The Sealpelt. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Gulli Mar.

1. What kind of design do you do?

We, Vík Prjónsdóttir, do knitting. We have been collaborating with a local knitting factory here in Iceland since 2005. We make blankets, scarves and hats. All our products are made out of Icelandic sheep wool, so it is a local production from a local material. Now for the first time we have started a collaboration with a knitting factory in Germany that we got to know through friends and we will have some new things ready in the fall.

2. Tell me about your background as designers/artists.

We are three designers: two product designers and one fashion designer that also is an artist. (In the beginning we were five: The two others also are product designers, but in 2010 they moved abroad and started to work on other projects.) Vík Prjónsdóttir has been our main project since we graduated.

We use stories as a source for inspirations, folk tales and myths and stories we make up.

The story behind the name Vík Prjónsdóttir is that as we are a group of designers working together we decided to make up a name. Vík Prjónsdóttir sounds like a real Icelandic name, but it is not real; Vík means “a bay,” and our knitting factory was located in a village called Vík, and Prjónsdóttir means “the daughter of knitting.” And as we have this fake name, kind of an alter ego—we talk about her, what Vík is thinking and what Vík likes. So it makes it easier for us to work together because we are working for her and under her name.

Everything we do together is a team work, all the design process is done together, the drawings and sketches move around from one hand to the other. We use stories as a source for inspirations, we use true stories, new and old, folk tales and myths and stories that we make up.

The designers and owners of Vík Prjónsdóttir; Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, Thurídur Rós Sigurthórsdóttir and Gudfinna Mjöll Magnúsdóttir. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Ari Magg.

3. What was the worst design gig/client you ever had? Dish all the juicy bits.

Humm…I really don’t know, as we are usually just making our own stuff, so probably we are our worst clients as it usually takes a very long time to finish things. Things have to go through lots of discussion to be finalized.

4. Who are your favorite designers at the moment?

We love to do collaborations and we love to work with all kinds of different designers and artist here are the few we have been working with recently and are planing to work with and that we really like!

Eley Kishimoto
Karlsson Wilker
JÖR
Petra Lilja
Henrik Vibskov Boutique
Studio Greiling
Company
Brynjar Sigurðarson
Katja Pettersson

5. What’s the most helpful tip you could share with aspiring designers?

Don’t stop, keep on going and share your work, talk to others and listen to the ones you believe in. And the most important is to listen and trust your own guts.

Baby Seal. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Marino Thorlacius.

Healing Hands and The Wing. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Marino Thorlacius.

The Beardcap. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Gulli Mar.

The Twosome Blanket. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Marino Thorlacius.

The Helm of Disguise. © Vík Prjónsdóttir. Photo by Gulli Mar.