That Scandinavian Feeling
Milan, Italy
Ingrid Opstad is a freelance graphic designer and a social media manager. Her career started in Leeds where she completed her Master in graphic design and moved to London where she worked as an internship at a music venue designing their promotional materials - posters, flyers etc. Her career took her to another live event company where she spent the next 4 years learning about film premieres, sporting events, and event planning. After moving to Italy she started working freelance and focusing more on her blog. Ingrid now does everything from creating logos, websites, brochures to managing social media for her clients.
When I first started blogging I did it as a way of being creative in my spare time, I wanted an outlet where I could share things I created and designs I came across that I loved. After moving to Milano, Italy, the blog naturally changed directions as I became more interested in sharing my heritage. The title That Scandinavian Feeling naturally became the name of the blog as I was a Norwegian living abroad and trying to find that Scandinavian feeling from my surroundings. I want the blog to represent the feeling of coziness and calm with a Nordic simplistic and minimalistic style. The blog is intended to share my knowledge and love for Scandinavia; it touches upon everything from interiors, design, and lifestyle. The blog is still quite young (2.5 years old) but I have a lot of ideas on how to evolve the brand further.
After living in the UK for many years, both me and my boyfriend knew we wanted a change. We were foreigners there - him Italian and me Norwegian - and always felt like it was a temporary place for us. We thought about moving to either Norway or Italy and circumstances pushed us towards Italy. Being here in Italy rather than In Norway is very inspiring to me. First, I am used to living in a big city with a lot of things happening, so being close to Milano is great. I especially love the buzz around the city during design week in April - a great time to get inspired and meet likeminded people from all over the world. Secondly, being in Italy and blogging about Scandinavian life and culture is perfect because I can take a step back and look at it from afar.
My little apartment and desk is my little Scandinavia. When I am here blogging or working in my workspace, I feel at home, but as soon as I step outside I am taken back to Italy - I love that feeling I want to show people how they can create a Scandinavian atmosphere no matter where they are in the world.
My advice to readers is that a good education is the best base. I started my studies in Norway where I completed art school, I always knew I wanted to do something creative but was not sure what at the time. I then came across graphic design. Moving abroad to study in the UK was a challenge, but it helped broaden my creativity, language skills, and mindset.
MORE ABOUT INGRID OPSTAD
Photos by: Ingrid Opstad