May the 15th, 2024 – The Croatian Linderior brand, at the helm of which stands Sabina Gosarić, has attracted customers from across the pond.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Roksandic writes, when people can’t find a piece of dector or furniture that fits their space perfectly, many give up and simply buy something that is most similar to their own vision, rather than exactly what they envisioned.
When 32-year-old Sabina Gosarić couldn’t find the exact round mirror she wanted, she got the materials and a mirror with a jute rope frame she imagined in her own mind, and just made it herself. That’s how the Croatian brand Linderior came to be.
The young entrepreneur behind the Croatian Linderior brand didn’t just stop at making items. She began to post her own work on Instagram. Other people loved her first mirror, and very quickly she started receiving her first orders through social media.
limited editions
“After I made my first sale, I slowly started making mirrors of different dimensions at the request of various customers. I expanded my selection of ropes and models with new materials and began making asymmetric mirrors. I design and create them in shapes as desired and send them out all over Croatia, the rest of the EU, and occasionally over to the USA.” Gosarić revealed.
Sabina’s entrepreneurial story is modern, because it started on social media, but that also served her for further education. She admitted that starting the production of her mirrors was extremely difficult, because she is a sociologist by profession, and entrepreneurship, as she says, is a path that is thorny and full of challenges. This was especially the case for her because she had never been involved in hand-crafting before and had no previous formal education that would be remotely related to running your own business.
She is one of those who fully embraced all the advantages of the Internet, and she explained that her velvet-framed mirrors exist because she learned how to upholster on YouTube. She’s happy that such a free learning tool exists, because the Croatian Linderior brand would simply not exist if many people, from all over the world, didn’t share their knowledge for free on the popular platform.
She added that those people on the other side of the world posting tutorials on YouTube don’t even know that she has her own brand today partly thanks to them. “Once upon a time, my first association with entrepreneurship was the word freedom, and today I primarily think of a lot of renunciation, and only then freedom and everything else. Throughout the entire period of starting the Croatian Linderior brand, the support of my family and close friends meant the most to me, as did my own faith. Without all of that there would be no brand in this form,” said the entrepreneur.
She opened her own business and launched the Croatian Linderior brand spontaneously four years ago in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. She was supposed to start doing marketing for two restaurants, but as they were closed due to the lockdown, her path took her in a different direction. From the beginning, she has been looking at how to further expand her impressive offer of mirrors.
“On average, I make one new model every four days, and I’m currently working on an exclusive collection that will be available in a very limited quantity. Maybe after some time there will be an expansion of this assortment, but for now the main focus is on mirrors,” said Gosarić.
abundant learning opportunities
Sabina had no previous experience working with something as specific as mirrors, nor did she have any knowledge in how start production. It goes without saying that she knew nothing about the tools needed for cutting and processing. She learned it all on her own and everything earned in the beginning would be immediately invested back into her business. Mentoring and education helped her a lot, because, as she said “the worst thing is when a person doesn’t know what they don’t know”.
“I learned on the fly, I made a lot of mistakes, but today I’m glad that I didn’t wait around for a perfect time for everything to come together and for me to feel completely ready, because then I’d never have started anything more serious than a hobby,” testifies the entrepreneur.
Last year, she managed to sell almost 500 mirrors, regardless of the fact that trends and customer interests are constantly changing. However, she pointed out that the demand for asymmetric mirrors without frames is constantly increasing. This is because they can easily fit into at least one room in almost every home. Sabina uses numerous materials for mirror frames, from cotton, jute and linen, and recently she’s been framing the mirrors with velvet, and black matte metal details have been offered.
She admitted that entrepreneurship is a lonely path full of challenges, but she’s still happy that the free use of various agencies and groups can greatly help young people. At the same time she cites the example of Croatia’s Plavi Ured (Blue Office) which helps people with education and consultations, and she also found a lot of useful advice on social media as a whole.
“There are numerous groups on social media where entrepreneurs come together to each other, and technology centres in various counties can offer free education. At the same time, many entrepreneurial centres are opening with better conditions for the renting out of their spaces.
When asked about her feelings on the position of young entrepreneurs in Croatia today, she said: “Every time in life comes with its challenges, advantages and disadvantages. It’s certain that there’s always room for improvement in order to make the entrepreneurial climate better, but it’s worth getting informed and taking advantage of the opportunities that are already available and relieve yourself at least partially.”
