Swedish designer Sofia Holt recently left Vietnam after 7 years in the country. In a recent post from Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi, she talks about some of her highlights during her time in Vietnam, her impressions and thoughts on the similarities and differences between Sweden and Vietnam, and what she misses most about Vietnam.
Sofia Holt came to Vietnam in 2014 to design furniture and decoration for a company with stores in Saigon and Hanoi. After a while, she started working freelance with fashion, illustration, concept, furniture and craft projects. In parallel, she led creative workshops for adults and last year for the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi on the occasion of Pippi LÃ¥ngstrump’s 75th birthday.
“Saigon is on fire when it comes to entrepreneurship and business development, which has fostered my creativity and motivated me to act quickly, without thinking too much,†says Sofia Holt.
Some of its highlights in Vietnam include a concept to breathe new life into used pants from German fashion label DAWN, on display at Berlin Fashion Week 2019. 17 illustrations showing sustainable travel for EXO Travel. A collection with Vietnamese LIBÉ to motivate young women to a balanced lifestyle. Illustration from the bilingual children’s book VN-ENG “The Lost Sandalâ€, and perhaps his most popular work; the BABES collection which is a collection to help women feel comfortable with themselves.
Now back in her home country, Sweden, there are things she really enjoys about the northern country. “It’s cold in Sweden even at + 15C, but it’s fantastic to be back and rediscover Swedish wildlife and all the habits I had forgotten, meet family, listen and speak Swedish, dust off the clothes fall and sleep with a thick duvet without noisy air conditioning, â€explains Sofia Holt.
Sofia Hold hopes to be able to keep the Vietnamese state of mind in Sweden. “I learned to set standards for my design processes, but also the importance of flexibility since each project is different. Vietnam allowed me to test many different subjects within design, to find my way. I saw different standards of living, another way of ruling a country, another spiritual belief and other visions of life in general. All this knowledge is excellent for me as a designer, whose main task is to solve problems or create concepts that are usable not only for Swedes.
Before returning to Sweden, Sofia Holt started a project called “Painting Against Covid-19†where she painted 16 everyday objects during quarantine in her apartment and auctioned them online to donate the money to charities fighting against the pandemic. “We raised 30,900,000 VND and it was nice to show how art and design can help societies in times of crisis.
It was also a way to keep a cool head during confinement. Hopefully this inspires creativity at home by recycling old items instead of buying new ones, â€says Sofia Holt.
Speaking about the most dominant differences between Sweden and Vietnam, Sofia Hold says: “Sweden is silent, slow, calm, ‘lagom’, equal, democratic and expensive with the dominant design phrase ‘less is more’. . Compared to the noisy, fast, hot, energetic, eclectic, family-run Saigon society with larger economic gaps and the design expression is more ‘exaggerated’. Both countries are kind, caring and helpful in emergencies, and both peoples are quite shy.
“After seven years in the Asian country, there are things that are missing. “I miss my organized home studio setup and easy access to design material. I miss the unexpected inspiration I receive daily just walking outside facing the vibrant reality of Saigon. It woke me up from the introverted work world. I also miss the multicultural environment, â€she says.
About her future plans, Sofia Holt says: “Now I hope to establish myself as a freelance designer in Sweden. However, the design concepts provided by the CAD files can still be sent anywhere. I contact stores to sell my designs and translate ‘The Lost Sandal’ for publication in Sweden. My mother and I were also invited to organize a collaborative exhibition in the Swedish town of Säffle. She is also a craftswoman and has a ceramic workshop. I am eager to start working on new designs for my own brand but also open to collaborations across the world. I can’t wait to see the rest! said Sofia Holt.
Sofia Holt’s BABES collection is available around Saigon and Hanoi. According to the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi, she also plans to return to Vietnam at some point, but until then you can reach her and follow her through here.
