MUSES Convo with: Laura Takahashi, PR and branding expert

Can you tell us about your journey to working with @oddlemoncph and what your role entails?

I was writing my master in Visual Culture at the University of Copenhagen when I got pregnant with my first child. At the same time Mathilde, founder of Odd Lemon, was pregnant with her first one. Halfway through pregnancy we started to connect via Instagram as we both were having boys. What is funny is that we are actually from the same small town but with a 6 year gap we didn’t’ know each other at all. Once the boys were born we started seeing each other and that was just it! I was facing a future with a 9-17 job that I did not want after becoming a mother. Mathilde was now alone with her business, and needed someone with my skills to rebrand Odd Lemon and make it her own. Rest is history! But flexibility and friendship, that is what I got. 

My role in Odd Lemon is primary PR, communication, branding and content creation. But I also like to see myself as an octopus – I think actually we both are octopuses, bcs 16 arms are needed, so that is what we have. But we are both mothers, so we are used to it, I guess. It’s a super power.

 

How has your collaboration with Mathilde at Odd Lemon influenced your creative process and work?

I love to work with Mathilde and couldn’t imagine not to! We just get the best out of each other and just complement each other in every aspect. My brain is a popcorn machine of ideas and Mathilde catches the best of them and give them wings to fly. She make things happen! Also we are on the same path of life with small kids and simple living where time with our loved ones is considered as the most precious. And the fact that we both love flexibility and a great work life balance also makes us a lot more effective while working. Being only two people to run a business requires a lot and even though we like to think slow we are always ahead in our work process. Love that about us! Corny as it may sound, we are a dream team.

 

As a PR and branding expert, what do you believe are the key elements for successful content creation?

Successful content creation is about transforming your brand and it’s values into a story that evokes feelings. Also you must find your own style. Being or doing as everyone else is easy, but in my opinion that is not what makes succesful content.

 

You mentioned being a crochet designer at @laurahjertefryd. Can you share some of your favorite projects you've worked on?

Regarding my crochet design I have a lot of things in my portfolio. Now crocheting is very trendy, but I did crochet way before that. Ok, I sounds like a 100 year old dinosaur when I say this, but I have been crocheting regulary for more than 15 years!!! I have worked on the former crafting magazine Maries ideer at Aller Media as a web editor, made bunch of patterns for magazines as well, collaborated with Helmstedt on cphfw designing crochet showpieces for their fw19 show. Also I have made some collab designs for Odd Lemon, and without saying to much, I am right now working on something even bigger.

 

How do you balance your work at Odd Lemon with your projects at Laura Hjertefryd and your role as a mother?

Odd Lemon is my work and Laura Hjertefryd is my hobby, so that’s easy to balance. Also both things makes it easy to be the mother I wanna be. My work at Odd Lemon gives me flexibility and time with my kids, and my hobby, slow as it is, does not require me to be somewhere else. I can actually spend time with my kids and be present while crocheting. It might go a lot slower when they are around, but that is fine for me. 

 

Living in Copenhagen, how does the city inspire your creativity and the way you approach your work?

I love the possibilities and the fact that everything is just around the corner. That makes life easy. But I do dream of a garden with some green grass under my feet. I like when it’s peacefully quiet. I guess that dream has to wait a bit… Bcs as I mentioned, the possibilities wouldn’t be the same outside Copenhagen. Everything I’ve done and do work wise is because of living in the city, meeting different kind of people. I want to give that to my children too – the possibilities. 

 

What role do colors and aesthetics play in your life and work? How do they influence your designs?

I’m asked that kind of question very often, and still I find it very difficult to answer. I guess colors and my aesthetic is just a part of who I am and the way I think. I don’t know how things would be without it?

 

Can you share your thoughts on motherhood and how it has shaped your creative endeavors?

I am a very intuitive person. I just do what I feel like and somehow it always works out. It's clear that my creative endeavors have probably changed after becoming a mother but I don’t mind it. Right now being a mother is the most important thing and I am sure being creative makes me a better one. Things are as things should be. 

 

What do you find most rewarding about being a mother, and how does that experience reflect in your work?

The most rewarding about being a mother is the love I feel for those small humans. Their happiness is mine and I just wanna do everything to maintain those smiles on their faces. They truly give life meaning! And I guess the way I choose to spend my time is how that experience is reflected in my work. I know my priorities.

 

As a creative individual, what do you need to thrive in your projects? Are there specific environments or routines you find helpful? 

Ideas come to me unconditionally all the time. I may need a complete calm enviroment and full concentration to execute parts of them. And let me say, if it's incompatible with the way I live then it’s just not a good enough idea. My couch should always fit into the calculatuion!

 

What advice would you give to other mothers looking to pursue their creative passions while raising children?

Stay true to yourself, be who you wanna be for your children and with them. Things might go slower while your kiddos are small, but they grow bigger and so does the time for yourself. And one can both be present and enjoy all the moments at the same time as looking forward. Bcs aren’t dreams and hope for the future what drives us anyway?

 

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the future—both personally and professionally?

I like the fact that the future is unpredictable. With that said I always hope for the best. Today is a gift and so is tomorrow. The future is a surprise, and as with gifts I hope for a good one. But yes.. What are my aspirations? I love my little family and I am so thankful for the life we live. I think it would be selfish to ask for more. But again, one can always dream and I do dream of more kids in the future, I do dream of a tiny tiny garden and just more of this beautiful life I have the privilige to live. Professionally I am working on something very exciting which I can’t reveal until months into 2025. But it will be so good, I promise.