Skirt in every color for every season."
Clare Wool, Line Producer.
Classic. No-nonsense. Workwear-inspired. Functional. Crazy hip cool. Does it get better?
How did I start working together with a company in India?
In 2017 I made a connection with Annika Axelsson in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a long-time fan of her work on sustainable fashion and her brand DEM Collective. Annika spent over 2 decades to develop good relationships like the one in Bangalore, and she is known as one of the first trailblazers on the sustainable fashion platform in Scandinavia, Sri Lanka, and India.
We continue to grow as a newcomer on the sustainable clothing market and today Tove by design operate directly with the production team in Bangalore, India.
Our partner companies are among the leading producers of garments in certified organic cotton, with fair working conditions. Together with them, we represent ongoing efforts towards environmental and social change. As of today, we address 11 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the U.N. We have our own collection, and we custom make sustainable merchandise.
We are driving positive change with our clothes, by providing women centered garments while giving jobs to a fully functioning organic, sustainable, and fair trade production operation. Together we will turn the corner on climate change.
Sales & retail
At the moment we operate in the South End Arts District of Burlington, VT, and do most of our sales online. We are one of the living brands on the ethical textile platform, spreading our classic, no-nonsense, workwear-inspired, functional, and crazy hip cool, garments and products throughout retailers that are sharing the same ethos.
I am especially glad to be one of the brands at The Canvas in NYC where customers can find both the Maker Skirts and the Apron Dresses. Together with this team and all of the other brands at The Canvas, we are bringing a new viewpoint on where to purchase clothes, to the International Retail Table. Every brand here address some of the sustainable development goals.
The Canvas by Querencia started as an initiative to help communities thrive through this uncertainty, with the opportunity to emerge even stronger. As humans, we need to rethink what we buy and how much we need, we need to have a better understanding about where things come from and how they are made, And we should account for the true cost of what we produce. Now is always the time for action.
Please join the conversation at tove@tovedesign and @tovebydesign