Just in time for their fifth anniversary, I sat down with Bettina, the founder of German online shop Der karierte Hund. We talked about her background, her passion project as well as easy ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

Please introduce yourself.

Hi, my name is Bettina. I live with my husband, my 19-year-old daughter, a dog, a cat and three chickens in the beautiful Bavarian city Erding. I am the passionate as well as enthusiastic founder and owner of ‘Der karierte Hund’, an online shop for Scandinavian interior design.

When did you launch ‘Der karierte Hund’ and why?

I had many different jobs and responsibilities in the past. They all helped me to create a foundation for what I do now. I worked for several advertising agencies after I had studied American Studies and Sociology as well as Marketing and Advertising Psychology. I also worked as a freelance artist, taught German and English at a Montessori school, to point out a few more. As daughter of an artist and a professor for mechanical engineering I grew up as a free spirit and learned to be creative from an early age. With time I developed a great passion for design, particularly interior design. Der karierte Hund gives me to opportunity to combine and enhance my previous experience and all the skills l acquired over the years. The online shop was founded in 2015. Ever since I’ve been thriving: I enjoy researching new trends, manufacturers and interior designs, mainly from Scandinavia. I never shy away from opportunities to enhance my technical knowledge and learn about the requirements needed for online shop trading.

How does a typical working day look for you?

The world has been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 virus and my business is not running as it normally would. My five years of hard work establishing the business have been thrown into turmoil. My employee is working from home during this crisis which means that I have sole responsibility for all areas of the shop. I compile and pack orders, do the bookkeeping, take photos and make sure the social media channels are up to date. On top of things, my daughter is right in the middle of her A-level exams which is rather demanding for the entire family!

How do you source your products?

I mainly buy and find new products for the shop at interior fairs throughout Europe. I constantly read and inform myself about new trends, designs and new companies. If I select a product, it is because I really admire the design and the idea behind it.

How does a product make it into your online shop? Are there specific criteria you look for in a product?

I think a product should always add value to a home and provide the opportunity to create comfort and a better lifestyle in terms of usability, design and fun factor. All items I purchase for the shop are actually also items I would buy for myself. Unfortunately, our house is not big enough to keep them all. Jokes
aside, the most important criteria for a product to be sold is the way it was made: I only ever purchase an item if it was produced under sustainable conditions. That is exactly why I choose to work with companies who have a proven history of providing fair conditions for their workers, caring for the environment, and working towards a good cause. Also, we’ve been partnering up with a renowned
journalist and author to help ‘Der karierte Hund’ to become an officially recognised sustainable company.

What would you recommend to someone who would like to live a more sustainable lifestyle?

Buy things that you either really need or that make you happy. Pay attention to quality and durability.
We should all be more aware and careful with the way we consume. No matter if that refers to our energy usage, travel decisions or the consumption of meat. Avoid single use products whenever it is possible. They are completely unnecessary, and there are great alternatives. Look at yourself from time to time and find out what your real needs are, and if you realise that there is something you really need, go for it, without regret.

What’s your perfect heiter moment?

Spending time together with my family makes me feel thankful and heiter. My husband and I often go for walks in the forest on the weekend. The forest is a source of energy for me. I can breathe and recharge my batteries, the same happens when I sit in my wild garden. I just adore being outside basking in nature.

Interview: Katharina Geissler-Evans , heiter magazine

Images: Der karierte Hund

Deutsche Version

Interview: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine

Images: Der karierte Hund

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

We’re a family-run Oxfordshire business and we make what we call, “beautiful, guilt-free chocolate”. Guilt-free because it contains no sugar. Instead, we use sustainably harvested, raw, organic honey and work our chocolate at a lower temperature than conventionally done so that we can keep the nutrients intact. We’re passionate about making chocolate that tastes great. We do our homework to make sure that what goes into it is as nutrient-rich as possible, and as close to nature as it can be. Our aim is to get the balance between health and taste right, and we think we do - but don't just take our word for it: try some and let us know!

When did you start The Chicken Shed and why?

Around 2012, we cut out refined flour and sugar from our diet. Instead we decided to choosie natural, unrefined alternatives based on the advice of our friend, raw food nutritionist, Ellie Bedford. She was also the first one who suggested to team up and make chocolate but it wasn’t until I was faced with the lack of refined sugar-free chocolate for Easter that I came up with a recipe for Easter eggs I was actually proud of. Enrico (my husband) and I were up until past midnight making all these little chocolate eggs for our two girls. The next day, my mum (who lives in my home country Belgium) commented that they were the best chocolate eggs she’d ever tasted. I think that was the moment when my passionfor chocolate really kicked - and the dream to turn it into a business arose. Enrico and I realised that we also really wanted to work together, as partners. We sought Ellie’s permission and blessing to go ahead with the idea ourselves and after that we headed to Belgium to learn more about the art of chocolate making. Now involving our girls, we set about developing a range of flavoured bars. We obtained an organic certificate later that year, and started selling our chocolate at our local farmers’ market and events in the area. We slowly started to build up a local customer base of independent businesses. One of the things I love is that we all get involved in the business: If I change something on our website or develop new packaging, and especially when we develop new flavours, all four of us get involved. Our youngest has a particular talent for cooking and baking and is our expert taste-tester. Although Enrico has about 30 years’ experience as a chef, if there’s any doubt over anything taste-related, it’s her word that carries most weight! Our eldest has such a lovely and easy way with people (she is much more confident than I was at her age), so we try to involve her in the sales side of our business.

What makes The Chicken Shed unique?

Our chocolate contains only amazing ingredients. One of the reasons chocolate is generally seen as a naughty treat is because of the sugar it contains. We use honey instead and don’t overheat it, so the enzymes (which are needed for good digestion) remain intact. We use superfoods in all our bars and one of our mottoes is “good for you, good for the planet”.

What steps go into making your chocolate?

Oooh, that’s a bit of a secret! …although there’s a link to a little Youtube video we’ve made showing part of the process. What I can tell you is that we keep the nutrients intact by not overheating the chocolate, and we commit to staying as close to nature as possible with our ingredients.

Where do you get the ingredients you use?

Our cacao is Peruvian Criollo (called the Prince of cacao) and our honey is Zambian, chosen because it’s organic, sustainably harvested (most of the honey is left for the bees) and a source of revenue locally which helps protect from deforestation.

What is your favourite The Chicken Shed chocolate and why?

I especially love our orange bar, sometimes I even spread peanut butter on it. It sounds weird, but it honestly is such a lovely combo. The ginger and cinnamon spice chocolates are particularly nice in the colder months of the year. It really depends on my mood and it’s so very personal.

How does your typical workday look like?

Gosh, it varies. As much as possible, I follow Robin Sharma’s method and try to structure my week so that each day has a different focus. Monday is numbers day, Wednesday is Social Media and press, Thursday is Sales and Friday is creative (Tuesdays are reserved for my more conventional, other job). It has to be said though that the fluidity of life doesn’t always allow me to stick to that but I feel so much better when I do. Another Robin Sharma thing I love is to allow 20 minutes at the beginning of each day to learn something new.

Enrico also has another job working as a chef at an organic farm, so only his days off (Mondays and Tuesdays) are dedicated to business planning (with me) and making chocolate. We do sometimes make time for a breakfast date too though :).

What is your advice to other small business owners?

I can’t remember where I read this, but I completely agree with it: “Accept that you will make mistakes, so make them as early on as possible and learn from them as quickly as you can.” That’s how I like to look at things when they don’t go to plan; it’s a learning opportunity (after the initial melt-down).

Where can people find your products?

On www.thechickenshed.eu where they can either buy directly from us, or at one of our lovely stockists.

How would you describe your perfect heiter (cheerful) moment?

Snuggling up on the sofa as a family; discovering new things and places; and when we get nice comments from customers – building a business does have plenty of tough days and people taking the time to voice their appreciation for what you’re doing really does make a difference to us.

Images: The Chicken Shed Chocolate

Interview: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine

Scandinavian design & sustainability: 'Der karierter Hund'

Chocolate makes us heiter