Story
Gårdisto is a Nordic clothing and lifestyle brand that grew out of the meeting of the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos. Its name combines skärgård and saaristo, the Swedish and Finnish words for archipelago. The family stories behind the brand are united by work done well and a desire to build for the future.
On the founder’s mother’s side, the family’s roots lead back to Vyborg, where they lived before the war forced them to leave their home. Generations later, he meets his Finnish partner in Sweden and finds a new connection to his family’s Finnish roots.
She brings another story of starting over. Her father came from Northern Ireland to Finland and built his life there from the ground up. As the families’ paths cross, their experiences in Sweden, Finland and Ireland are woven into something new.
In the Swedish archipelago, another part of that heritage lives on in a house. The founder’s father and grandfather Rune built it together with their own hands, and it still stands today. Their work remains in its walls, while the story of the house passes to the next generation.
Craftsmanship was part of the family long before that. Rune’s father worked as a carpenter on Bjørnøya in Norway, surrounded by ice, wind and sea. Through the generations, working with their hands has gone hand in hand with a closeness to nature and respect for the power of the sea.
What unites these stories is a belief in work done well and the value of thinking long term. What is built with care can endure, becoming something for the next generation to look after. Gårdisto grows out of that outlook.
That same care is intended to carry through into the clothes, with the ambition of creating garments that stay with their wearers for a long time. The archipelago gives Gårdisto its character, and the people behind the story give it warmth.
The Warm Side of the North
Learn more about our materials and how our garments are made.
Materials and production