Therese and her husband Mat spent 2012 – the year that outdoor hashtags started to take off in a big way – travelling around the globe via Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific North West of America and Canada.

“Because we were travelling around the world, when the outdoor trend started, we had very limited access to the internet and were somewhat ‘blissfully’ unaware of the ‘camp vibes’,” says Therese.

“We were too busy living out of a van, travelling from one place to the other, to know what was going on.”

I’d love to have a mobile shop and use it as a travelling pop-up, visiting cool outdoor spots across the UK

It was serendipity that the pair’s decision to open an online store  called Pedal + Tread specialising in all the outdoor kit they valued during their time on the road happened to be a bit trendy too.

“Living a simple outdoor lifestyle everyday made us more conscious about the things we really needed to help us enjoy this way of living. Like a lightweight cook set, a sharp knife, a durable stainless steel water bottle, and comfortable hiking socks.”

Mat is English and Therese is from Sweden, so their stock is reflective of that. When we meet for our interview, Therese takes me on a bike ride and then makes ‘fika’ (the Swedish notion of coffee and buns) in a bird-watching hut, using a camping stove. It’s glorious.

“She grew up in Hudiksvall, around 200 miles north of Stockholm, and loves talking animatedly about her typically Swedish childhood.

“I spent summers picking blueberries and raspberries in the forest with our neighbour, swimming in the lake by our house, riding bikes and horses and helping the neighbouring farmers with their cows and taking in hay,” she explains.

“I joined my dad during the moose hunt for the first time when I was nine. Mostly I remember falling asleep amongst the pine trees next to the crackling camp fire. Winters were spent skiing, ice skating and grilling hot dogs on open fires outside.”

“I guess growing up in rural Sweden has had a huge impact on me as a person and it definitely has had a big influence in what I do with Pedal + Tread,” she says.

Her respect for nature is certainly apparent in P+T’s products. their items either enable the customer to act in a sustainable way (with a Klean Kanteen bottle, for instance), or are made by sustainable means (their Tweedmill recycled wool blankets).

So, will there be a Pedal + Tread shop any time soon? “We’d love to have a physical space at some point,” says Therese. “But for now we’re thinking of maybe a pop-up space somewhere.”

“If I can dream, I’d love to have a little mobile shop and use it as a travelling pop-up, visiting cool outdoor spots across the UK.”