Do you want to go to Iceland and die?

In the entrepreneurial center The Innovation House on Eiðistorgi is the Kenyan Grace Achieng with a small office where her fashion company Gracelandic is based. Grace welcomes a journalist who respects full beats of dresses, shirts and co -operations that hang there, all from the finest rawils or linen. The clothes are all designed by Grace, manufactured in Turkey and Romania.

Marriage after three days

When Grace was 25 years old and still lived in Kenya, she met an Icelandic man on a dating site. He then made his way to Kenya to meet her. It was only three days until they got married.

« We really got married without me planning it, » says Grace, telling the story of this quick wedding.

« When he came to Kenya, he began to ask me about the songs about weddings, but I had no idea about them. I asked my friend if he knew something, but he didn't know anything either. He then called me and told me about his friend who worked with the sheriff and pointed out that we could go to him for more information. We met and suddenly we got in a row of people who were getting married. We didn't know it, but when we realized it we looked at each other and asked, « Maybe we should just get married? »  »

« I didn't tell anyone about this in the beginning, not friends or mom and dad. But then we went on a trip and drove home to mom and dad a week after the wedding. Mom was so crazy, ”she says the germ.

« I was shot at him but he didn't know anything, but we were both very impetuous and it was a quick decision. This was in 2010 and Eyjafjallajökull just erupted and my mom asked me if I wanted to go to Iceland and die, ”she says, laughing.

Infound sense at Sauðárkrókur

Three months later Grace flew to Iceland with the new husband and moved directly to Sauðárkrók, his hometown.

« It was very strange to live like this in the countryside. I immediately got a sense of containment and I didn't find myself there. I woke up in the morning surrounded by mountains and fell into the deep valley. The relationship was very difficult, for both of us, but I was not adapting to this rural village, coming from the big city of Mombasa, ”she says.

« People talked around me but I didn't understand Icelandic and it felt rather strange and life was all very difficult. I got a job in fish processing and stayed there for a few months. I just wanted to turn around and go home, but soon I left him and went to Reykjavik. It was easy for me to go out of this regard because I had experienced instability as a child and knew what I wanted. I went to Reykjavik and got help in finding a job because I wanted to be here longer. I did all kinds of low -wage jobs but I wanted to work mostly in the fashion industry because when I was a teenager in Kenya I immediately started business and it liked it. At the age of sixteen, I had collected a allowance that I was supposed to use on the bus and went to the outdoor market and bought clothes and then sold my school sisters. I liked to see how people felt when they got beautiful clothes, ”she says.

« At the University of Mombasa, I had sometimes been working as a stylist to earn some money. So even though I learned marketing, I wanted to work on something related to fashion but did not get a job in that sector. I then went to work in kindergarten and worked there for a very long time but always found something missing. I wanted a challenge and I was fixed; That was not what I wanted to do. « 

Wanted to be part of the solution

« I bought myself a sewing machine and material and started looking at YouTube and Pinterest and all kinds of pages that taught me to tailor, cut and sew. I also went to a course to learn how to put my ideas. I found myself dreaming; that it was just a dream, but at that time I had a small child, « says Grace, who was in cohabitation with an Icelandic man for three years and had with him the daughter Tönja, who is today thirteen years old.

Grace has one thirteen -year -old daughter, Tönja.

« I knew I had to see for myself and my daughter and actually had to win just nine to five but didn't feel good. By 2020, I decided to jump into the deep pool and founded a business because I knew that if I didn't start it, I wouldn't take it seriously. I then founded Gracelandic, ”says Grace, but as early as 2015 she had designed a mini line and brought her clothes to the show; clothes she designed herself and sewed.

« Then I knew I wanted to do this and formally recorded the company in 2020 and started doing market research. This is how I learned more about the fashion industry and about « slow fashion » and found that I wanted to have my fashion that way. I had always been drawing something along my work in kindergarten and then started working with graphic designers who changed my drawings and put on computerized form. At this time, I stopped working in kindergarten, but I got into a car accident and could use some benefits to survive and work on the company. In July 2021, I formally opened Gracelandic on the Internet, ”says Grace, but it is worth noting that she completed a BA degree in Icelandic as a second language. Today, she is studying at Advania and in full master's degree in environmental and natural studies. Grace has tremendous power in Icelandic and speaks a very beautiful case.

Her Grace clothes are made of quality materials, either flax or silk.

« At Advania, I am writing sustainability reports and work in everything related to sustainability and cycle systems. I also work online with Gracelandic and welcome women who want to be fitting. That's enough to do! So I am a board member of FKA, a member of women in the business world. I always enjoy being more than one at a time. « 

« Last year I graduated with BA in Icelandic as another matter. In order to speak well, I felt I had to go to the program because even though there are all kinds of courses and all kinds of openings, they never teach you to speak Icelandic well enough. It was a good way to learn writing, speech and the history of Iceland, ”she says.

Project and performance driven

Grace quickly felt that she wanted to get to know women in entrepreneurship and in business. Someone pointed her to FKA and she applied to become a member.

« I immediately started attending events and it was so fun. People were so open and I immediately got a mentor. I learned a lot in business and marketing to be in this environment and it expanded my horizons, ”she says.

« I met a lot of Icelandic women, but it was also named for women of foreign origin, but it was not active. So I just decided to do something, first we had this platform. I found women and assembled a group and was elected chairman of the committee. Since then, more women have been added and the committee took the flight and is now very active. I am now on the FKA General Board, ”she says.

Grace is here in the festival at the FKA festival. There she now sits on the Board of Directors.

« Although I am now in environmental and natural resources and want to get a job suitable after graduation, I also intend to continue with Gracelandic. I also aim to provide companies with advice on sustainability and life cycle analysis, help them implement sustainable solutions and reduce their environmental impact. I am such a project and successful drive. I want to have all kinds of tasks to work on. My grandfather and my cousins ​​are my role models, but they were very successful and always had many things going on at once, although they came from a very difficult environment and are raised in poverty. They didn't let it stop. I'm the same. I'm open to opportunities. « 

There is a detailed interview with Grace Achieng in the Sunday newspaper Morgunbladid this weekend.