According to Boygal's founders, gendered shopping is a thing of the past

Boygal is the Norwegian jewellery brand by couple Martine Breen and Andreas Bjørkeng Sogn that creates beautiful jewellery for everyone, mixing masculine and feminine. Launched in 2019, the duo has come to establish themselves as a force of nature in the country's accessory spheres.

Meeting in High School in 2013, the couple has been inseparable since. “Our school was actually an art school and we met because of our interest in creative work and art, says Breen. "We became friends there and after two years, we became a couple.” Bjørkeng Sogn continues, “We were both doing different things and after a while, we started to think if we should join forces.” Born to be an entrepreneur, Breen had been always dreaming of having a space where she can make all her ideas come through and do something creative, she even had her own clothing brand when she was eight years old.

While they both attended the same Art School, Breen and Bjørkeng Sogn were naturally drawn to separate skillsets adding different values to their joint venture. Bjørkeng Sogn studied graphic design and branding, while Breen studied product design. “As we have different backgrounds, we think of different things all the time," Bjørkeng Sogn explains. "I think of the branding and Martine is always the other way. I feel like it’s a good combination.” For Green, working with your partner is fantastic. The duo likes to find the middle way and believes the result might be better. “You can be really honest," says Breen. "When we discuss ideas we can really discuss it without any boundaries and I can really say what I think."

Martine and Andreas belive that we don’t need gendered sections. It's an old habit we need to kick. The name Boygal refers to boy and girl and represents the brand's design and gender-neutral philosophy. The brand wants to encourage everyone to get out of their gendered comfort zone and be part of the change. With a laugh, Breen explains that it would be a "we made it moment” when she would see her dad buying a unisex shirt.

For the brand, gender fluidity is also part of being more conscious and producing less, reaching more people. It is one of their core goals. “We live together and we like to share clothes and jewellery and everything. We don’t think that this should be for boys and this should be for girls, it should be a common thing and that you should wear what makes you feel great.”

The couple sources inspiration from social media, visiting jewellery stores and from inherited pieces from their families. “I always find a lot of inspiration from pieces that I got from my grandparents, especially in our first collection, we designed all the pieces out from things that I got from my grandmother, my parents and also Andreas’s grandmother.”

Part of the couple's design ethos is too recreate the old in a new minimalistic way, putting their distinct and personal take on it. With the founders living in Norway, it is only natural that the brand has a Scandinavian feel. “We are happily inspired by the Scandinavian minimalistic approach, but we are also we are trying to push it a bit more something extra on top of that.” Bjørkeng Sogn tells me.

When I ask about their favourite Boygal piece, they both tell me it is the chunky heart earrings. It is a perfect mix of cute and hard. “They are chunky and they are feminine and they can be worn by anyone and they represent what kind of look and feel we want to go for in the future.” – A future we are very excited to see.