The inspiration to start the company Kaape dates back to 2005. Lilla was involved in converting the top floor of a disused garment factory in Tomrefjord into a bowling alley. From 1930-1970, coats and suits for both men and women were produced here. In the 1960s, it was the largest garment factory in Norway. The pensioners who volunteered for the conversion project had previously worked in the factory as tailors, designers and seamstresses. Lilla was presented with unique coats that they had hidden away in their dark attics. Later, she met Randolf at Fargerike in Vestnes, the tailor in the store, who had previously worked as a designer at garment factories in Romsdal. The two found each other in their shared interest in the history and design of the coats. Randolf's patterns and stories engaged Lilla in bringing old traditions to life through Norwegian-made textiles.

Randolf Vik was one of many tailors who lived in Romsdal in the mid-1900s. Romsdal was called "Norway's wardrobe" and the period from the war until about 1960 was the golden age of the clothing industry in Romsdal. Below you see an illustration taken from the book "The cradle of clothing and Norway's wardrobe: 130 years of clothing in Isfjorden and Romsdal" written by Edmund Søvik.