Kristina Karlsson, the founder of popular Swedish stationery store, kikki.K, tells us how she hopes to empower people to live their best life through her beautiful designs.
How has kikki.K changed from when you first started to how it is now?
When we first started, the business was very much focused on organising and it was much more about the home office. But as I have evolved as a person, the business has also evolved, and we are now much more focused on purpose, and our purpose is to inspire and to empower people to live their best life every day. I also love how we are now making a real difference in the world, not just through our physical products, but through conducting workshops on how to improve people’s lives.
What are some guiding principles kikki.K follows in terms of design, to ensure that the brand stays relevant even among changing consumer tastes?
Our main guiding principle is the Swedish design, which is all about form, function, colour and beautiful design. We follow fashion and colour trends as well, to make sure that we stay relevant. In addition, we do about 28 ranges a year and we have something new every few weeks to suit different people.
Featuring soft pastels with touches of bronze foil, Kristina’s personal favourite – the Inspiration Collection – hopes to inspire people to dream big, set goals and take action.
How important is being organised in helping people live their best life every day? What are some of your essential organisational tips?
It’s absolutely vital. If you’re disorganised, you spend so much time looking for things and it’s so costly because not only are you’re wasting precious time, you’re also wasting money if you have to repurchase items you can’t find. Being organised also gives you more freedom to think, be creative and be spontaneous. For me, I have a home for everything. I use a lot of storage boxes and I have sticky tapes which I label them with, and I keep all my things in these labelled boxes.
Kristina believes that being organised is key to leading a creative life.
You have been quite intent on promoting the benefits of mindful living. Why do you think mindfulness is so important?
I think it’s really important to have space and to do things for yourself. It doesn’t matter what form they come in, it could be through meditation, taking some time to have a cup of coffee on your own, or simply just writing a journal. We are so connected to technology and are constantly available 24/7 that living in the present is quite difficult because we immediately grab our phones when we’re alone, so I feel that being mindful will be so much better for ourselves.
With so many things in life to be thankful for, express your gratitude every day of the year with beautiful thank you notes to treasure every moment, big or small.
What can we expect from both kikki.K and yourself in the coming months?
This year, you can expect a lot of new designs from kikki.K. There’s a whole new feminine range which is absolutely beautiful. We are also doing a “young at heart” collection which features a lot of moon and stars and magic which is quite nice. As for myself, I’m writing a book! We’re aiming for that to be launched in September. It will be very similar to what we’re already doing currently, but it’s in my voice. I find that when I do events and when I talk about how to live your best life, people don’t really know where to start, so I’ll be giving my tips and ideas on how to set goals and dream and just how to live the best life. There’s definitely lots to look forward to in 2018.
