Matilda Djerf Shares Her Entire Backstory and How She Built Her Empire on The Bossticks

You’d think a global fashion brand needs a big-city start. Matilda Djerf was raised in a small town in rainy, western Sweden. 

Matilda grew up steeped in a culture where thinking too highly of yourself was frowned upon. So it’s a wonder she went on to build a multimillion-dollar global fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brand. It’s based around her personal style, and it now has a New York City store. She went from humble beginnings to one of the internet’s most beloved influencers and entrepreneurs. We’re here to tell you that her story is everything.

On the latest episode of The Bossticks, the Swedish content creator turned entrepreneur sat down with Lauryn Bosstick and Michael Bosstick. She talked through her whole story. They cover what first inspired her creativity as a kid and how Instagram changed her life. They also get into why nobody on her team believed in the now-famous Djerf Avenue berry pajamas. (Plus what it’s like to scale a company at 22, for good measure.) 

We’re sharing some of our favorite moments below. Wanna press play for the full convo while you read?

How Did Matilda Djerf Get Famous

Matilda Saga: Albertina Djerf was born on April 8, 1997, in Borås in western Sweden.

Around 2016, Matilda started sharing her travels on the Matilda Djerf Instagram. She posted from far-flung locales like the Caribbean, Bali, and Australia. Once she got home, she realized she could make a living off her growing online success. She became a full-time influencer by 2018. Then came the brand.

In 2019, Matilda co-founded the fashion brand Djerf Avenue with her partner, Rasmus Johansson. She was 22.

But none of that explains the obsession. What actually made her break out was a warm, nostalgic, Scandinavian point of view that felt like a cozy little escape. The rest of this post walks through her story the way she told it in the episode.

Her Creative Eye Started Early

Matilda’s early creative roots start with a simple fashion memory. As a kid, she found a pair of little kitten heels in her mom’s closet. That’s where her love of fashion began.

Likewise, the first creative challenge she remembers winning had a Twilight theme. She photographed her friend with mascara smudged beneath her eyes (cue teary-eyed Bella) in dramatic black and white. The prize? A round reflector, one of those discs used to bounce light. Talk about winning. She was “so happy.”

She Was a Born Entrepreneur

The born entrepreneur in Matilda showed up early. When her family hosted a garage sale, her two older siblings didn’t want to stand out front and sell. So Matilda eagerly took the reins. Her siblings later spied her through the window, clutching her dollar bills.

Matilda stresses that entrepreneurship was innate for her. She’s also told Business Insider that her jobs before Djerf Avenue made her want to be her own boss. Those included a juice bar and a fishmonger, of all things!

She also launched (and designed graphics for) a Hannah Montana fan page when she was nine or ten years old. Then she created banners for other fan pages too, for free. She calls it “almost like an online scrapbook.”

Michael chimes in here, too. He thinks entrepreneurs are born. Kids who run lemonade stands or sell baseball cards have that drive in them. And kids don’t really understand the money. They just understand the action.

Growing Up in Small-Town Sweden

Being visible online was hard for Matilda to stomach, and the small-town Sweden mindset explains why. She grew up in borås, a small town on the west coast of Sweden. She jokingly describes it as all hills and “the rainiest town in Sweden.”

There’s also a concept called Jantelagen (or the Law of Jante), a cultural norm that’s very prevalent in Scandinavian countries. It’s essentially the idea that you shouldn’t think you’re better than other people (or want more than they have). 

In small towns, Jantelagen can be especially strong. So you can imagine how well-received it was when a girl from borås was posting her life online. “Who does she think she is?” is probably what folks thought.

How Instagram Made Matilda Djerf Famous

Matilda Djerf’s Instagram breakout came in 2015 and 2016, when Instagram was a little different. Back then, when a brand reposted your photo, it could bring a whole slew of new followers. Luckily, Matilda was posting a lot about Bali Body, a tanning oil brand she loved. The company was gaining steam at the time.

Some boys in her high school made fun of her for this. They even copied her posts with their own pictures and hashtags. What did she do? At a party, she handed one of them a bottle of the tanning oil. Then she told him, “Here you have the originals. You can purchase.” When asked what happened to this boy, Matilda dryly notes that she thinks he’s in her hometown. (Lauryn and Michael add that they’re not trying to trash talk the place, promise.)

The most important growth, however, came from somewhere she didn’t expect. Matilda thought that when she went back to Sweden, she’d stop growing. She assumed people followed her for the exotic locations. But it was the exact opposite. Her followers loved watching her live an everyday Scandinavian life. This was when the love for her Scandinavian style really started.

It also helped that she had a loving family to act as a safe space. And Matilda just loves to romanticize life. As she sees it, you can wake up dreading everything you have to do. Or you can be excited to drink your morning coffee and do your little ice rolling session.

Turning a Following Into Djerf Avenue

In 2019, Matilda debuted on Djerf Avenue with just eight products (blazers, a tank top, and suit pants, all neutral and timeless). Realizing the scale of Djerf Avenue took her a lot longer.

Matilda doesn’t think she truly grasped her success until after the pandemic. Her mom was in a high-risk group, so Matilda limited her circle as much as possible. Then she started traveling again. When people recognized her in LA, it hit her that this was actually pretty big. She was “not in Kansas anymore.” It was night and day, both for Djerf Avenue and for her.

Why a Community Doesn’t Automatically Mean Customers

When it comes to community versus customers, Matilda and Lauryn both built audiences first and brands later. That’s the harder road, since you go a long time without getting paid for it. But Matilda says a large Instagram following “doesn’t translate into paying customers.”

When your community spends their hard-earned money on a product, there’s a new level of responsibility. Sure, you want them to love their first purchase. But you also want them to come back year after year. That means staying on top of every single detail. Building a following of your own? Keep that in mind.

For Matilda, growing her following wasn’t even a strategy in the first place. Her therapist says she’s a relationship person, so making connections online is literally what she wanted to do.

The Story Behind the Viral Berry Pajamas

The berry pajamas origin story starts about two years in, when Matilda pitched a berry-print robe to her team. It raised a few eyebrows. After all, Djerf Avenue’s identity was built on neutral, classic pieces.

The idea came from her family’s summer house on a small Swedish island. Her dad’s side of the family has been on that island for over a hundred years. Her grandparents had a blue cabinet full of sun-bleached floral bedding. Some of it dated back to when her dad was a kid. Matilda loved making the bed with those sheets, and she wanted to share that same nostalgia with her customers.

Her team thought the idea was kooky, but Matilda knew it was “something special.” (We’re glad she listened.) The summer berries pajamas and robe ended up as some of the brand’s bestselling products.

Michael boils this down into one takeaway for founders. Sometimes you have to go against everyone around you, including investors and partners. If they don’t “get it” but you’re passionate about an idea, you’re either crazy or you’re on to something. You’ll find out pretty quickly, he says. His caveat is that he’s seen people talk out of their most passionate ideas way too many times.

The Growing Pains of Scaling a Brand at 22

Matilda acknowledges that there isn’t a manual for dealing with scaling’s growing pains. She had no prior experience in business or fashion when she founded Djerf Avenue at the age of 22, and after six years, she is still learning.

She remembers an exciting year of growth when they didn’t have the proper infrastructure and grew far too quickly. That led to a number of issues that consumed time and effort. She is also open about instances in which she followed other people’s advice rather than her own instincts. Now she’s “always just trying to circle back to that initial feeling.”

Michael can relate. He says no entrepreneur has it all figured out, and the only way to learn is to actually build a company.

The Biggest Sacrifice: Inner Peace

When asked about the sacrifices behind Djerf Avenue, Matilda let out a big sigh. Time away from family, missing holidays, and always being on call made the list. But the biggest one for Matilda was her inner peace.

Running a brand and her own social accounts means she finds it hard to ever be off. There’s always something going on. The website might be down, a photo might not load, or something might happen on Instagram. So she’s always in this low-level state of being ready for something to happen.

She protects “little pockets of stillness” throughout the day to combat this. In order to be the best version of herself, she has also prioritized taking a day off. For Matilda, that means waking up at five in the morning and spending an hour by herself before anyone asks for anything. Then there’s her morning coffee, walks in nature, and working out. It’s taken her a while to figure out how to protect her peace.

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Building a Business With Her Partner, Rasmus Johansson

Matilda builds Djerf Avenue with her partner, Rasmus Johansson, and she’s honest about what working with your partner is really like. It depends on the day. She calls it a lot of work and a constant work in progress, but it’s rewarding to build a dream together.

Since Lauryn and Michael worked together, they also offered their opinions. Michael said that if only one of them was having these conversations, it would seem weird and even difficult for their marriage. For Matilda, creating boundaries is the key thing that worked. Over the past two years, she and Rasmus have improved their ability to say “not now.” On several evenings, they completely avoid discussing work. We could all use that guideline, to be honest.

What She Keeps Off Social Media

Her Instagram makes it seem like she documents everything for you to see. But what Matilda keeps off social media might surprise you. First, time with her friends and family is sacred to her, so she doesn’t film those moments.

Second, she used to talk about her connection with Rasmus much more. She stopped publishing after realizing one day that she wanted some things to remain exclusive to her. Naturally, that led to direct messages inquiring as to whether they had broken up. Her response? They’re happy; he’s in bed beside her, and she’s only keeping some things to herself.

Lastly, the amount of effort that goes behind the scenes at Djerf Avenue is not visible to you. It appears effortless, but that’s only because the effort isn’t captured on camera. Matilda has never been one to dress up for a picture. Her posts show what she’s actually wearing and doing, because she doesn’t “have time for anything else.”

Djerf Avenue’s First Permanent Store in New York City

When did the idea for Djerf Avenue’s New York store first creep into her brain? Matilda had toyed with a store for years but never followed through. That changed after a meeting this year with Skims co-founder Jens Grede. He told her, “You need to build a home for your brand,” and it stuck.

Where did she establish the first permanent store on Djerf Avenue? New York City. Some people questioned why she didn’t open in Sweden, but it made perfect sense in New York. The largest market for Djerf Avenue is the United States. Matilda is also aware that you must strike a balance between your vision and business reality, which entails being where your customers are.

The store opened on October 3 at 25 Bond Street in downtown Manhattan. Matilda loves the space. It’s not huge and not tiny, and the high ceilings give it a little Scandinavian feel.

The Skinny Confidential x Djerf Avenue Collaboration

During the episode, Lauryn and Matilda revealed The Skinny Confidential x Djerf Avenue collab, a limited edition collection. (Quick disclosure: The Skinny Confidential is Lauryn Bosstick’s own brand.)

Lauryn shopped the Djerf Avenue site long before any collab talk. Additionally, Matilda was already using The Skinny Confidential ice roller every morning. Lauryn even calls her “my number one ice roller.”

The collection reimagines the summer berries print from Djerf Avenue for a robe and pajama pair in baby blue. It also comes with mouth tape, face cloths, and a co-branded baby blue Mint ice roller. Matilda believes that this is the most natural way for both brands to work together.

Speaking of morning rituals, read our article about the little lifestyle changes Lauryn Bosstick adheres to.

Press Play on Matilda Djerf’s Full Story

Matilda went from posting about tanning oil in small-town Sweden to opening Djerf Avenue’s first permanent store in NYC. And if you’ve ever heard her talk, you walk away with the same advice. Romanticize life, trust your gut, and protect your peace.

Ready to hear it all in her own warm, nostalgic voice? Tune in to the full podcast episode of The Bossticks over on Dear Media. You can also find it wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to follow Matilda Djerf everywhere for more of her musings on everyday life.

TL;DR: Matilda Djerf went from posting tanning oil in small-town Sweden to building a multimillion-dollar brand with a new NYC store. Her takeaway? Protect your peace and romanticize the little stuff.

The Bossticks is part of the Dear Media Network, home to 100+ top-rated podcasts in pop culture, entertainment, and lifestyle. They’re hosted by some of the most talked-about names in content creation. Find your next rabbit hole on Dear Media.