Back in 2020, I launched Breg Design Co, my Slovenia-inspired Apparel business. I wanted to create designs that were the antidote to the cliché, overly-cute, “sLOVEnia” aesthetic – all love hearts, flags and dragons, (excuse me while I go and throw up.)

I knew there were far more interesting and original elements of Slovenia that would look good on a T, and those were the things I wanted to put on my shirts.

Turned out, it was the worst possible time to start a business. After months of designing, sampling prints and finding a shop to sell them, I had proudly hung the first shirts in a tiny café in Ljubljana. A week later, Coronavirus hit and that café (along with most of the world) closed its doors.

Nevertheless, I persevered. After Covid had run its course, I found more places to sell, created more designs, and slowly built a network of retailers around the country.

It was a period of great learning: highs included the time I made a delivery to a new shop, and within five minutes of hanging a shirt outside, a man had bought it.

Slovenians seemed to like what I was doing, and the Slovenian media were intrigued too; I was interviewed by the main daily broadsheet, filmed for the 6-o-clock news, and even featured in a TV documentary about The Human Fish because of one of my designs.

It wasn’t all good though. I had underestimated how much work it would be to run quality control, pack and deliver shipments, plus keep track of sales, invoices, and (often very late) payments, from multiple small retailers. Yet despite the often-annoying admin side, I met many great people, including the guys at HotelONE66, who I continue to have a relationship with to this day.

Since 2020, Breg Design Co. was always running in the background but I had focused little more energy on it. Until now.

Now, six years after launch, Breg Design Co. is back. The core concept remains: to create original Slovenia-inspired designs celebrating the culture, cuisine, language and landscape of a country I fell in love with. And every design has a story behind it, told for all to read. So, what’s changed?

• I have completely rebuilt the Breg Design Co. website, making it easier to browse designs, change colours, and explore the range
• I have switched suppliers to offer a greater range of items, and ship across the world with items printed as locally as possible
• New embroidery line launched
• New ‘Koper Cargo’ design released
• New ‘Šiška Republic’ design released
• All t-shirts now have an inner ‘Breg Design Co’. label print, elevating each item
• Logo changed from the ‘axe and hut’ design to the trademark ‘Triglav Stripe’, a much better (and prettier) symbol of Slovenia

So, if you love Slovenia, check out the new website, the new garments, and the new designs. And there are more on the way. Sign up for the Breg Design Co. newsletter if you want to be the first to know about new and limited drops.

And please do let me know what you think of the new site, the new designs and what designs and items you’d love to see in future, in the comments below.

Hvala vsi!