MY BACKGROUND

I was born in 1963 in Copenhagen and have a Masters of Art in design from Copenhagen University, where I later worked as a design curator and lecturer in design. I’ve also worked as a cultural journalist and theatre dramaturge. I have been working at IKEA since 2010.

WHAT I DO AT IKEA

I am responsible for developing the IKEA limited design and art collections.

WHAT INSPIRES ME

I love contemporary art that has a strong link to what’s going on in our world, particularly regarding important cultural and social topics that touch and affect people. I’m curious about art that discusses these questions in an open and interactive manner. Modern design and architecture are major inspirations for me. I’m especially inspired by companies with a strong social vision, that really want to make things better and fundamentally improve people’s lives, so that a better life– no matter who they are, where they live, and how they want to live – is attainable. I’m inspired by meeting creative people who work within these areas.

MY THOUGHTS ON DEMOCRATIC DESIGN

When I was the Creative Leader for the IKEA PS 2014collection, it inspired me to keep a strong focus on achieving all of our dimensions of Democratic Design*. I also learned that through limitations and working directly on the factory floor with our suppliers, creativity can flourish. We are stronger together, and when we work together we can create products we truly love and offer them to the many different people allover the world.

WHY I LOVE WORKING AT IKEA

Because I get to be a part of making our vision come true– to create a better everyday life for the many people.

A FAVOURITE IKEA PROJECT

SPÄNST– it was a collection about living a more active and sporty life, and about making that easier for our customers.The project was to create beautiful products that could serve as both storage (of, for example, sneakers) and as a cool display. Reaching a young-minded audience emotionally, and answering their appreciation of more individualised beauty in form and excellent function was at the core of the project.Creating all this together with two designers and our teams at IKEA made this a favourite project for me.

HOW IKEA CAN STAY INNOVATIVE

By making co-creation with our customers possible.

MY BIGGEST MISTAKE

I make mistakes every day and I learn from them all the time.* The IKEA approach of always considering form, function, quality, sustainability, and low price in order to make better everyday products for more people.