We have been huge fans of the bright and inspiring brand that is Tropical Scandinavia ever since stumbling across them on social media several years back. It was an honor to have a chat with half of the founding duo, Johanna Stark - designer, business owner, founder, wife and mom of two! Based in the very south of Sweden with her hubby and two little ones, she and Emil founded Tropical Scandinavia after inspiration from their travels abroad.
This brand designs housewares, apparel and other gift items with their signature modern totems, "created with good intentions as reminders and inspiration of the possibility to become more today than what we were yesterday". These totems bring balance, protection and luck to your home and in their words they "stand somewhere in between art and home interior".
Q: Can you share a bit about what your family looks like as well as your work as an entrepreneur? How and when did your journey as a mother and business owner start?
A: We’re a family of four, Johanna (35), Emil (45), Viggo (5) and Tyra (2). Together we run Tropical Scandinavia, an independent interior / lifestyle brand with a positive outlook on life. We design what we call modern totems, interior objects such as blankets, rugs, art prints and more, made to inspire to protect the fun and live life to the fullest!
The idea for Tropical Scandinavia came during our tropical winter travels, when we found lots of handicraft we loved. We were always drawing together and started asking around to make things, just for fun, for ourselves (wool rugs in Morocco, silver jewelry in Sri Lanka for example). When we came back home with those things, friends would ask if we could make more. We loved working like that, and also, we’ve always loved spending lots of time together, so the idea grew to make a business out of it.
For us, as for many small business owners I guess, work and life really blend together, and so did the start of our journey as parents and owners of Tropical Scandinavia. Our firstborn came the same year as we launched our business, although we had started making plans for the company before I became pregnant. We hadn’t really longed for kids, we had so many other things going on in our life, we loved to travel and spent many winters surfing and working remotely from tropical places. Emil in the film industry as a producer and me doing freelance work with graphic design and illustration. However, we did feel that we didn’t want to miss out on having a child, and we also understood that ”the right time” would never really come.
During my first pregnancy, I suffered from pregnancy depression, feeling very lost in my new circumstances (even though we had wished for a baby, which also led to terrible feelings of guilt over my feelings). Through that time, it was really helpful to have Tropical Scandinavia to focus on, as it gave me another sense of purpose, when I felt I was failing my motherhood journey (which I of course understand now I wasn’t).
As soon as Viggo came though, something in me clicked, and I knew I would always take care of him, and it felt like that was all that mattered. I’m not saying it was just smooth sailing from there, but it was instant love. With our second baby I felt much better during pregnancy, but on the other hand didn’t have that overwhelming sense of love right away, but it came more slowly with time, and of course, now I love them both more than anything in the world. Truly very grateful we decided to become parents, it’s really the best gift!
Q: Do you have any favorite childhood toys, games, activities or even spaces that stand out to you?
A: I grew up moving a few times, we lived in the US (Chicago) and northern Italy for some years. Our home in Sweden was in a tiny village in the forest - to visit friends someone would always have to drive us. Partly because of those things I guess, I spent a lot of time alone in my room, painting and doing various DIY projects, and although I liked hanging out with friends too, my creative space was always where I gathered energy.
Q: What is hardest for you to juggle or balance right now? Have you found any hacks that are helping?
A: Definitely taking care of small kids and working many hours as a business owner. Especially tricky when preschool is closed for holidays, and we can’t really pause our business for three weeks. Wanting to spend a lot of time with the kids (and feeling that they need it to stay balanced) but also feeling that the business needs a lot of time and energy to work.
For us I think it’s been helpful just reminding ourselves that we have to prioritise to make it work these years, and that it will not always be like this. For us focus now is family and work, so certain things like catching up with friends will be a bit further down the list for now (we do see friends of course, just not the same way as before). For example, we spend most Saturday evenings at home with our kids, and when they’re in bed we start sketching on new products and discussing business strategies. But we love our life like this too! And we’re lucky to do it together I think :)
Q: Do you have any advice for an aspiring business owner who is stuck and doesn’t know where to start?
A: Maybe a cliché but just start! It doesn’t have to be perfect before you launch it, and remember that very few people are seeing what you do in the beginning anyway! You don’t have to quit your day job and take a massive loan if that feels too scary (we didn’t), just work on your idea whenever you can and remember that it takes time.
I think the core of what you do really has to bring you joy, so start there! And if it doesn’t, maybe it’s not the right idea. To last over time and keep you going when it’s tough, I think you really must love what you do, and also have a bigger purpose, like what will you give to the world, and that will keep you going.
Q: I feel that being a mother often pushes you to embrace something that may not have initially come easily. For us it’s embracing the play and the mess. What might it be for you?
A: So true! Absolutely agree on the mess, I do have a tendency of wanting things to be neat and to have control, and both of those will definitely be thrown out of the window fast with little ones at home :) It’s a great lesson! Also, accepting that it’s ok to be sad or angry (both for kids and parents!), is something I’m working on.
Q: There is inspiration in so many places especially as a creative type! Who and / or what inspires you?
A: So many things: our kids, travels, spirituality and self development, Pinterest, animals and nature.. And each other! We usually work on all designs together, one of us has an idea and makes a sketch, and then we pass it on to the other who redraws it, and that’s basically how we work :)
Q: One thing that has helped my state of mind is focusing on gratitude daily. What are you grateful for?
A: Same here! Our family, love, our house, being able to work with what we love, being close to beautiful nature...
Q: What are your favorite activities or places to enjoy with your little(s) or big(s) nowadays? (And / Or if your littles are big, do you look back fondly on any particular activities with them from when they were little?)
A: Being in nature together, walking and playing at the beach. Painting (even if it can get messy:). The ”unplanned time”, like a weekend morning when we’re all in bed and just cuddling and having a laugh. I think that’s really the best!
Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I was really into gardening - I wanted to become a florist. Then a landscape architect, but I also wanted to have my own shop where I sold things I made. That was probably my first wish! Glad it came true :)
To see more of this quirky, beautiful and colorful brand visit their shop over at https://www.tropicalscandinavia.com/products and feel free to use code SPILTROPICAL15 for 15% off anything in the shop. You can also follow along on their journey over on their blog at https://www.tropicalscandinavia.com/whatsup and their Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tropicalscandinavia/.
A special thank you to the talented Isabella Görloff and Emil Stark for taking and sharing the beautiful photos used throughout this post.