At heart, I’m an artist – I wanted to be an artist before I attended university, but then became more interested in art’s connection to society. After many years of discovery, I eventually became an architect. I realized I wanted to be involved in creation with inherent parameters that were driven even more closely than art to societal and cultural patterns. During my years working in architecture firms, in my free time I sketched sculptural furniture pieces. At the start of nea studio in Oslo in 2006, I developed the sketches into a furniture line that was built and exhibited at the Copenhagen Furniture Fair Talent Zone, made possible by a grant from NorskForm. In the beginning years of nea studio, the income from my architecture and interior design clients supported the research and development of my product designs. A few years later, a grant to become a Research Fellow at the Oslo School of Art and Design took the research aspect of my work a few levels deeper.

I wake at 6:45 and start the day with creative work like sketching, researching, or writing while my mind is fresh. Then I answer emails, prioritizing clients and customers. Later in the morning, our team holds our daily meeting – even if it’s over the phone – to make sure we’re all on the same page. In the afternoon, I either teach or go through the office to-do-list.

I choose materials for their ability to express organic form, such as melting ice and crystal formations, and for their ability to play with light, such as reflectivity and translucency. I’m particularly interested in bio/eco materials, such as edible materials like seaweed and lentils. I focus on locally sourced materials that lend themselves to indigenous craft skills, knowledge, and traditions, such as reclaimed wood from the rooftop of my studio in Brooklyn.

I choose materials that serve the environment and user experience, that are organic, recycled, washable, comforting, durable, and surprising.