The founder of Eldvarm, Louise Varre, sat down with Authority Magazine as part of their “Power Women” interview series. Discover Louise’s inspiring story and experiences firsthand navigating the complexities of work, love, and life.
You can also listen to the full interview with Louise on Authority Magazine’s website.
Power Women: Louise Varre of Eldvarm On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman
An Interview With Ming Zhao
Published in Authority Magazine – May 24, 2022
The number one thing is sleep and it really is my Achilles heel as I have trouble sleeping. It is the first one to go when I am stressed, and then it just becomes a vicious cycle. A lot of my scheduling now involves making sure I get enough sleep… no more 6 am flights if I can avoid it!
How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.
As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Louise Varre, founder and CEO of Eldvarm.
Swedish entrepreneur Louise Varre founded Eldvarm in September 2014, after spotting a gap in the market for beautiful, functional fireplace accessories. Today the collection of fireplace accessories, furniture and decorative objects is sold by exclusive retailers in more than 30 countries, with the US the biggest and fastest growing market. Louise lives in Paris with her two teenage sons.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?
I have a Swedish mother and Norwegian father and I grew up moving between both countries. Like most Scandinavians we lived close to nature, spending winters in the mountains and summers by the coast. We travelled a lot in Europe by car, visiting friends and family, and I grew up with a strong sense of being European. My family is an extroverted, entrepreneurial one, with large convivial dinners paired with loud discussions, earning us the nickname “the Italian family”. After finishing high school, I left Sweden for Italy and then spent the next 16 years moving around Europe, living in France, UK, Germany and Spain. As a result, I speak seven languages and feel truly European, but of course with a very strong Scandinavian heritage.
Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?
My career path has had many twists and turns, but now I can look back and see the line connecting all the dots. I have always worked in marketing and international sales, very often as an independent consultant. For many years, I had a yearning to make my own products, never imagining that one day it would be fireplace accessories.
In the early 2010s I was working as an interim Marketing Manager at a fireplace company. During those years I was often asked where to buy beautiful fireplace accessories and it became clear to me that people had trouble finding these. As I started researching, I realised that there was a real lack of beautiful, functional and high-quality fireplace accessories. It was at this moment I decided to launch my own brand — Eldvarm.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Learning about production has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding parts of my career. It was a world that was completely new to me, and I had no idea about its complexities. As an example, for our fireplace tool set, we use more than 10 different suppliers for the various steps of the production, all with varying lead times and minimum order quantities. I often joke that it was a good thing that I went in as naively as I did, because if I had known how difficult it would be in the early days, I am not sure I would have dared to take the leap!
Understanding more about manufacturing has really made me appreciate what it takes to create well-made products, especially when you take durability into consideration. I am so proud of the craftsmanship that goes into creating Eldvarm products and visiting the small European production ateliers, smelling the wood or watching them hand-stitch the leather, is one of my favourite things to do.
You are a successful business leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I have grit when things get tough. If it’s particularly overwhelming, I may start with a good cry, letting it out of my system. But then I put my helmet and kneepads on, and I face whatever the issues are head on. By focusing on the things I can impact rather than the ones that are beyond my control, I push through until I am on the other side. This tenacity has been particularly useful in setting up the production process which took several years to perfect.
Since I was little, I have had an innate trust that I will land on my feet, even if I might take a tumble or two on the way. I don’t know if this is something I was born with, or how I was raised, but for as long as I can remember I have had it. It does not make me fearless, but it has definitely helped me take some big leaps such as starting a company with no money while a single mum to two small kids, and with no plan B.
I have always been a people person, very interested and curious, loving to make new connections. This has been very helpful when establishing my own business, from a spark of an idea to now production across Europe and retailers worldwide. A lot of this has been created by seemingly random connections, where chatting to somebody in the seat next to me on the plane has led to an introduction to a new client or sparked a new idea.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?
In my opinion people are generally uncomfortable when we do not act according to the expected behaviour of our gender. So, when women are strong, passionate and take the lead, it can be confusing for some and they may even feel threatened by it as it challenges the patriarchy.
Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?
I am naturally quite assertive and direct — I prefer to be open and transparent to get things done. There have been times when this has been misconstrued as being aggressive and “bossy”. In the past I often felt the need to continuously apologise for these qualities and felt embarrassed by them. This loop became a little bit of my own glass ceiling, but over the years I realised that these characteristics are my strengths and I lean into them. As long as I come from a place of generosity and kindness, I see no need to apologise for who I am.
What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?
In my opinion, the person who is uneasy must work on their own biases, it is not the responsibility of the “powerful woman”. Her responsibility is to live her truth and shine.
What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?
This is a very complex issue and I think there is so much work to be done. I try to focus on aspects where I feel that I can have an impact and one area is women’s need to apologise for offering their opinions. I see it so much in the young women who join my company, and I have jokingly banned the use of “sorry” in the office. (I really love Maja Jovanovic’s TED talk on this subject.) I want these talented young women to embrace who they are and take up space, unapologetically. If we are comfortable in our own skin, I think society will start to be as well.
In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?
Yes, I agree with you and many of my female friends and colleagues have experienced this. Personally, I have been lucky and this has not been part of my story. I guess this is partially due to not having worked for large male-dominated corporations as well as the many great managers I have had throughout my career.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
One of the issues I have been reading up on lately is the very uneven distribution of domestic workload, which still very heavily falls on the shoulders of women and especially those women who are mothers. If a family is lucky enough to be able to outsource many services, it is still almost always the woman who is the Project Manager of the entire household. I don’t see many men sitting in a meeting suddenly worrying if their kids have costumes for Halloween or if they signed up to the parent teacher conferences. Women constantly juggle the two jobs simultaneously, which takes up a lot of brain bandwidth and energy.
Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?
I think it has been the other way around for me, fitting my business and career into my personal and family life. I always wanted to have children, and even if I never stopped working, I worked a lot less during the early years of my sons’ lives. Yes, it was not great for my career or salary, but I feel I truly enjoyed those few years with them. My grandfather, who was a successful entrepreneur, always regretted missing so much of my mother and aunt’s childhoods, and I wanted to make sure I did not.
When I launched, Eldvarm it was trickier to integrate the two parts, as getting the company off the ground required so much time and effort. But somehow, as I truly love what I do, I have managed to combine work life and personal life in many aspects. My kids come on work trips, and many people I work with have become friends. So, I think my personal secret sauce at this stage of my career has been blurring the lines between what is personal life and work life.
What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?
I was very close to my younger brother Gustaf who passed away unexpectedly a few years ago. This life-changing tragedy marks my timeline with a clear distinction of “life before” and “life after”. Losing him really reframed what matters to me and I have become much better at not sweating the small stuff. When I feel stressed about “managing it all”, I remind myself that I am alive, I am in the arena and I am living the life I chose for myself. This immediately rebalances me and makes most issues seem smaller and a lot more manageable.
I have also realised that the perfect balance I was looking for was a unicorn, it just did not exist and chasing it left me constantly feeling that I was failing. I now manage my expectations and I am much kinder to myself. If I am very busy at work, it is ok that the house is a mess and that we eat take away for a week.
I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?
Beauty is one of Eldvarm’s core elements so obviously a topic I have spent some time thinking about. In my opinion, if you look at beauty as a source of joy, or even soul-enriching, it can add a lot of value. But if on the other hand you are using it to be accepted or loved, it can be very toxic and damaging. We only need to look at the younger generation looking to social media as a beauty standard to see just how damaging it can be.
Beauty for me is not per se superficial and it can take many forms, from a conversation to food, music and art. And of course, nature being the most beautiful of them all. Eldvarm makes beautiful products, I like to live in a beautiful home, and I absolutely love well-made clothes and jewellery. Wearing beautiful items puts me in a joyful mood and boosts my energy, which can be needed on a day when you must make tough decisions.
How is this similar or different for men?
It goes without saying that it is very different for men — just look at how female politicians are judged on their wardrobes. But on the other hand, men often have less freedom to express themselves, and a narrower scope to express their personality through beauty and fashion. Luckily, I feel things are changing, for all genders, and I am very excited about it.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
I try to empower myself by choosing things that give me energy rather than drain it.
- The number one thing is sleep and it really is my Achilles heel as I have trouble sleeping. It is the first one to go when I am stressed, and then it just becomes a vicious cycle. A lot of my scheduling now involves making sure I get enough sleep… no more 6 am flights if I can avoid it!
- The well-being of my children is at the top of the list as well. As the saying goes “you’re only as happy as your least happy child”, I find this to be so true. When my kids are happy and healthy, it is a lot easier for me to be present, show up for myself and in my work at Eldvarm. Their happiness is of course out of my control in most cases, so there are a lot of tough lessons in exercising power in focusing on the aspects I can control rather than those I cannot.
- I believe strongly that there is a special magic that happens when we experience meaningful connections with others, so it is something that I prioritise in my life. I am very close to my mother and sister whom I speak to almost every day and I am lucky to have a large group of strong female friends. A great wide-ranging conversation, personal or current affairs, energises me and makes me feel alive. I also love a random conversation with a stranger, where you can learn new things about yourself and others. This passion for human connection comes to play in my work at Eldvarm as well — we aren’t just a fireplace accessory brand but rather a brand focused on the connection and shared moments that being around a fire brings families and friends.
- I also get energy from learning new things, from travels, exhibitions, books, or podcasts. I am innately curious and love seeing things from new perspectives and making unexpected connections. In my experience you never know what can spark a new idea for a product or solve a problem, it often comes from the most unexpected sources.
- My appreciation for nature has grown over the years, not only can it be a place for recharge, but I find so much inspiration in its beauty. I love all kinds of landscapes, but I am happiest by the sea, which I love no matter the weather. A walk by the sea on a rainy windy day cleanses the soul in my opinion.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I’d love to meet Christine Lagarde who is the current President of the European Bank and was previously the head of IMF. She has been a trailblazer in an incredibly male-dominated world, all while keeping such poise and integrity. I believe that she has an amazing bird’s-eye view of the world and current affairs, and I think that I could learn a lot from a lunch with her.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
This interview was originally published in Authority Magazine.