How do you guys know each other?

Kalle Tollmar We have been walking close to each other for a long time. But I remember like three years ago when me and Elin [Skogkvist, Kalle Tollmar’s wife and also Creative Director for Aplace] met you [Henok and Kalle G] at Omnipollos Hatt, here at Slussen and we started talking about to a collaboration. If I remember correctly, we talked about Gambian pants and a beer bar?

Henok Fentie That’s right. I have those Gambia pants up in my attic now (laughs).

Kalle T In any case, that was probably the embryo for this beer-meet-fashion collaboration.

Kristian Rajnai We picked up that thread again now, in the beginning of spring. Especially because you have been so excited to launch Hard Seltzer – the beer that tastes like flavored bubble water, but with alcohol in it, that is. When we started talking about collaborating on that launch, we got excited about doing a damn lot of more things. The idea was at first of lesser extent than it became, which in itself is a good thing – it shows that we really got excited about this collaboration.

Kalle Grandin I talked about this with Kristian the other night when when we met evening, but I’m not sure if remember it now… (laughs). We have extremely many points of contact – such as Stockholm and the fashion thing, for example, but I think we are basically quite similar, that we think it’s fun to dip our fingers in different cultural pots and be involved and influence what happens in the city and around.

We see Omnipollo as a cultural project and symptomatic that it is that we get started on lots of different things. Now, for example, we have made this Neophresco Fermented Hard Seltzer, a strange alcoholic water – and that, of course, needs to be celebrated. Then it became a t-shirt which later became a mini collection and a whole pop-up with you at Aplace. As I see Aplace and what you have done before, with the fashion fair +46, an ambitious fashion magazine and now a store – you do your thing but it can also act as a platform for other creatives, designers, musicians and more. One project leads to something else. I feel that we both work more as cultural catalysts, rather than with other business plans. And I find that very inspiring.

Henok’s reaction to this collaboration was also very inspiring. We have a million things to do, it’s Corona and everything feels daunting, but the first thing Henok said was: “But hey, what beer brand makes a pop-up at Aplace? Of course we’ll do it! ” It is usually a good sign when someone reacts in that way – then it’s just to go for it. We all share the same kind of energy. All of you on my little screens here.

Henok When we started Omnipollo, we talked about how we wanted to run it, that we wanted to do things in other areas and contexts. For Kalle it was nothing new, but for me as a beer nerd it was quite far away to do projects in fashion, music, art and other interdisciplinary collaborations. Now it feels completely natural to work that way.

Interdisciplinary collaborations have clearly seeped down into other business and industries as well. Why do you think that is?

Kalle T It is a privilege to be able to follow your heart and do collaborations with people and other companies that inspire you. The effect of it is that the brand gets loaded with that type of value – we become multifaceted and personal. Interdisciplinary collaborations are a way to differentiate and be relevant to the consumer. The effect of doing something together that you believe in builds energy and desire and can in turn create new projects. It is so organic and natural for us.

Kalle G For us, it is very much about a will not to stand still. Henok started Omnipollo at a time when beer was about to develop and become something new. Craft beers were getting bigger in Northern Europe but maybe not in the fun way it could be. Henok’s Omnipollo has definitely made that trip more enjoyable. We do not want to solidify in any particular form,  we want to continue to develop. Omnipollo is not something we started to just let it be – it feels like it is also in Aplace’s DNA, you ARE also a lot of collaborations all the time.

Henok When we do other projects that may not be my or Kalle G’s main area, that is, beer for me and art for Kalle G, it is usually collaborations. We work, for example, with Fredrik Paulsen who makes all our bars, Göran Kling, Indigofera and many more and all that becomes a kind of ecosystem that we’re a part of.

Kristian Our history is really varied, from fashion magazines to fashion fairs. Many ideas and projects has come from meeting and supporting creative people but also finding common grounds. Now we have kind of found our form, we run stores but we also do other same things with the same drive.

Kalle G It is powerful that there are actors who lie between art, commerce, gallery and business, it is something I have always been attracted to. That you dare to change, even though we live in strange Covid times. But when the real thing shines through, it’s when it’s shows that it’s not just business.

What difficulties and challenges have you had during Corona?

Kalle T At first, it was a loss of turnover that happened over a day, it is a challenge and it goes without saying what we need to do. Another challenge on a more humane level is all the concerns that have emerged. We not only have a situation towards customers that we have to take responsibility for, but also many employees who do not work full time – their studies and future prospects have been affected, their second or third job may have been canceled for various reasons. There are lots of challenges in that. We have not had to give notice, but it has required a lot of cooperation from the staff. We have daily contact with customers and in terms of Covid, there is a concern from the staff and to handle it in a good way is completely new. To be as present as you can be at a time when you should not meet, we have not been able to have staff meetings for understandable reasons. It’s a huge challenge.

Kristian We have also tried to find smart and creative ways out of it. In our case, we have embarked on even more collaborations than we usually do that haven’t had any financial incentives but have given us joy and energy to do things that can be talked about in a positive sense. We have not done this much projects in a long time and that is a consequence of the situation.

Kalle T It is fascinating what energy you can get from a tough situation, and for us it has meant that new projects have been born and new collaborations have been made. It says something about how you are when things are getting tough.

How do you feel about the situation, Henok and Karl G? You have quite recently taken over a large church in Sundbyberg where you will brew your own beer and made other major investments.

Henok On March 16, we lost 45 export markets overnight. Everyone came in on a Monday and we didn’t sell any beer. Then you got a feeling of total doom, but that feeling did not last that long. I think that with the crisis also came time for reflection. But for a while I felt like Neo in The Matrix who sees how time is standing still while he’s ducking bullets. All of a sudden we had the opportunity to re-evaluate, say no and focus on what we think is important.

We also run a couple of restaurants where we have challenges that are reminiscent of yours, to make people feel safe – guests of course, but also our staff. There have been mixed feelings, but we have taken advantage by doing research and development, major investments for autumn in a new brewery. A taproom that we go and dream about and the fact that Fredrik Paulsen has two more weeks to work on a drawing is not a bad consequence.

Kalle G With all the challenges we’ve faced, it is easy to think that you should take some time and keep the costs down. But we quickly realized that we will not come back to the same world as we were in last year, but we will definitely come back to a world where we want to be an actor and if we want to do that, we can not crawl into a closet for six months. Our goal is that every time we do a project, whether it’s a new beer, an exhibition, a pop-up with you or a piece of music for a toilet in Tokyo, we want a new version to come out. The whole world is in a mood where everyone knows that times are changing and if you ignore all the terrible things that are happening in the tail of Covid then why not act and make the most of this change. I don’t even know if that is to get out on the other side, but it’s to act in the moment and not just sit around and wait.

What’s happening to local crafts right now?

Kristian From Aplace’s perspective, it has never been as important as now to activate collaborations with smaller actors and creatives, to highlight them in a relatively commercial platform. It gives even more reasons to why you should consume and support something that you want to survive.

Kalle T It is reasonable to assume that the small-scale and local will become more important in this time. What we are experiencing now is that everything in one’s absolute vicinity is the most important thing. You help the old lady across the street to shop and you call your parents one extra time – that’s what you invest the most in right now. And it definitely seeps into how we consume. And what we had before the pandemic with all the sustainability challenges, whether it is production conditions or shipping, of course weighs in. In the small-scale combined with new technology and new innovation, there are opportunities to find a competitive product that is super interesting and relevant.

Kristian Basically, it’s about production all over the world has been stopped, so now you need to find new ways where you can actually get new products that are being produced in Sweden. We are currently working with the clothing brand Diemonde, which makes parts of its production in Laxå, where the factory is also an integration project.

Kalle G I a 100% agree. It is probably a spinal reflex that you use your power of consumption to direct interest towards what you care about. What does it really mean? Well, it’s that little shop on the corner, or the gallery, or the place in Brunogallerian where I buy my clothes or that strange pizzeria that sells good beer. I immediately felt that there are several things that I am sincerely worried that they will not make it and then it is partly entire industries but actually also the restaurant where you can eat that strange little dish that obviously does not benefit from being open and so on – in the same way with the local craft. We and you work with creatives that we admire, I do not know how their terms have changed but maybe that their direct sales have changed. We try to be local but global, we try to sell our beer, we are in Ethiopia and Sweden but then we make a lot of beer in the US and we want it to be sold where it is produced. In the same way, I think that there are many now sitting in Sweden and don’t want the producer in northern Tokyo to go under so you buy stuff to support. There is a global way of thinking about the local.

How does the beer taste?

Henok It is a non-alcoholic beer and what we did was to try to start from an idea that it would feel fresh – that is my and Kalle G’s new slogan when we make Seltzer and non-alcoholic beer, that it should feel fresh, and passion fruit is a very fresh fruit. It is sour but it also has a basic acid that helps to get rid of the vorty taste. Many non-alcoholic alternatives usually taste very sweet and slimy, it is because you do not ferment the sugar to get alcohol. If you add a little acid it can help to get that feeling of freshness.

Kalle T A fresh beer, simple as that.

Henok Acid and bitter cut through fat well, so the beer should be consumed together with a really cheesy pizza. It works less well for a fresh salad.

Kristian Here’s a tip. Come by Aplace Brunogallerian and buy this fresh beer and then you go up to Omnipollos Hatt, 70 meters away and have a fat and cheezy pizza.

What do you hope this collaboration will bring?

Kalle T Joy, if you enter the store or go online, it should be a feeling of exciting, new, nice, fun and good. Positive emotions, and you should go from there with a smile on your face, regardless of whether it is due to a little acidity that sits in the back of your mouth or if you appreciate nice graphic patterns.

Kristian It’s fun that the whole world of Omnipollo jumps into Aplace. It’s beer, rings, blankets, beer glasses, jointly developed merch – it’s not only things you can wear, it’s also drinks and skateboards. It’s totally omni.

Kalle G I like when it’s not that easy to know, that it’s not too clear what you want to say with it. It can easily be connected in a world, in a universe, but it can also be a bit scattered. I love when people see, feel and taste our stuff and fill in the gaps themselves – that you, yourself are involved and decide a little what it is. Arousing people’s curiosity and creativity in thought feels like what’s most important. With that said, I think that a beer pop-up in a clothing store is a good start!

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