Lovisa Cederlöf

Lovisa Cederlöf, Fliseryd

From a full-time tram driver in Sweden's second-largest city to an unemployed homeowner in a small village in the eastern Småland forests, then to a fully booked window craftsman and successful entrepreneur. Does that sound like a crazy, almost made-up story? Yes, maybe – it is certainly not a path that has been trodden by very many others. However, it is the journey that Lovisa Cederlöf has made. 

The journey begins 17 years ago. Lovisa and her boyfriend Johan are expecting their first child and start to feel that life in the countryside is becoming more and more appealing. Johan has his parents in Oskarshamn, so it feels natural to start looking for a house in the surrounding areas. After some time searching, the dream house appears – in Fliseryd. The couple takes the plunge, resigns from their full-time jobs, and moves without having anything more organized than their new home. They say ”it always works out,” and it really did in this case. Lovisa is on maternity leave for a period and then starts working with fine carpentry while Johan gets a job as a floor layer.  

After a few years, Lovisa feels that she wants to do something new and her own. She wants to focus on delivering high quality and avoid feeling pressured to make everything happen quickly. One thing she knows is that she wants to work with craftsmanship. She is, after all, a trained boat builder with a solid background in craftsmanship and would like to continue in that industry. The question is just with what. It turns out that it is dad Cederlöf who has the solution; he comes up with the idea that she should start with window renovation. Lovisa bites and starts doing research to see if there is really a need and basis for starting a business. The pieces fall into place, and in 2014, Kvillens Fönsterhantverk is started. Since then, it has been rolling along, and the calendar is now fully booked with work. There was undoubtedly a need for window craftsmen.  

Lovisa says that she does not regret for a second the decision to become an entrepreneur. She loves to control her own time, follow a project all the way from start to finish, and meet so many wonderful customers. The work itself is versatile; she gets to work with different materials, forge, carpentry, cut glass, and paint. It never gets boring. ”At least not so far,” she says and laughs.  

In addition to working with window craftsmanship, both Lovisa and Johan have a great interest in building preservation, and in 2021 they took over Åbyfors Kvarn, an iconic building in Fliseryd with great cultural and historical value. The plan is to carefully renovate it to its former glory. Perhaps it could become a café or a building preservation shop in the future.   

When I ask Lovisa what the best thing is about living in Fliseryd, I get so many points that I fill an entire page in my notebook. The obvious ones are of course the beautiful environment and the proximity to the river. The fact is that they really have the river close in Kvillen's window workshop. They have actually built a window in the floor, so you can see the river bubbling right under your feet. A creative detail with wow-factor.  

The absolutely most important advantage of living in the village is, however, that it is such a good place for children to grow up. Since they moved here, the number of children has grown and there are now five in the family. Lovisa speaks warmly about the newly built school and the staff, whom she describes as skilled and dedicated. There is an active association life and a good sports hall, which provides good opportunities for children to practice sports on site in the village. She mentions that she is also very satisfied with Mönsterås Municipality, which has a wide range of activities for children to try out, both in sports and culture. “Here, children can participate in all the activities they wish, it is not particularly expensive and there are no problems getting a spot. It is a big difference compared to Stockholm and Gothenburg,” she explains. I ask how the children experience living in Fliseryd. “They absolutely love it,” she says. “They have many friends who live here in the village, and they socialize a lot across age groups. It is wonderful to see that a 10-year-old gets to hang out with the 13-year-olds, for example. I don’t think that happens in the same way in larger cities.” 

Finally, we must not forget to mention one of the village's great assets and an important point on Lovisa's list of advantages of living in Fliseryd – the pizzeria. “They have the world's best pizza,” says Lovisa with a smile. Is that true? Take a trip to Fliseryd and decide for yourself.

Read more about Lovisa's business and projects: fonsterhantverk.se

Text and image: Jenny Svendsby