See the black & white picture on the left of a woman with an uncomfortable smile on her face? That’s me! Sandra Arslanogullari or Sandra Akboga since I am a married woman and I have been since 2005 with two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, Elin and Aren Noah, -three if you count my loving husband :).
I was born into an international family, a Swedish-Finnish mother and a Turkish father. As a middle child, I learned to be a team player early on. Constantly sharing and negotiating between my little sister and big brother, I discovered the art of learning from the old and teaching to the young which served me a great deal in my life and my career. Who says being a middle child is unfortunate?
My obsession with design began as a toddler. As soon as I picked up a pen and paper, -well as soon as my mother gave me a pen and paper, I started to draw. Beginning from circles and nonsense doodles, I moved on to drawing women with dresses designed by me. So when it was time for university, it should not come as a surprise to say that I studied industrial design at Istanbul Technical University.
From designing clothes to furniture, I got a few jobs before landing on a job at Mudo which became my longest and most educational journey. I worked 13 years in retail business doing various jobs from shop window design to interior design, from architectural design to still life design for catalogue shoots. I also changed many titles, such as Designer, Creative Director and
Deputy Head Manager. After working on countless projects and earning hundreds of hours worth experience in retailing, it was time to begin a new chapter in my life and thus began a new brand called 2 Stories.
Over the years I learned a lot about retailing and bringing that knowledge to my own company became a mission, but above it all, what drew me the most was the process of creating; especially creating for our little ones. Because when you pass the business aspects of creating a brand which might sometimes become overwhelming, I believe it is all about loving what you do or doing what you love and 2 Stories is my passion project which I hope will become a lifetime journey for me and for you all.
