Ekla: The Baby Blue Dream I Once Built

On duality, courage and the space that gave me my voice

I didn’t just open a lifestyle boutique in 2020. I built a world—and then watched it change me.

The first time I turned the key and unlocked the doors to Ekla, it felt like stepping inside my own dreams—the dreams I’d been sketching in my head since I was a little girl.

The word Ekla meant nothing—until you walked in. I wanted the space itself to give the word meaning.

Back then, I used to imagine becoming a designer, opening a boutique, creating a space where women could feel alive and inspired. Years later, there I was, unlocking the doors to a place I had dreamed into existence—a dream that finally had walls. It was magical, like coming home after being gone for a long time.

Every morning I’d make myself an almond milk latte, sip it under those baby blue walls, and breathe it all in. It was la vie en bleu.

Ekla was never only about the perfect baby blue shade or black-and-white floors, or the carefully curated racks of fashion and art I handpicked with intention. It was about the duality I’ve always carried inside. Softness and strength. Elegance and fire. Fragile, but also brave. I wanted to pour all of it into one place, to build something that reflected not just what I loved, but who I was.

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And I didn’t do it alone. Daniela—my business partner, my yin to yang—was there every step of the way. Without her, none of it would have been possible. She is one of the most important people in my life, and even now, years later, that bond is part of what I cherish most from those days.

We spent hours unpacking before Ekla opened—boxes everywhere, dresses waiting to be steamed, tags to place. Always with a bottle of wine on the counter and music playing in the background. And even after the doors opened, those nights never really stopped. We’d stay late, sipping wine, debating what to buy next, planning new experiences, still placing tags as new orders arrived. It was work, yes, but it felt like play—two women building a world of their own.

Two women, one dream.

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I’ll never forget the first woman who walked into Ekla. I could see it instantly in her face—she got it. It wasn’t just the clothes, it wasn’t just the space. It was the way everything collided to whisper: you are worthy, you belong here.

It was an atmosphere, a state of mind. Inside, Bossa Nova covers played on repeat, while rituals unfolded—lattes arrived with “ekla” dusted in cocoa, because details matter. Women slipped into Asceno silks, imagined their boldest selves in Kiki de Montparnasse lingerie, reached for the quiet strength of The Line by K basics, or dreamed of setting their tables with Mario Luca Giusti glassware.

And everywhere you turned, the art of Masha Yankovskaya didn’t just hang on the walls—it stared right back at you. Women naked and burning with fire. Femininity at its fiercest.

At Ekla, even breakfast came with a point of view.

And always, wine. Red, white, sparkling—glasses set on blue tables, catching the light, elevating every conversation. Women lingered longer than they planned, laughing over rosemary cashews, charcuterie boards, artichoke dip. It wasn’t just about retail—it was about what you could feel. About enjoying life’s simple pleasures. About girlfriends sinking into blue velvet chairs, unwilling to leave.

Women came not only to sip a glass of wine but to spend time—to talk, to laugh, to plan their lives at those tables.

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From day one, the terrace outside Ekla was alive with energy. Mornings meant Ekla Wellness, afternoons of Ekla Power Talks, and some nights turned into acoustic sessions that filled the space with music. Fashion, wine, art, and conversation—all stitched together into a lifestyle you could step into.

Those moments taught me that style isn’t only in what we wear. It’s in the details we return to every day—the morning coffee we can’t live without, the way we decorate our homes, the song we play on repeat, the wine we pour, the way we choose to travel. Life’s simple pleasures? Aren’t really simple at all. They are the heartbeat of who we are.

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Ekla may have closed its doors, but it never really left me. Because Ekla lives in me. It lives in how I dress, how I travel, how I sip wine, how I write these stories. It lives in the way I curate my life the same way I once curated that boutique—carefully, confidently, unapologetically.

Ekla was never just about the aesthetic or four baby blue walls. Ekla was me. She still is.

Looking back now, I see it clearly: Ekla was the beginning of my voice, my vision, my power. It was the start of me stepping fully into who I am now—my first bold step toward living from my soul, trusting my intuition, choosing courage over fear. Ekla proved that I could dream something into existence and then watch it come alive. Proof that I could create something bigger than myself.

Ekla was the seed. Sips & Voyage is the bloom.

Because everything starts with a dream. And maybe this is your reminder: the life you want is already waiting—you just have to be brave enough to open the door.

Sip chic. Dress bold. Travel always.

—N

Sometimes, the most important things we build are not the spaces themselves, but the versions of ourselves that step out of them.

Yes, Ekla had its own chocolate. Because why not?

The art of kissing—love, too, is part of the lifestyle.

The night the terrace became a stage.

The dream.