62 AUTUMN//WINTER 2017 with Kristina Karlsson, founder of kikki.K THE LAST WORD When did your love affair with stationery start? I’ve always had a passion for gorgeous stationery and putting pen to paper. There’s something about its tactile nature and the feeling it gives us that can’t be replicated. It’s nostalgic. It’s special. It makes things feel meaningful and purposeful. Whilst the proliferation of technology may mean that we’re using phones, computers, tablets more so than ever before, I truly believe there will always be a place for pen and paper. In terms of the business, was there a light-bulb moment with kikki.K?  I came to a point where I became dissatisfied with work and spent many late nights trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do with my life. When I became quite restless (literally!) at 3am one morning, my partner Paul encouraged me to write down everything that was important to me – I wanted to follow a passion and do something I truly loved driving to work for every day, stay connected with my friends and family in Sweden and have the independence of a venture of my own. I also wanted to do something meaningful and earn enough to pay the bills! So I thought, if I’m going to have a business of my own, I’ll need a beautiful home office! I looked in stores for products for a productive, organised and inspiring workspace but really couldn’t find anything that suited my taste. I got a little discouraged at first… but then I realised I had just stumbled across a wonderful idea… and that’s how it all began! How do your Swedish roots inspire your designs? My native Sweden is my biggest inspiration – it’s beautiful. I love the architecture, the way of living, the natural beauty of the landscape, the boutiques, the design…. love it, love it, love it! All of our kikki.K products are built on the Swedish design principles form and function, combined with seasonal trends and other inspirations. They are always beautiful in design, colour and texture – however they’re also functional. They not only look good, they inspire and empower you to live your best life, every day – with style. Three words which best describe kikki.K We have four words! Dream. Do. Enjoy. Share. As a brand, we exist to inspire and empower people to dream, do, enjoy and share – in the process of living their best life. To me, each of these words is inter-related. They STATIONERY BIZ work together to help you to stay inspired, achieve your dreams and love every moment. How did you grow your business? Finding the right team and maintaining good team relationships play a very crucial role in any organisation’s success, and at kikki.K we’re no different. Our business is our people and we’ve been so fortunate to attract wonderful people over the journey that have helped grow the business to what it is today. Our best team members have been the ones attracted by what we do and the way we do it, and they have come to us. Can you share your plans for kikki.K in 2018? Oh it feels like we’re just getting started! Our focus is still on fulfilling our vision to see something kikki.K in every stylish life, the world over – and my dream to open kikki.K stores in all my favourite cities right across the globe. At the moment, we’ve got five beautiful stores in the UK, and we’re really focusing on building the brand there. It’s amazing to see the UK fall in love with kikki.K. And of course, we’re also continuing to design more and more beautiful kikki.K products. What advice would you give to young people starting off in the industry? As much as your passion will tell you otherwise, you can’t do everything yourself, so surround yourself with wonderful people to help you on your way. Contacts are invaluable, so seek mentors. You’ll be surprised by how many people are happy to help, and how much you can learn from others.