There are some theories about love and relationships which say that over time, partners tend to become alike.  Justyna Dąbrowska and Przemysław Kościelski must be strong supporters of that idea. They have decided to fit in with the expectations of the couples that want to become similar in a very important aspect of daily life, namely the underwear. They created underpants made and sold in sets composed of knickers and boxer briefs with the same pattern.

“It all started with a photo I spotted on the internet, showing a couple in underwear with identical patterns” – recollects Justyna. ”I liked it very much and started searching for such underpants for couples in online shops. It turned out that nothing of that sort could be bought in Poland.  I noticed that other web surfers were as much enthusiastic about such underwear as I was.   Przemek also embraced the idea. In the end we came to a conclusion that since we wanted to buy such underpants but were not able to, we could try to make them ourselves.”

Clothes for two was a new idea. That is why it took them almost a year of preparations and hard work before they launched the shop Spokomajty.pl.  The underlying question that Przemek and Justyna had to learn to answer was “how do you make underpants?”   As always, the internet proved to be an invaluable source of information. After a review of the websites on the subject they went out to visit the sewing companies located nearby to gain practical information and tips on underwear making.   

“It soon transpired that finding the right sewing company was not an easy task, because many of them had little experience in that scope.     We finally selected a sewing firm from Stargard. While it was working on the right cut, we were searching for the right fabrics.  We started with cloth shops but it soon turned out that the appropriate materials could not be found in Szczecin.   And so, we set out to Łódź - the Polish clothing Mecca.” – they recollect.

This is where they found a manufacturer that offered fabrics of the appropriate quality, with the right composition and patterns to their liking.  Loaded with samples, they returned happy to Szczecin and launched trial production.   “We were our first testers. We wore those underpants, washed them, showed them to our friends – we took all efforts imaginable to make them wearer-friendly. It may be that men are less demanding, because boxer briefs were OK from the start and only knickers for women required certain modifications.   Ultimately we managed to accomplish what we set out to do: we obtained underpants that were at the same time comfortable, practical, funny and of good quality – our cool spokomajty.”   

When the model products were ready and the sewing process was underway, they focused on sales and marketing activities. From the very beginning the plan was to set up an online store.  A graphic designer friend designed the website, logotypes and funny stickers that are enclosed to the sets and given out in the city to promote the products. Even before the store was active spokomajty became visible in social media. “We wanted to become known, arise interest, we wanted to tempt and intrigue” – says Justyna.   “Our target group primarily consists of young persons between 14 and 30 years of age, so we need to be in the swim and go where they go.”       

Justyna Dąbrowska took it upon herself to find out what is in and what is hip these days.   Spokomajty cropped up on specialized internet portals and website forums.   Promotional underwear sets were also sent out to the most popular fashion bloggers.    “The response we received was very positive – the majority of persons were enthusiastic about our idea, which served as a good motivator for us” – say the owners of Spokomajty.pl.

Finally, the website became active at the beginning of February.   One can view and order from it an underwear set for a couple in 11 patterns.  The creators act as models for the underpants shown in the photos on the website. “We wanted to cut the costs, but modelling was not an easy task” – they say. A funny story accompanies each pattern, the underwear is sent to buyers in specially designed paper bags together with logotypes and stickers.  Everything has the same a bit retro style.

The first series consisted of 130 sets,  and 20 of them were sold over less than a month.  “The interest in our products peaked right before the Valentine’s day. It seems to have cooled off now, but we plan to invest in advertising, primarily over the internet” – explains Przemek.  “We were making efforts to limit the costs and ultimately, starting up our online business cost us several thousand PLN.    These outlays are bound to pay off when we sell the first batch.”

Przemek and Justyna are bursting with ideas for the future.  “We are going to introduce new cuts and new patterns.  The ideas will be our own, we also plan to cooperate with a graphic designer.   Our aim is to promote the products and increase the sales volume. We want to create a recognizable brand.  And - of course – we want every pair to have their own two pairs of spokomajty.”
ŁP