At home with Emelie

Hi Emelie! How are you?

– Hi, I’m good thank you! I’m working in my art studio with a new theme and I’m very inspired at the moment. I also live a homey life right now with my husband Gustaf and our three daughters as we just moved to a house. We like to bicycle, draw, do clay and hang out in our garden taking care of the leafs that is almost covering our house at the moment. We have a gigantic oak standing in from of our house, it’s so beautiful and a hundred years old – but it drops millions of leafs and that gets the entire family busy. Luckily I love garden work.

Tell us about your home, it’s gorgeous.

– Thank you so much. I fell in love the moment I saw it on the pictures and nobody else seemed to see the beauty as we were the only one interested in buying it (which I find so crazy)! To me it had everything. Such charm, charisma, and coziness. It has a wonderful inviting vibe and it’s been here since the early fifties. We’ve never owned a house before but we are very happy here. We isolated the garage and made it a part of the house instead: a large art studio for me. It has doors out to the back where we have an outdoor fireplace. To me it’s a dream.

What does it look like when you gather around the dining table, do you have any special routines?

– We try to always set the table beautiful, even if it’s a short breakfast we have a lit candle and in the evening It’s napkins for everyone. We always put the food on the table for everyone to see and smell before we eat, I feel It’s so much more cozy than to take the food directly from the stove. I think the kids needs to learn this as early as possible, for me this is how you learn about eating and food. To see, to smell and to be able to put it on your plate yourself even if you’re two years old like Alix. I also have never and will never have screens on the table or in the kitchen in my life. On Sundays we do extra special dinner and in the mornings we always have waffles.

What values and traditions have you taken from your own parents and grandparents that you are now trying to pass on to your children?

– My mother and my now passed grandmother (my mother’s mother) has and had this incredible warmth and charisma. I would say it’s unique. My mother is divine feminine to me. She is so generous, always inviting and with the biggest heart. There is never one person that doesn’t like her immediately. What I hope to give to my children is that safe space I was given. To always be welcome into their warmth does something to a kid. It’s a solid foundation and I strongly believe that is why I have such profound need of being free in whatever I do. I believe that a solid foundation gives freedom, creativity, strength and a sense of self-worthiness like no other thing. How do I do that? I just try to be there the best I can for them to fail, make mistakes all the freaking time, to let them try by themselves. My arms are always open no matter the time of day or night. As a mother, I am their foundation to grow strong from and it’s an extremely important assignment. My most important so far in life.

Me and my dad usually joke about that he is the last renaissance man. Because he is! He sings and play guitar in a band and they have lots of gigs around town, he is a fulltime architect despite that he ”should be” retired. He plays amazing piano, he would be able to build a house with his hands if someone needed him to because he really has that kind of knowledge. As well he is an amazing painter and grandpa. He is slow in his movements and I love that. I have obviously inhereted his interest and love for the art, design and the music and what a wonderful thing to keep passing on to my kids.

Are there any special meals that bring you together as a family?

– Pasta! It gives comfort and joy! Warm big bowls on the table, the scents from the kitchen and lots of food for everyone. Easy, warm cooked and inviting food always bring us together!

What does the meal with the family mean to you?

– With three small kids the meals are short and more chaotic than sweet, but it still means very much to me. Im such a lover of old traditions that I believe set a solid foundation for life forever. To eat together even when the kids are small brings us together in the hectic world and the busy days.

What do you remember about meals at home when you were a child?

– My mom always cooked and she takes great pride in never giving us yoghurt and cereals even for one dinner when we were kids. That I must say I have taken after. Fifty years ago I know that in Sweden, lunches in schools were meant to fill the kids up so that the mothers could work and not cook every evening. But somehow that got lost I think and we all eat two cooked meals a day. Some days I love that we do (when I have time and when I have planned it) and som days it’s tricky, but then the trick is not to be so hard on ourselves regarding what kind of food we serve.

You are an artist, tell us about your profession. What are you up to right now?

– I am a full time painter and a visual storyteller. I have always created. Earlier in life as a designer, and the products I made then was created by hand. I’ve always known that I have to work with my hands.  To start painting everyday was not something I pursued until I was 29. I aslo loves to write, to photograph and make short movies. For a time it was only for myself but then for work of course. I did some photography work in my early twenties and after I graduated the music conservatory Rytmus in Stockholm I went to London to go to music school.

When me and my husband Gustaf met, we had a songwriting duo. That is on hold because we don’t have the time for it right now, but the project and the creativity is there and we will revive it someday for sure. I have worked as a contributing writer for the largest Swedish newspaper as well, and I believe it all leads up to where I am now. I work in my art studio now at home on a theme that I am so exited about, and I hope to have an exhibition later this year, but we’ll see. Time frames are difficult to me to follow and I usually can’t say when I will be done with a project. When it’s done it’s done and it can take an hour or a year. When social media came it was so easy to have creative outlet. I feel the difficulty is to use it well these days as to not feel obliged to market yourself as a brand, but I guess I’m not alone with these thoughts. Of course I want to put out what I create into the world but social media is not a healthy or easy place.

Tell us about your family!

– Husband and best friend Gustaf, we got engaged after three months and we have at this time been together for twelve years and have three daughters; Anaïs, 9, Gia Aymeline, 5 and Alix, 2. We have lived in NYC, Zurich and now we have landed in our first house outside of Stockholm.

What about you, would you really like to pass on to your children?

– My ability to see beauty in everything and everyone. I’m not entirely living in the present, but I surely can stop the car and go out and smell the flowers on the sideway no matter what time it is. Yes I was born like this, a dreamer maybe? My parents would say so probably, but I also firmly believe that it’s something that can be taught and applied to everyone by learning to listen and taking in what’s surrounding you. I also hope that I can pass on to not take life too serious, to have fun, to dare to do things, to explore creativity in all ways possible and to embrace love and joy as much as possible when it’s given to you. Oh, and be protective about your energy and what you feel! Thats a very important thing that I might have learned a bit too late myself! But now I’m aware. I also hope I can pass on that it’s important to not ask for other peoples advice just because you’re young, to believe in yourself and not seeking validation from everyone!

Find your BIBS favorites here and visit Emelie’s blog here!