Today we’d like to introduce you to Astrid Angell.
Astrid, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was always that little girl that fell in love with pretty princess dresses and would use literally any excuse to dress up. I became in love with that feeling that you get when you put on something that makes you feel beautiful, strong and powerful. With a love for fashion, I started going to school for fashion marketing in Portland, Oregon where I grew up. I worked various retail and barista jobs for many years while also being a student. I was lucky enough to be shepherded into the world of vintage dresses and specialty shops by mentors who taught me the mechanics of owning a successful, inspiring business. As I began creating the shop that is now Ástríðr, my mother passed away in May of 2020. My lifelong affinity for frills and florals connected me not only to my power as a young girl and woman but also to my mother, who helped me translate my inner beauty and strength to my outer expression. In keeping with this gift that my mom bestowed on me with her support and guidance. I launched Ástríðr on Mother’s Day of 2021, then in August of the same year, I relocated in Los Angeles for my husband to pursue a career in film.
Ástríðr now operates as a weekend pop-up shop at various flea and market events around the greater Los Angeles area and an online shop during the week (hopefully a brick & mortar store in the coming years). Ástríðr hopes to instill others with a light and power all their own. The guiding principle of Ástríðr is that the right dress can help someone unlock the confidence to help meet the day on their own terms.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge that I’ve personally had to face when starting my shop was my mom passing away literally only a few months after I had started working on my business plan. My shop hadn’t opened yet, but I was working on launching in the following year. This only pushed me even harder to pursue my dream of owning my own shop, as it was something that my mom would have always dreamed of for me.
Relocating from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, California was a journey for my shop as well after only being open online for a few months. I was also diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in August of 2022, which temporarily put my shop on hold as I dealt with various health issues that were coming up with my chronic illness diagnosis.
We’ve been impressed with Ástríðr, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Ástríðr is an online and pop-up clothing boutique that seeks to encourage people to reframe and reclaim their perceived delicacy as a source of great strength. Our aesthetic is populated by timeless antique-inspired silhouettes, colorful floral embroidery, and plenty of drape and frill. The guiding principle of Ástríðr is that the right dress can help someone unlock the confidence to help meet the day on their own terms.
Our tagline is “defiantly delicate.” What does this mean? Embodying what it means to be defiantly delicate is the heart and soul of Ástríðr. Dresses, embroidery, drapery and the like have often been associated with ideas of feminine frailty. It looks pretty yet breaks easily. Ástríðr exists to resist these ideas. For me, the right dress with the right embroider or the right fit that lays on my body just so becomes a suit of armor that allows me to meet the world on my own terms, with confidence. Delicacy, by definition, describes something of fine craftsmanship, quality and structure that can stand the test of time. The goal of Ástríðr is to provide beautiful garments that meet these standards of craft at a price that’s affordable everyone.
I’m Finnish and have always been very inspired by traditional Nordic design. So I wanted to have a name for my shop that was derived from those roots. Ástríðr is the Scandinavian Old Norse version of my name “Astrid.” I decided to name the business Ástríðr because it means “divine strength” and “beautiful goodness,” two things that coincide with our phrase “defiantly delicate.”
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That I am basically a one women show! Sometimes (and I think this is very common for small business owners) customers assume that my shop is a lot bigger than it is. Well, it’s just me and my husband who assists with my photography. Literally every time I have a sale, I still do a little jump of joy because those little sales really do help. That’s why it’s so important to shop small business!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopastrior.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopastrior/
Image Credits
Photos by Sean May & Celina Kenyon
