Artists & designers, Hammenhög, Sweden

Hi Johanna & Emil! How’s your day going?
Hi there!! It’s gooood! Today we’re sketching on some new designs for riso prints and carpets - focusing on growth and how we can harvest the energy received from summer. Also just took a walk around the neighbourhood and soaked up some lovely late summer sun!

Tell us a bit about yourselves and your brand:
We’re Emil & Johanna - partners in life & work. We live in a small village in southern Sweden in a crazy big house from the 30s together with our soon two year old son Viggo. A couple of years ago we decided to combine our love for making art, handicraft we found while traveling and our interest in self development - into a colourful brand - Tropical Scandinavia. We design carpets, prints, cushions, silver jewellery and more! 

What does a regular work day or work week look like for you?
It’s really quite different actually! We just finished renovating our showroom in our house - a bright space which will be used for exhibitions, as a shop, for photoshoots and more. So this is where we work from. After we both walked our son to preschool (always a bit later than intended) , we make some coffee and get to work. Emil has a film production company as well, so half of the time he sits in one side of the room skyping away with his co-owner, while I (Johanna) work with Tropical Scandinavia.

Some days we pack orders, other days are about planning instagram, and of course the best days are when we sit together and sketch on new ideas! Before ”everyone knows what” we used to travel a couple of months every winter, to some place tropical, to surf, rest, sketch on new designs and find producers for our products.

What made you decide to start Tropical Scandinavia?

I (Johanna) was freelancing as a graphic designer and working as a visual merchandiser, and felt that the life I had and enjoyed so much with Emil - traveling, surfing, drawing, meditating and just having fun - in some way I wanted to share that with the world around me. I pitched the idea of Tropical Scandinavia (with the slogan Protectors of fun!) for Emil and he bought it straight away. It’s really about having a positive outlook on life and trying to inspire others to be the best versions of themselves. We like to think of our products as modern totems, made to cherish in your home and help you to not only scare off bad spirits, but also to protect the good which we believe is already within all of us.

What inspires you (for work, new illustrations/products)?

Definitely each other – we have a way of working where we pass sketches between each other, and it often happens that one of us sees something good that the other missed. Also – our travels, ancient masks, tapestries & symbols. And our interest in self  development, meditation and reading books from people we admire; Tara Brach, Pema Chödrön, Tim Ferriss, just to name a few.

Do you have a specific color combination or type of motif that you like to work with?

We always come back to a group of symbols that for us carry different meanings; a boot, our TRP Protector (a cat with 6 eyes), a mountain, a leaf, a smiley, a ghost, a dog, a bird, eyes, a kettlebell… Well its quite a few actually:) And we love bringing some unexpected thing into every design - like a sneaker for example. Regarding colour we both love pink and sometimes we find everything turns out pink - we definitely have a thing for pastels - but it has to be in combination with something more contrasty; neon, a darker or dirtier color

So, you recently moved to Hammenhög, a little village on the countryside – What is the best thing about living there?

Being able to have space! We really outgrew our apartment in Malmö (although we loved it!) - its so nice to be able to have space for working AND living in one spot. Also being close to great nature & surf is definitely one of the reasons we moved here.

Is there anything you miss with living in Malmö?

Yes - you!! And our other friends too of course:) Being able to spontaneously have friends over for a dinner or coffee, and just go out in the city and feel that city buzz. Oh and a good bakery!

Any new, exciting projects coming up that you can tell us about?

We’re working on a new collection of carpets which we’re really excited about (also smaller sizes which many have been asking for) and we have a new print collection in mind! And we’re planning for an art exhibition in our showroom next year during easter but I can’t really tell you more than that..:)
 

What is your favorite Henry Rude piece from the 2021 collection?
Aah do we really really have to choose one!? Because honestly we (or maybe I should say I, Johanna) love love the puffy sleeve dress with birds AND the checkered set with trousers and jacket equally!:)

What song are you currently playing on repeat:

American Eyes with Promises Ltd!

More of Tropical Scandinavia:

Web: https://www.tropicalscandinavia.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/tropicalscandinavia