“She re-used and repaired”

My dear Grandmother lived, by default, as many conscious people nowadays really sought after. She re-used and repaired. She didn’t reduce much though, because there was not that much to reduce from.

She had no car. She grew her own veggies. She biked and walked around the fairly small city she lived in.

During Christmas, she collected all the nicest paper wrappings to use again, and she always had a similar dress or shirt or pair of pants in the attic inspired by the nicely dressed lady on TV. 

Her attic was an endless source of treasures for me ever since I started paying attention to what I was wearing.

She taught me how to knit and reminded that it is not good to knit in haste, the result will be uneven and messy. She told me about the most beautiful dresses she had made to dances and borrowed me her old Singer sewing machine when my orange Toyota left me in trouble when I was heading to dances and was short on time.

“Always create long-lasting, repairable products that makes people feel good and invites them to spend more time outdoors.”

I get anxious when thinking of all the things I should do to reduce my footprint. But maybe it should be more what not to do and what not to want.

To take care of what I have, to think less about what to consume. To slow down. My grandmother seemed to be calm and happy with her life, and she continues to inspire me in all my life choices.  

This is the backdrop for my life in general and my driving force as a designer; to always create long-lasting, repairable products that makes people feel good and invites them to spend more time outdoors. Products that people are happy to use year after year.

Being outdoors and doing things myself is crucial part of my design work. I feel that this way I can truly understand the surroundings that the products will be used in.