00:04
Camilla Stærk
I've chosen Hvilende føl by Anne Marie Carl Nielsen. It's a sleeping foal, or resting foal. And it's just very peaceful.

00:15
Camilla Stærk
I grew up on a farm, I was an only child, and I had this very deep connection with the animals. My mom was a horse breeder, so there were always foals around. Reminds me of the foals we had on the farm, resting in the grass on a summer's day, tiptoeing around to not wake them up.

00:38
Camilla Stærk
Sculpture, especially bronze sculpture, always inspired me. My parents always had quite a few. And sculpture as an expression is something I always looked at in my own work as inspiration. And it is those different things that merge together for me in this beautiful piece.

01:04
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
My name is Tina Jøhnk Christensen, and I'm the host of Danish Originals, a podcast series created in partnership with the American Friends of the National Gallery of Denmark and the National Gallery of Denmark. Our goal is to celebrate Danish creatives who have made a significant mark in the US.

01:21
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Today, our guest is Camilla Stærk, a Danish designer. Welcome Camilla.

01:26
Camilla Stærk
Thank you so much.

01:28
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Actually, we're at your location. You've invited us to where you are staying. We meet you in Los Angeles. It's not your home we're in, it's your friend's home. So where are we, Camilla?

01:40
Camilla Stærk
We are in the Oaks in Los Feliz, at this magical home of one of my best friends in the world, who I met in New York many years ago. He lives here with his fiancé. And I'm so lucky as to be able to stay in their casita guest house.

02:00
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And we're in the hills, so the roads are bending and we are tucked away in the hills. Can you describe the place a little?

02:09
Camilla Stærk
It's this really peaceful house, and it just feels like you are completely tucked away. And it's peaceful and it's been a really lucky find for them and for their friends and family because we can come and visit here.

02:26
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
There is a little, we hear, illegal construction work outside, so if the listeners can hear this, that's what's going on. They don't have permits.

02:34
Camilla Stærk
Not my friends.

02:36
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
No, it's not her friends. What brings you to Los Angeles this time around?

02:42
Camilla Stærk
I am here to meet with Twentieth Gallery, one of my favorite galleries in the world, who launched my first furniture piece last May. And I'm here to work with Stefan Lawrence, the owner, on new pieces. I have some new creations to present that will go with the chaise that I launched last year.

03:06
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
We'll talk about that later.

03:07
Camilla Stærk
Yes, so I am very excited.

03:10
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
I introduced you as Camila Stærk and "stærk" means strong in Danish. I believe it is your maiden name. It's your father's name, I think, it's not an artist name, right?

03:20
Camilla Stærk
No, it's my father's name. Yeah.

03:23
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
So you decided to keep it as your brand too.

03:26
Camilla Stærk
Yes.

03:27
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
What made you decide that?

03:28
Camilla Stærk
I don't even remember thinking about it too much. That was just what it was meant to be. Because what I do is such an extension of myself. And then my name has always been — it's a funny last name if you're Danish and you understand it. But again, I don't think about it too much because it's just part of me and it's always been part of my life.

03:50
Camilla Stærk
And my dad was very proud of this name. It was actually his mother's name. So it comes from her side and yeah, so it's a way of calling my brand that. It's a way of carrying on my family's legacy as well, and history. Yeah.

04:07
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
That's very nice. You are a very eclectic designer or multifunctional designer, if you will, and you design furniture, lamps, and clothes, and recently a whole restaurant, Ilis, in Brooklyn, in New York. What would you say is your specialty or maybe what is your biggest love?

04:28
Camilla Stærk
All of it together. I feel so lucky and grateful that I'm getting the opportunity to do all the different things because to me, they really feed into each other and they go hand in hand. And I always felt the whole universe.

04:46
Camilla Stærk
I started out in fashion, because I wanted to find my own creative voice, even though I was very influenced by my father's business and his father's metier, which was Danish furniture, I had an urge to find my own route in the creative world, and I'm very happy I did that.

05:08
Camilla Stærk
But at the back of my mind, when I started fashion and I started my brand as a fashion brand, I promised myself to definitely do everything I could to come back around to the whole interior world as well. So luckily, once I started saying it out loud, after some years, it started to slowly happen. In the last two, three years, there's really a lot of projects that have taken shape.

05:37
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And you mentioned the whole interior world and you did create one in Ilis in Brooklyn where you did a restaurant for Mads Refslund, who is another Dane, who used to work with Noma, the famous Copenhagen restaurant. Talk about what this experience was like, a whole room that needs to function and has to have a certain concept that fits into the food that they create.

06:03
Camilla Stærk
Such a dream project. And first I'll say I was a co-creator. It was a collaboration with, very much, Grant Blakeslee, who was the architectural designer, and Mads, and everyone at Ilis, because everyone has had a hand in this and every single detail in the restaurant is special and created by someone who's contributed.

06:28
Camilla Stærk
And I started this conversation with Mads many years ago, actually, when he first came to New York. We were introduced very quickly because I am friends with the New Yorkers that he started out consulting for in the beginning. And we had this conversation. I heard about his dream, and it was an ongoing creative dialogue over eight years, I think it was, until we opened the door of Ilis.

06:58
Camilla Stærk
When I was brought in, it was this huge raw space, beautiful space, industrial, an old rubber factory, which is so striking and impressive. And Mads's brief to me was: Camilla, I need this to feel intimate and sexy, and I envision this hotel bar in Tokyo where everything can happen.

07:25
Camilla Stærk
I know it's a challenge, but with your leather works, please design some lighting and some accessories. And he also said, do you, I'm sure by doing you, something will fit because we are so in line creatively. So I did, and of course I based it on fire and ice to harden the soft, which is very much me as well.

07:48
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Which is the name of the restaurant, Ilis —

07:50
Camilla Stærk
Yes. Yes.

07:51
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
—in Danish.

07:52
Camilla Stærk
Yes.

07:53
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Those two together.

07:54
Camilla Stærk
Yes. So I remember showing sketches, which are now hanging around Ilis as well. And Mads saying, oh my God, this drape light — which is in the foyer now — it's just Ilis to me. It was just a wonderful process. And also with Grant, I'm so thankful that I could be part of this whole process.

08:14
Camilla Stærk
So yes, I ended up designing all the light fixtures you see from the foyer to the bar lounge lights, which are the Corset lights, and then the Knot lights, which hang low over each dining table. And they're all composed of blackened brass and leather, my leather works. And I kept the insides patina brass to give a real nice glow, very cozy, sensual feel.

08:42
Camilla Stærk
And then I also provided some of my existing rug designs, the Blixen rug and the Finch rug, which are throughout the lounge, not always depending on weather. And I ended up designing the uniforms.

08:55
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Wow.

08:57
Camilla Stærk
It was a dream, as I said, because I really got to do a lot of different things within this incredible project around Mads and his chefs and the art that he does with his food.

09:12
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
I've seen your leather lamps at Design Within Reach, which is one of my favorite stores. It's a design store in America —

09:20
Camilla Stærk
America, Canada, and Mexico. Yes, thank you for mentioning that. I'm very proud to say that that exclusive offering for Design Within Reach was launched October 2024. And it is a selection of my rug designs and lights and some signature accessories I've developed of my knitted leather armor. So yeah, it's very exciting.

09:51
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And recently, you designed a Chaise Longue inspired by Karen Blixen's Out of Africa. Talk about how this idea came to you and what is it about Ken Blixen that made you think of her?

10:05
Camilla Stærk
Yeah. Karen Blixen has always been part of my creative world, my creative expression.

10:11
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And who, by the way, is called Isak Dinesen here, so you know, if you are American.

10:16
Camilla Stærk
I was a very young child, being introduced to her books, as we do in school in Denmark. I was just fascinated by her life in Africa in the '20s and '30s. Those stories were always part of my inspiration when I started creating myself. And I'm not letting go of that because it's just really a part of my universe.

10:40
Camilla Stærk
So during the first furniture design, I was sketching a few pieces and I was at home. This was a few years ago. I was at home in Denmark, spending a lot of time with my parents and my father was not so well at the time and would pass away not long after. But I got to show him these sketches, which I'm happy about. I just sat with him in silence and did that.

11:07
Camilla Stærk
I had this dream that I wanted to show it to Twentieth Gallery. And a year went by, and I came here, stayed here in this little casita, and got that meeting. And met with Stefan, who immediately said, that chaise, I would like to start with. I would like to launch that with you.

11:30
Camilla Stærk
And I started developing it with an incredible workshop here in LA, and Stefan was very much a good mentor. A very good piece of advice, he said to me was, make sure that the finished product does not lose the wildness that your sketch has.

11:51
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Wildness!

11:53
Camilla Stærk
Yeah, the wildness. So yeah, I try to adhere to that advice.

11:59
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And I've seen it. It is wild. You look very much like a classic Hollywood star. How would you describe your own style?

12:11
Camilla Stærk
I'm my own ongoing experiment, I guess, but very subtle and classic in my style and materials. And I only wear black. I think that was a choice many years ago, for simplicity, really. And then it becomes more about textures and details and silhouettes. I think I really made the decision while I was working on my graduate collection.

12:35
Camilla Stærk
I studied in London, fashion with textiles, did my degree there. And that final year of studying I just concentrated on my graduate collection. And I had a dream that it would be the beginning of my brand. And I worked very hard on it, really finding that language. I wanted to find a way to not make leather seem too heavy.

12:59
Camilla Stærk
So I came up with that knitting technique, which is still part of what I do, and then weighing it against super light materials, whether it's lace or transparent silks. And I based that collection on The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

13:19
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
The film or the book?

13:21
Camilla Stærk
The book. Yes. I like the film too. Yeah.

13:25
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And this might be a silly question, but what are you wearing today? How would you describe yourself to the listeners so they can get an idea of what I see when I look at you?

13:37
Camilla Stærk
Yes. I'm wearing one of my lace bodysuits.

13:42
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
It's very pretty.

13:43
Camilla Stærk
Thank you, layered with another lace piece underneath. There's always layering going on. Then there's a little vintage skirt that I have. It's too large. I've draped it in a certain way at the front. Cutoff tights, leather sandals that I had made many, many years ago. Just very simple. Swung strap sandals, and a little vintage cardigan.

14:11
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Which is only necessary inside because it's hot outside today.

14:14
Camilla Stærk
Yeah, exactly.

14:18
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Madonna has worn your dress and so has Julianne Moore and Tuva Novotny wore your dress at the Oscars in 2016, I think it was. And Karen O wore it in 2014. What is the significance of having your dresses be represented by people of that caliber and at events of that caliber?

14:40
Camilla Stærk
Incredible. I'm just so proud. Really, truly. And all of the women you just mentioned are just incredible ambassadors. I could not wish for anything better at all. It's just really a special feeling when that happens. Madonna recently wore the Lace Hostess Dress, it's called, again, and it's actually a personal one that she's had for many years. So even better that it's still being worn and it's classic.

15:11
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And apart from making you proud, what does it mean for your business?

15:16
Camilla Stærk
I can definitely feel it, as it means a certain stamp of respect.

15:24
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Looking at your Instagram, it looks like you have a glamorous life — luxurious places, cocktails, beautiful people, and cool design.

15:35
Camilla Stærk
I'm always working on something, but I enjoy it. Having a martini with that sometimes helps. And then the other huge part is my friends and family. Hence why it looks like I'm always out partying. I'm not. But we gather and we have a great community and I love that. I love gathering my friends, whether it's at home or somewhere else, and collaborating.

16:03
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And you're often photographed with the design of Victor Glemaud, who is from Haiti and whom you've known since the '90s. You're friends, and you are a great inspiration to each other. What does he bring to your creative table?

16:17
Camilla Stærk
Oh my goodness. Victor is my best friend and we met in '99. I was still at school in London, but came over to intern in New York and we met at the place I was interning at, which was the design of Patrick Robinson. He was his assistant. And we are still family, all of us. And Victor's whole family is like my family and vice versa.

16:43
Camilla Stærk
And we are so different in terms of what we do. Victor is super colorful and I am not so colorful. But what we have in common is we found our roots and we stick to them. And we explore them and have fun with them. And it's lovely to have a friend that's so different actually. And also still collaborate. I love collaborating. And even when it seems unexpected, an unexpected combination, that's quite fun.

17:17
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Opposites attract. You also collaborate with Helena Christensen. When did you first meet Helena? Was it in London or Copenhagen? And did you already sense back then that this meeting would be special in your life?

17:33
Camilla Stærk
Yes. It was a really special meeting. I was still living in London. I had just graduated from college and my collection was being selected to be part of London Fashion Week. So I was thrown straight into it, as I wished for. And that summer before my first runway in Fashion Week, I was home in Denmark for a few weeks. Helena was living in New York already.

18:01
Camilla Stærk
And she had just co-founded Nylon magazine, was the creative director, and had put a wish out that she would love to photograph and feature me and my collection for the magazine. So that's how we met in her summer house, a beautiful afternoon in Denmark.

18:22
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Where was the summer house?

18:24
Camilla Stærk
Yeah, Rågeleje. Yeah. And it was a special meeting in the way that we didn't say much, but we completely bonded creatively. There was a really special bond going on and Helena's photographs are incredible. And the way she captured my pieces and also my portrait was so dark and poetic and we had this real meeting point.

18:49
Camilla Stærk
Even though we are also very different. Helena's very colorful in her aesthetic. She's half Peruvian. And we knew there was something there workwise. And three months later, we organized to meet up again to shoot my first look book together, which we did in Prague, because Helena had to be there.

19:10
Camilla Stærk
And we did it all. We cast the girls, we did the hair and makeup, and then we went around the streets and did this little book that we are so proud of today and which really encapsulates our work together still. And then we would collaborate once in a while over the years. It took me another six years before I moved to New York from London.

19:31
Camilla Stærk
I was in London for ten years total, came to New York and then we could do it more, because we were in the same city. And then our friendship developed after our creative collaboration had started a long time ago. Yeah.

19:45
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Nice. You have collaborated on so many projects. And you have a company together, Stærk & Christensen. What made the two of you so great together? What is the thing that makes you connect so well?

20:00
Camilla Stærk
We already found it that day, that afternoon in Denmark, 25 years ago this summer. We have this — Helena always does this sign in the air of two circles that cross over. And we really found that melting pot between us and we know exactly what it is and we can apply it to anything we feel. We just enjoy it so much. So we've done a lot of different creative projects together and we are honing in on a big project. We can reveal more soon, but it's an architectural project.

20:34
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Wow. Okay. That sounds interesting. Do you see yourself as a Danish duo?

20:42
Camilla Stærk
Yes, definitely. And our Danish heritage is in everything that we do, without thinking about it, because we have it inside. We have this signature of the silhouette of the swallow bird, actually, because it's one of the memories that we share. Helena grew up in Copenhagen, me, in the countryside.

21:00
Camilla Stærk
But we both have this very clear memory of the swallows flying low on the dark sky, just before the weather would change. It made a huge impression on her and on me. So we abstractly interpret the swallow in many of our creations together.

21:20
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Many times it's unconscious that something is Danish. You mentioned that yourself. But if you could think of something that you think is typically Danish in the way that you do things and create things —

21:35
Camilla Stærk
Fluid lines, functionality, and ode to and respect for craftsmanship, really great craftsmanship. And then it's blended with where we've been based for a long time after Denmark. For Helena, all her travels. And also the fascination with old Hollywood and noir. It's a mix of things, but the Danish heritage is a very strong foundation.

22:05
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You are very international. You mentioned London and New York. You studied in London in Ravensbourne College, and then later on you moved to New York after ten years in London, as you mentioned. Why New York?

22:20
Camilla Stærk
It was a personal decision from the first time I came. I was about 18, went to visit a friend and just fell in love with New York completely. I knew I wanted to live in New York, and that's why I took the opportunity for the internship to be in New York and not London.

22:39
Camilla Stærk
And I said at the time, the second I finished college in London, I'm moving, but of course, all these amazing things happened. So I stayed for a bit longer. But there's something about New York that really makes me feel at home.

22:53
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Talk about arriving at JFK, I'm assuming, with your suitcases. What was your first impression of New York when you moved there and you actually had all your belongings with you and you had to settle in? It's a very different thing from visiting.

23:10
Camilla Stærk
Yes. But it was very fluid, actually. I was lucky, because Victor, I'd been friends with at that time already for a long time, so I had a whole little friend group already. And Victor was actually living in Paris just before then, for some years, but moved back on the same day as I moved to New York.

23:34
Camilla Stærk
I was married at the time — we're still very good friends, we are family — with an Englishman, who also came. And we already had a wonderful group of friends that we are still friends with today. We immediately had so much fun.

23:49
Camilla Stærk
However, as I knew it would be, in terms of moving my business, setting up production, especially again, it was a challenge. I was lucky enough, through friends — this is a nice full circle actually — I got introduced to this fantastic intern, Ellie, she wanted to be a designer. She moved from San Francisco.

24:10
Camilla Stærk
I interviewed her on the phone, didn't realize she was in San Francisco. She said, what are the next steps? I said, why don't we do a trial? Why don't you come here? I start at 9:00 am in the morning and why don't we do a trial for a week? She said, great. Didn't hesitate.

24:23
Camilla Stærk
She comes the next morning. I was working from home and we got to the afternoon, I said, would you like some coffee? She's like, yes, I would love some coffee. My jet lag is kicking in. I said, your jet lag? She said yes. I took the red eye from San Francisco.

24:42
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Impressive.

24:43
Camilla Stærk
Ellie —

24:44
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
That's motivation.

24:45
Camilla Stærk
That's motivation. She became my sister and we worked so hard and I was very, very lucky. She was a big part of that whole first few years that were definitely a challenge, but great. When she eventually left to start her own company, she started specializing in uniforms for hospitality. So when Mads asked me for the uniform designs, I said, yes, I'll do it as a collaboration with Ellie. So I called her up and we developed these together.

25:15
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Nice. So, now many years later — more than 20 years later — which part of New York do you call home now and what made you pick this location after having been in the city for a while?

25:28
Camilla Stærk
Yes. When I first came, I was very lucky. I'd found a place at a very good price for the area, which was on Bond Street between Lafayette and Bowery. And then after many years there, I came to Los Angeles actually for eight months.

25:46
Camilla Stærk
And now I am in a sweet place in the West Village, just on the outskirts, on Washington by West 12th. So very close to the river. I looked in different places and it was a nice, light space with lots of sunlight and old school New York.

26:04
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
What makes New York fit so well with your personality?

26:09
Camilla Stærk
I think there's a notion of, you can feel very free in New York, you can experiment. London has the same, I definitely found that. I'm very grateful to have been in London and that I studied in London. Very happy about that. And there's an openness in New York. Everyone is open to a meeting. What have you got to offer? What have you got to present? I like that.

26:37
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And there are a lot of different cultures.

26:39
Camilla Stærk
Exactly. I like that.

26:41
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You grew up in a small place in Denmark called Bonderup, which I've never heard of, I have to admit. I believe you lived on a farm and had horses. What was your upbringing like?

26:54
Camilla Stærk
Yes. Bonderup is very beautiful, vast farmland. It's literally some farms. You can't even see the next farm.

27:04
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And bonde means farmer in Danish.

27:06
Camilla Stærk
Yes. So again, a funny name, just like my last name. And my upbringing was two different things in one, which definitely both have influenced me and my inspiration for sure. There were horses — my mom's whole world is horses, and she used to be a horse breeder. So that's why we were on a farm. And my life with her was around that. And I became very much a rider as well.

27:38
Camilla Stærk
And then my dad, his world was Danish furniture, and he had his company in Copenhagen, so would live in both places. And that was fascinating to me to come in and be part of his world. When I was off school, I would go and work with him for the week or whatever. So it was two things.

27:58
Camilla Stærk
And we started on an old farm. But then in my teenage years, in the years before I then ended up moving to London and not coming back, he and the architect Alfred Homann designed a modern farm and built it, of course, with my mom's input for the stables and everything. That was a very interesting project. It really merged the two worlds in such a special way.

28:25
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Did you also, back then, when you were riding horses and dreaming of Copenhagen, did you dream of a world outside of Denmark too? Was it always a dream of yours to be an international woman?

28:38
Camilla Stærk
I definitely loved traveling, and that is because my dad was very good at bringing my mom and I on business trips when he was going somewhere really exciting, like America or Asia. He would bring my mom and I. So I was very interested in discovering more places, starting with Copenhagen. But then I ended up in London just because I was applying for different universities and that is where I got in.

29:13
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
What was the road from Bonderup to London like? It didn't happen all at once. How did you get there?

29:20
Camilla Stærk
First, I actually thought I was gonna live in Paris. I went to Paris just after gymnasium, high school, and spent three months in Paris working in restaurants and experiencing that. And then, I went to Grenoble for an intensive French course, and realized I was not ready at all to settle in Paris. I love Paris, but I didn't find the footing, that feeling of being at home. It wasn't there. So I decided I wanted to go backpacking.

29:56
Camilla Stærk
So after Grenoble, I went backpacking, like many people did at the time — Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, for a year, working along the way on different things just to make my way there. Met a lot of interesting people and just loved it. Great adventure, and came back and spent some time in Copenhagen.

30:19
Camilla Stærk
I came back in the middle of a year, and then applied for design colleges, and got into London and landed in London. It was definitely not a super easy life. London is huge and it always involves traveling, everything takes an hour to get to, including the school. But again, met great friends, had a good time.

30:48
Camilla Stærk
I started London College of Fashion for the foundation year. And then that took me to the bachelor degree at Ravensbourne. I wasn't in love with the actual course at all, but that final year when I could focus a bit more, I really liked it. And after that great experience in New York with Patrick Robinson, where I thought, okay, there's something here. I had a really nice experience and got more interested in it.

31:17
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Where were you based in London?

31:19
Camilla Stærk
Different places, but mostly around Ladbroke Grove in the first half of my time. And then when I met Barnaby, I moved to Camden, north Camden. So two great places.

31:33
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
When you look back at the time, what were the role models back then? And are they still or have you shifted and created new role models along the way?

31:44
Camilla Stærk
Very much the same, I would say. I think within fashion, Patrick became one for sure, but also, Azzedine Alaïa did things his own way and out of season. Took me a while to get there, but that was something I looked up to, the courage to just do things your own way. It's easier said than done, but I feel I'm getting there.

32:15
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
You are probably the role model of a lot of aspiring designers. What kind of advice would you give people who look up to you and say, wow, Camille Stærk is doing so well. How can I do it like her?

32:29
Camilla Stærk
Oh, I would say, always go with your gut feeling. There's gonna be a lot of great advice along the way, make sure you always feel the different routes that you take, that you really feel comfortable with it, and feel like yourself in it. There's gonna be lots of changes along the way, but go with your gut.

32:51
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
When you look back at your career so far, which moments stood out for you, would you say, were defining moments in your career?

32:58
Camilla Stærk
I would say, definitely the chance I was given coming out of college. I was able to get my collection before I graduated in front of one of the best stores, Browns in London. And the buyer at the time placed an order. I didn't tell anybody, but she did. And so at my graduate show, Hilary Alexander from the Daily Telegraph did a big piece about that.

33:25
Camilla Stærk
That published the day after and I got a phone call from Fashion East, which is still going, but they were just starting a sponsorship initiative supporting upcoming designers. I was able to show as part of London Fashion Week, both a runway, but also through a sales stand for the week. That was the beginning of everything, a huge defining moment.

33:48
Camilla Stærk
And then, I would say the last few years, the Ilis project, really was a big, important, significant project, because it has these different touch points for me. And my launch with Twentieth of my chaise and my launch with Design Within Reach. Those three, I would say, very, very proud moments.

34:16
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
And my final question to you, even though I could go on and listen to you. What would you still want to achieve? Do you have a bucket list or are you more like you go with the flow, you see something and you go for it at that point?

34:32
Camilla Stærk
I try to not to be too set in terms of, I need to do this and this and this, but have an organic approach to it. Because as I said before, I like doing a lot of different things at once, because they feed into each other and it will always lead to something unexpected. And so keep it open. One thing I know is that I have to create. That is just part of me.

34:57
Camilla Stærk
So if I can keep expressing myself in different ways, that will be what I'll be doing. Because that makes me happy. And then creating the whole universe that I was talking about and that I felt from the beginning. And always getting to do all these different things and experiences. It's that storytelling, if we can continue that.

35:25
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
Well, thank you so much for your time, Camilla. We appreciate that you're part of Danish Originals and having us at your friend's house in Los Feliz.

35:34
Camilla Stærk
Thank you so much for having me.

35:39
Tina Jøhnk Christensen
For today's episode, Camilla Stærk chose Anne Marie Carl Nielsen's Hvilende føl or Reclining Foal from 1937 from the collection of the National Gallery of Art.