Last week I had the chance to explore some of Berlin’s surrounding woods. It was a very grey day, the thick fog hung very low and tipped the tree tops. It was kind of mystical. I love the silence while walking through a forest and I can’t get enough of that autumnal smell of humid leaves, spruce needles and wood.
When I was in Grunewald, at the Havel river, the scene reminded me a bit of my Norway trip two years ago. The calm water, the silence and all that grey… Simply beautiful.
I absolutely LOVE autumn!
Here a some pictures I took while walking through my neighborhood…
I’m happy to present a new FINSE special edition, which I exclusively designed for NEWNIQ, the fabulous German crowdbuying design shop.
The backpack comes in a combination of fine calf leather and durable black denim, which produces an exciting haptic contrast and creates a classy and easy look at the same time. A small inner pocket gives space for odds and ends.
You can preorder this beauty here until November 23. With 3 orders it goes into production.
Each bag of my launch collection has its own little story. There was always a certain reason why I came up with exactly this or that design, and, of course, I always underwent a few stages from the idea to a reproducible product.
So I thought, I should share these little stories and give you a closer look on my beloved bags.
First I’m gonna start with the PAJALA backpack. Actually, this one was the first bag that made it into my launch collection. I had the idea of a bag for myself, that can be carried by hand or on the back – as I take my bike quite often. It should be suitable for laptops and other documents, but it shouldn’t be too stiff. Very minimalistic, made of cotton canvas, but at the same time not too sporty. As I’m a huge fan of the combination grey and white, I ended up with a light grey canvas and white poly-straps.
This canvas I used for the prototype was too soft though. Luckily I stepped over the beautiful salt and pepper canvas, which is seen in my whole collection. It’s just perfect – durable and at the same time with a nice and soft grip. To give this very minimalistic bag a subtle and unexpected contrast, I integrated a blue and white checked cotton lining. The inner compartment for laptops or other material was adjusted several times, as well, until the prototype was ready to reproduce. At the end of the optimization process, the PAJALA became the bag with the longest production time of my collection. It’s made out of 42 individual parts, all handcrafted with love for detail and precision. It also comes in a grey/black combination, and a whole black version is in the making.
So, all in all, I am more than happy with the result of this puristic and sophisticated backpack and I use it a lot by myself. Of course, it looks good on boys, too!
One last question remains. Why did I name it PAJALA? Well, as you might have noticed, all my bags are named after certain Scandinavian cities or towns. Either places I’ve already been to or places I have a certain connection with. The little town Pajala in the very North of Sweden is such a place.
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My past weeks were so packed with producing bags I didn’t have the chance to do anything else but sewing. After relaxing a bit it was time to get all the annoying paperwork done and finally clean up my computer again.
While I was flipping through my photo library I stepped over a file filled with pictures of a fabulous road trip five years ago. My lovely mum and me took the camper and drove through Sweden towards Stockholm and back. So many nice memories, so many wonderful experiences… Swimming in empty lakes, cooking jam of blueberries we picked in the woods, waking up next to the sea, eating warm Kanelbullar and, of course, a little bit of shopping in Stockholm.
I love travelling with a camper so much, especially in the nordic countries. You’re able to see so many different places and be absolutely spontaneous.
And, I think, sometimes it’s good getting along with just the most necessary for a while.
I’m super happy! My collaboration with great online design shop MONOQI has started. Their concept is to collect unique and hard-to-find design products and make them available for a short time.
Until next Tuesday you can purchase the PAJALA and the FINSE at a 20% discount.
Just register and have a look at their excellent offerings!
There’s nothing better than starting the day at your favourite place for good coffee. Luckily I have one of Berlin’s best cafes in my neighbourhood – the Five Elephant. There you can not only get directly traded coffee specialities and delicious fresh baked bagels. These guys are also very famous for their extraordinary Cheesecake. I love to go there early in the mornings, sitting outside, making up my mind of what’s on my to do list for the day before switching on the sewing machine.
