Brooklyn-based children’s clothing line, Kallio was founded in 2012 by Karina Kallio with a vision to create a kid’s brand that is fun and playful, while being respectful of our environment. Kallio is changing how we look at clothing, taking clothing from a previous generation and re-imaging it for the next. We caught up with Karina to learn more about her fashion-forward, forward-thinking clothing line.

Where are you originally from?
I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. I moved to the States about 10 years ago to work in the fashion industry here.

Where do you live in New York City?
I live in Williamsburg Brooklyn. I have lived here for six almost seven years.

What brought you to New York City?
When I moved to the states, I moved to Columbus Ohio. It was a terrific experience, but being a city girl at heart I knew I would end up in New York at some stage. I ended up staying in New York because I met my husband here and now it is home. So the short answer is for love. 

Where did you work prior to Kallio?
I worked at large brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch, in men’s wear and women’s. I started as a product designer and then ended up in trend and concept design.

How did you develop the idea for Kallio?
Wow where to start…
I would shop a lot for vintage for my job and found these massive warehouses filled with vintage and used clothing. At the same time I started to research what really happens to all the clothes that we discard and came to understand that the vast majority ends up in landfill. What a huge waste! So I started Kallio as a counterpoint to the excess of mass market and to address the problem we have in how we view clothing as disposable. I wanted to create a brand that was focused on reuse and local production to support jobs here in the area in which I live and work. I was a menswear designer and loved the quality of men’s shirts and this spurred the idea for Kallio. A sustainable brand that re-imagines men’s shirts for the next generations fashions.

Where did the Kallio logo come from?
I asked the kids in my life (nephews, nieces, friends’ kids) to submit their drawings and asked them to write the word Kallio. From these submissions my friend, graphic designer and exceptional photographer, Dan McMahon turned the submissions into the Kallio logo. It includes a little of all the kids that have inspired Kallio. I love how playful and free it is.

How did you decide on developing a children’s clothing line?
I love how playful and fun kidswear is. It doesn’t need to play by the old rules that you see in men’s or women’s clothing. Also, I like that there is a connection between the generations from menswear to kidswear.

Do you see yourself expanding to include adults?
I get many requests for women’s and some of the dresses I have sold to women as tops. So there is definitely an opportunity for Kallio to expand into the women’s market.

How big is the team? Who is responsible for what?
The team is the total sum of me. Well that is not true. I have amazing group of people helping out with Kallio. The women who sew the garments together are based in the NY garment center. Then there are my trusty interns. The amazing Dan McMahon who does all the amazing photography and lookbooks. My incredible friends Azra and Kin Ying Lee who help in what ever capacity they can from cutting shirts to developing a calender to keep me on track. The amazing kids who model for Kallio and their parents. My friends and customers help with their constant and helpful feedback. My Mum even traveled all the way from Australia to help me cut my first production run. So, Kallio actually has a big team.

What did you want to do when you grew up?
An orchestra conductor. And a kindergarten teacher. Ha, that’s funny to think about.

What was your favorite activity as a child?
I loved going to rhythmic gymnastics. My other pastime was roller skating around the neighborhood and then going to my best friend’s place and eating Nutella.

You work a lot with men’s dress shirts, are there any other staples you regularly look for and work with?
I work mainly with men’s shirts, dress shirts and casual shirts, and winter over shirts. There are so many choices in fabrics, patterns and colors used in shirts that are excellent quality, so there is plenty to work with. When I go on a sourcing trip there is always something that catches my eye and I like to experiment and try new things.

Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?
We don’t have any pets, but at the moment we are dog sitting Ina she is a gorgeous sweetheart of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She is the cutest little dog, even though she is 10 years old she is so playful and chilled all at the same time.

Where does your inspiration come from?
One of my biggest inspiration comes from great quality vintage design, some pieces I have are from the early 20th century and they are just beautiful and as relevant today as they were when they were made. I hope that people will be able to say the same about Kallio in over 100 years from now.

So, what’s next for a Kallio?
There are so many ideas about what’s next. Presently we are working on growing the brand as a sustainable kids wear brand that Upcycles. I would like to grow slowly and ensure that it has a strong foundation. So that is the immediate future for Kallio.

Check out the Kallio website and follow their updates on facebook and twitter!

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