Littlephant is created by designer, illustrator and author Camilla Lundsten and was launched in 2012.
I grew up on an island in Stockholm Archipelago and in the city, with my parents and two brothers. My mother was a textile designer and she let me go crazy with her pencils when I was a kid. She encouraged me to illustrate, all the time, everywhere. Her attitude still inspires me, letting everyone try finding his or her own way. My Father was a Restaurateur and a DJ, influencing me from many different perspectives.
My Grandmother was a Tailor and Grandfather a Gardener. I grew up with an insight about nature and how to co-exist with it in harmony. Nature is my greatest source of inspiration and treating it with respect is essential in my way of living and working.
In 1994 I attended Beckman’s School of Design in Stockholm, where I trained in Graphic Design, Communication and Product Design. Paralleled with my education I worked with Interior Design and Product Development.
In 1998 I graduated from Beckman’s and since then I have worked in several fields. Initially as a Graphic Designer and Art Director and then as a Creative Director and Product Designer for several international and Swedish brands and national Swedish Tv4. Today I am Founder, Creative Director and Designer at Littlephant.
I´m also a mother to my son Tintin, a fantastic energetic boy who have taught me about life more than most people. When working with products for babies, kids and parents I can related to my life experience as a parent, children´s needs and their unlimited imagination.
I founded Littlephant in 2010. I had just created a serie of childrens books with the little red elephant Littlephant (sold in over 200.000 copies in the Scandinavian countries, which is quite a lot for nordic kids books). That little elephant made me believe in that I could get my own brand going as people overwhelmed me with questions on if I could provide them with products for their homes and kids.
I had always wanted to work with clever products for both grown ups and kids, merging the two, for example making it joyful to share the space at home and when on the go. Simplifying everyday life with objects that are pedagogical, practical, produced in harmony with nature as much as we can and to boost peoples creativity. Like home decoration, accessories and children´s products.
Through Littlephant I get the power to care about all those things and provide people with sensible long lasting objects. It´s my company and I don´t have to compromise on quality, content or beliefs, we can and want to be stubborn and make things with heart and soul.
Today we are a small team of great people working together from the Studio in Stockholm, and with our collaborators in Japan, China, France and Great Britain but Littlephant is represented all over the world through our retailers and web.
– How can we encourage this, and how do Littlephant's products help children to be imaginative?
Kids have unlimited imagination! To provide kids with surroundings and attitudes that are open minded, less gender focused and give them a foundation for exploration and cusiosity is one of the most important things.
Kids learn by playing and follow what grown ups do. I think our world would probably be a better place if we sometimes followed our kids instead, being as open minded and curious as they are! To think outside the box…Most of the time it´s us grown ups who limit our kids because we our selves have a limited way of thinking, so maybe we should start with looking at our selves first? Imagine more! Stretch! Doesn´t that idea feel good
My ambition with Littlephant is to keep that playfulness going, both for grown ups and kids. Through sending both concious or subconsious signals and giving them products that are created for this purpose. Why must all cups at home look the same, or can they be individual? After all there are individuals drinking from them, right? My childrens books are very much a world where anything can happen, reading get kids imagination going. Many of my fabrics also have a story to tell and I guess what that story becomes is up to every kid or grown up to explore when looking at the fabrics. Letting their imagination lead their way.
© CAMILLA LUNDSTEN 2008 - 2020
NEWSLETTER CONTACT US TERMS & CONDITIONS DELIVERY & RETURNS FAQs COOKIES PRESS MY ACCOUNT
