"Family Portrait", as we are a small family brand, I thought it would be nice to introduce you to my lovely family. My parents, sister, grandma and our family dog are all being part of it.
For myself, togetherness and the personal touch is highly important, and those are things that my family bring to me. The warmth, hugs and loud laughters. Allowing yourself, to not compromise yourself in the eyes of others, because your family knows you inside-out. I feel that's how the essence of the clothing should be.
A photo of Tom's sister, mum & dad wearing one of the first samples of unisex boxer shorts.
Mum - Una
Mom is the biggest helper with all logistical and administrative things and she personally prepares and hand-wraps each order with utmost care and love. I am always amazed, when I am back home, and I see how much attention goes into just packing each item. From ironing each item, writing a handwritten note, and adding a card, that I personally design for each customer with their name printed on it. Mum is also the one who whose hands hide behind the hand-knitted tom adam jumpers/sweaters. She is calm like a rock standing in the middle of a storm. And it was basically the first time she had knitted that type of sweater and I think that just shows how skilled she is, and at the same time. She always double-checks each customers address, their name, if the right items has been packed and she is by far the most tentative person I have ever met. Even if I am biased, as she is my mum, and I love her a lot.
Ps. Contrary to all other family members, she enjoys to be behind-the-scenes and not in the forefront of the camera, but I think this image already shows a lot of her beauty.
Dad - Andris
Have you seen the Hemingway'esque looking guy in the photos? Yes, that's my dad. I can't count the amount of times, people have told me how cool he is, or the amount of times people have said they'd like to swap dads. The looks don't deceive - he actually is a really nice dude. Always up for adventurous photoshoots and travels. Avid fisherman and sailor, if you hadn't already guessed from his appearance. He walks everyday with his best-friend Benjamin, his slow-living companion and picks up all the plastic he spots either in the streets or the forest. He is the advisor, ambassador and model of the brand. He is always proud to tell people about the brand, either to someone in a ski-lift in Austria or to people sitting at the next table in a restaurant. Always aiming for the peaks of the mountain in everything he does. Definitely, a natural-born talent to be in front of the camera, from his early days when he was going to acting lessons. He had a packaging production & design company for more than 30 years, which has helped me a lot in building the brand. His superpower & biggest joy is to spark a conversation with people.
Grandma - Viktorija
The amount of times she has been mistaken for my mum, would make anyone think she has a secret recipe for a youth elixir. Maybe she does, but that I have yet to find out. She has been a part of majority of our pyjama shoot. When we did the first shoot her hands were trembling, and she was very nervous about all the big flashlights, luckily a small glass of tea and lovely flavours added to it, helped to make her a lot more loose. With each of the next shoots, she has been more and more comfortable with being in the photos and really enjoying it. She is a master of knitting herself and was working in a clothing atelier back in the 80s, therefore she is somewhat the one, who started the whole clothing thing in our family.
Sister - Ieva
You might have seen her in one of the photos of tom ádam and she is always being there to support and help out when feedback is needed. She is a very smart cookie, the academic part of our family, holding degrees in psychology and English literature. Although she is not directly related to the daily operations of the brand, she is always involved in all of our feedback rounds and WhatsApp messages of which colour we should pick for the pyjama.
She consumes more books than anyone else that I know and is absolutely impeccable in her English skills. She has recently started writing a blog about mental health for teenagers (unfortunately, at the moment it's only in Latvian) - https://www.negaissprata.com
I am very happy to have her as a sister and for all the feedback she has given to the brand, especially with the eye for copywriting that she has.
The handsome dog - Benjamin
He exudes coolness and is the epitome of handsomeness.
He wiggles his tail when happy and woofs when stressed. We always try to bring him in the photoshoots, but as the 21st century independent dog that he is, and his busy schedule it's not always that easy. He definitely is the life and soul of the behind-the-scenes of photoshoots. Whether that's just by taking up the whole sofa, wanting to play when the tummy is full, or always willing to head out for a walk come rain or shine. He is definitely one of the best examples of the so-called slow-living. And his beauty routine is impeccable, which doesn't go unnoticed in the photos. I think he knows that himself, so there is no reason to praise it, might just go and give him some snack and hopefully get some cuddles in return.
Friends - too many to list all of them
My friends are such a big part of the brand, as they are the ones who wear tom àdam, are the ones who get to see the newest samples and are always giving very honest and valuable feedback.
They help with easing tension, when there is a big rainy cloud of things to do, or when you are in need of new music for late evenings in the office. Later the music they have sent me gets included in the newest tom àdam music playlist. The honesty, kindness, thoughtfulness, perpetual feedback and always helping hands that they are providing, tom àdam would be very different if they wouldn't be around. I am very lucky and eternally grateful for all the talented friends that I have.
See a photo of myself & Ingmar Bötker (the master of car photography). Taken by the one and only, highly talented - Ulrika Luksevica
If you ever wondered what happens behind-the-scenes, then it's usually this -
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