First members were the Woodstock company and the Desna hemisfera design studio. They joined forces to open a business in the centre of Ljubljana, where new ideas are being born. Other brands decided to join and a pleasant store was created, where friends each put their brand on offer. They wanted to offer Slovenian products with a special design and quality of manufacture, and a story they could tell to the market. And – most importantly – all products are made in Slovenia. In the beginning, the store sold Slovenian products which achieved success through the Kickstarter crowd-funding platform, but now numerous other products are available as well.

"We believe this is just the beginning of our entrepreneurial journey, and we still face various obstacles on a daily basis. In our opinion, some of the main problems when starting a business are the high monthly operation costs, unfavourable business environment, general situation regarding loans in the banking sector, and the size of the Slovenian market," said the representatives of Brands of Friends.

Brands of Friends is more than a store – it includes a design studio and production facilities, and offers opportunities to micro-enterprises that are just starting on their entrepreneurial paths. It's a place where ideas can grow and people can exchange their ideas and experiences. The owners are aware that all beginnings are tough, and the question of whether you will make it or not holds everyone back. However, to everyone who thinks of becoming an entrepreneur they give advice to build a team because they will not be able to do everything by themselves.

For now, they cannot say what they would have done differently. They told me that maybe I should ask this in five years. Until then, their message to everyone, whether young or old, who is at the start of their business path is to believe in their idea, harmonise their goals and keep in mind that success does not come overnight. It takes a significant amount of work.

What are Brands of Friends' plans for the future? "To become a recognized brand of high-quality and well-designed local products. For now, we are focused on the Slovenian products, but in the future we might expand to some of the foreign markets." They hope their store in Ljubljana is the first in a line of stores that will support local micro-industries. The Brands of Friends store is a long-term project, which also has an online store.

Polona Prešeren, Sinfo