Work here, live outside
Tierra’s staff have many reasons for being here, but they all share the most important one — a love of the outdoors.
Jim Bakerød | Brand Manager
Like many other Norwegian families, we had a cabin in the mountains. No matter the season, we’d spend almost all our free time there, exploring. I could be out in nature alone all day, sometimes returning to the cabin only in time for bed. In more recent times I’ve enjoyed nature through climbing, skiing, hiking and backcountry skiing—while also trying to inspire two children to be outside and enjoy nature as much as I did. We try to get away to climb or camp in the mountains as often as possible.
I started in the outdoor industry in 2003, working part-time in a sports shop in Trondheim, Norway. The following year I moved to South Africa to study and enjoy that beautiful country, where my love for climbing was born. For the next 17 years I worked at several positions for various outdoor brands. This broad experience has delivered great knowledge and understanding of what’s required to identify and position outdoor products.
Working at Tierra, I’m incredibly impressed by the quality across the company’s entire product range. Finding the best solutions for each garment without losing focus on their function, lifespan or environmental sustainability can only happen because of the team’s collective experience in climbing, skiing and outdoor life—guaranteeing that consumers can trust our products.
Lisa Turdell | Product Developer
You could almost say I was born into Tierra. Growing up in Norrland, Sweden, you were allowed to be exactly who you wanted—as long as you spent time in the outdoors. It was literally the only important thing.
The most visible brand among my family was Tierra—as it had been since the company’s first Gore-tex golf apparel appeared in the mid-80s. That clothing was re-sewn so that, among other things, the pants acquired snow gaiters and were then used extensively for many seasons on our home mountain, Dundret, as well as in the Alps.
One of the most enjoyable things I know is backcountry skiing—but I also enjoy the sea along the west coast. Since salt water and backcountry skiing are difficult to combine in the Stockholm area where I now live, there’s plenty of walking, some running, crossfit and yoga when I'm at home. The most important thing for me is to move and spend time outdoors. If I don't, I almost go crazy.
The great thing about working at Tierra is that we have a lot of free reign to test, play and experiment in our own way. This is also why I believe that what we do is as good as it gets. The best challenge imaginable is to make quality clothes that have as little environmental impact as possible—whether through material choices or longevity. That’s often difficult, but also a lot of fun.
Linda Norlund | Design Technician
I grew up with one foot in Stockholm and the other in the forests of Västerbotten. I get energy from spending time in nature. Sitting by one of the Vindel River’s many rapids and just looking at the surroundings brings me pleasure.
Through my family, I learned you had to take care of things, repair or restore, be resourceful and come up with creative solutions. You should always have a spare part in your back pocket because you never know when you’ll need it. That experience has served me well in my career choice.
After discovering an aptitude for pattern-making in a high school tailoring course, I studied at the University of Textiles in Borås to become a Design Technician. Seeing a garment that doesn’t quite reach its full potential in terms of comfort, freedom of movement or fit makes my brain start seeking solutions. It’s a rewarding journey of discovery to find the best way to solve a specific problem then transfer it to a pattern.
Though I’ve worked in the textile industry for years, I learn new things and become a bit more refined in my thinking with each new product we create. I see working with Tierra’s advanced technical products as a fantastic chance to gain even more knowledge.
Felix Tyren | E-commerce Manager
I think my love of nature started at the age of 3 or 4, as I stood between my father’s legs looking down my first blue ski slope. Though I’d go on to spend many nights in a tent with my family on bike trips or hikes, usually in the middle of nowhere, skiing remained a big part of my outdoor life until age 15. At that point, just before I started high school, I was introduced to climbing by a friend. It only took one visit to the climbing gym to realize this was my calling, and that gym became my second home for the next five years.
It has been almost 20 years since that visit, with climbing the centre of my life ever since, taking me on trips all over the world and delivering my closest friends—with whom I’ve experienced things I never imagined I’d be part of.
Climbing also brought me into contact with like-minded people who’d taken their interest in the outdoors into their working lives—as, eventually, did I. With an interest in gaming, technology and computers, I’ve worked with e-commerce in some form since 2010—and also had opportunity to work for companies focused on sustainability and the environment. So, when I got the chance to be part of the team at Tierra—which I already knew to work incredibly hard on both sustainable design and reducing its own as well as consumers’ environmental footprint—the choice was easy. Tierra and similar brands represent the opposite of “fast fashion”—the start of a more sustainable future for generations to come.
Linus Meyer | Marketing Manager
Since falling in love with climbing and ski mountaineering as a teenager, I’ve spent as much time as possible in the mountains. For the past 20 years, I worked as a photographer and writer with a focus on adventure and outdoor sports. I’ve always loved not only steep and exposed environments, but also their harsh weather—the kind that Tierra makes incredibly good clothes for.
That kind of thing endears you to a brand, but what I love most about Tierras is how they manage to produce clothes that are also environmentally sustainable without sacrificing quality, functionality or durability.
I bought my first Tierra garment over two decades ago—an insulated black jacket that’s basically an older version of today’s Belay Jacket. Purchased second-hand, it has been my absolute favourite garment, accompanying me everywhere from a reporting trip in war-torn Afghanistan to winter climbing in the far north of Sweden. It’s still in good shape and I still use it—how can you not be impressed with that kind of quality? Still, I do have some new Tierra favourites, like the Nevado Jacket, the Belay 120 Hood Jacket and the lightweight Pace Pant—perfect for climbing.
Mattias Sahlin | Designer
I’ve been designing Tierra's clothing since the Fall/Winter of 2018. Product development here is unlike anything I’ve encountered in my years as a designer. There’s enormous curiosity about new solutions and materials. The level of quality, functionality and durability (for both garments and the environment) is extremely high. I get to work with the best materials available, and design and product development are given the time they need. If the materials available aren’t good enough for our ideas, we develop something better together with our suppliers.
At Tierra, functionality and quality—as well as consideration for everyone involved and the environment—come before margin hunting and fast “in-season deliveries.” This is a very rare attitude in today’s commercial world.
I sleep best in a tent. And an adventure for me can be anything from a surf break to a fishing spot. The activity depends on the season, the company and the conditions. My favorite garment is the Nevado Jacket. It’s light but uncompromising and works year-round in any kind of storm.
Ingrid Sundqvist | Production Coordinator
With a father who took my sisters and I on adventures since we could walk—among them Svalbard, the Andes, Kebnekaise and even the Vasaloppet—it’s no wonder a great outdoor interest took hold in me early on.
Skiing has been a big part of me my whole life—cross-country, downhill,even uphill. I prefer to spend the summer on a sailboat along Sweden’s west coast or hiking in the mountains. It’s also important for me to incorporate activity into everyday life, whether that’s intensive training, running, Pilates or yoga.
After working in purchasing and production for a few years, I wanted to work with products I was passionate about and would wear myself. I’m extremely picky when it comes to textiles, and only the best will do. Tierra has been with me my whole life and I actually inherited a Roc Blanc shell jacket from my sister when I was 15. I still have it today and have taken it with me to the top of Kebnekaise in both summer and winter.
That says something about the quality of a Tierra garment. So does its dedication to sustainability, something many toss about but have difficulty proving when it comes down to it. Tierra’s transparency around the entire chain of production from material selection to transport is inspiring. You can see that the team here literally breathes outdoor life and quality, which makes me incredibly motivated to work here.
