Q&A WITH / IGLO + INDI
Q: Have you always been interested in fashion
design? All of my life I have loved to create. As a
little girl, my grandmother, Helga, taught me how
to knit, draw and sew. At the time when I was born,
maternity leave didn’t exist in Iceland. Therefore,
from the time when I was three months old, my
amma Helga took care of me during the day. My
mother and my great-grandmother were skilled
craftswomen and my father was a carpenter. He
used to allow me to wield the hammer and build
things for myself. When I was 20 years old, I moved
to Copenhagen. At the time I was very confused
about what I wanted to do with my life. I applied for
design school but also signed up for few courses
at Copenhagen University, such as Japanese and
Law. When I got accepted into the design school
after the entrance examination, I decided to give it
a try. I loved it from day one.
Q: Where do you find your inspiration? Icelandic
nature is amazing and magical; all the beautiful
colors and the diversity of the landscape. I live by
the sea and every morning I see the ocean and
birds hovering above. And, the weather changes
all the time. It is an endless source of inspiration.
Reykjavik is growing very fast; I really love living
the city life with nature right on my doorstep. That
is the mood I’m putting into my work on at the
moment.
process with our illustrator, Karitas. She makes
all the beautiful illustrations that we use as prints.
After that, I decide on a new color palette and cut
and visit our fabric supplier. What follows is cutand-paste work for a number of weeks. My Nordic
roots make me focus on trends as well as durability.
Every piece of clothing needs to be practical and
ever so comfortable. I always encourage parents
and children to play with our collection and be the
creators and artists we all truly are.
Q: Can you tell us about your design process?
First I have the collection in my head. I do sketches
and collect sources of inspiration. For example, I
watch/study my kids as well as and other kids. I try
to take note of how they play and what they talk
about amongst themselves. Next, I start the work Q: Do you have a favorite item from the current