Trickster

I never planned to leave Estonia nor planned to stay. it just happened like that. 

I've always been someone who gets excited by new experiences, whether attending an interesting workshop, seizing the opportunity to do a semester abroad, or finding a cheap ticket to a random city and deciding to explore it, so it felt natural.

Originally, my dream was to land an internship at Filling Pieces in Amsterdam. I never could have imagined that one day I'd be working at adidas, let alone being part of the Y-3 team, but of course when the opportunity arose, I didn’t hesitate for a second. 

To be honest, I’m not completely up to date with everything that’s happening in the fashion or design scene in Estonia right now, but I am always really proud to mention and talk about everything Estonian design-related. Whether it’s something I’m wearing, a piece of furniture or jewelry, or for example even recommending people to stay at ÖÖD houses around the world.

I love what Estonian design has to offer. 

I’ve never had trouble adjusting to new environments, though I also never had to do it in a completely foreign environment. I find Germans and Estonians quite similar—both tend to be quiet and reserved at first but very friendly once you get to know them. Also, Nürnberg, where I live in Germany, is similar to Tallinn in terms of size and population, so there was no culture shock regarding that. 

However, after living here and frequently traveling to Paris, I’ve realized that I wouldn’t enjoy living in a big city where it takes hours to meet friends or escape to nature. I prefer places where I can hop on a bike and be in the forest within a few minutes or walk to a good coffee shop in 15 minutes. 

I never studied fashion design. My background is in accessories and leather design, which, in my eyes, is more similar to product design due to the problem-solving aspect.

Fashion design has always felt more artistic to me. In a way, it’s more similar to the fine arts, where personal expression and ideas are essential. Product design tries to find the perfect balance between creativity, form, and function. Although the thought and work processes for fashion and product designers are pretty similar - coming up with a brief, getting it from marketing, then starting with researching and moodboarding, sketching and prototyping, and developing the concept further through more detailed sketches, patterns, material maps etc - the approach to product development is different.

In the footwear industry, product development starts only after the designers are finished with their ideation process. Product developers are the real problem solvers - they need to assist with the feasibility of the design, address various technical challenges, and make the design as manufacturable as possible while staying true to the original concept. 

At work, we often joke that design, development, and marketing are like a trio that’s always at each other's backs. However, I think the beauty of the process lies in learning to work together harmoniously as we all bring an unique set of skills that in the end make a successful product.  

I don’t have any strong feelings about it. I use it occasionally, mostly for fun, for example, asking chatGPT random fun questions, creating meal plans, or experimenting with different AI tools to explore design concepts at the start of the season. 

I do believe there’s a future for AI in the medical field. For example, it’s remarkable how AI-powered software can detect breast cancer earlier than people and traditional methods, but I’m afraid much AI is used for pointless commercial purposes.

In one sentence - the thrill of the unknown keeps me going. 

Being in the fashion industry, I’m very aware that on a deeper level, what we’re doing is completely pointless: We’re not saving lives; in the end, it’s just shoes that no one actually needs. So what motivates me is the excitement of what’s yet to come—new, undiscovered materials and technologies, new work processes.

I’m also enjoying the fact that nowadays, we can so easily switch from one field to another and from one country to another. I’m deeply enjoying life as it is, but I also embrace the possibility of doing something completely different in the future, and that’s perfectly okay. Or maybe I’ll be a footwear designer for another 20 years, no one knows, and that’s the beauty of it.

The sense of exploration and freedom to learn new skills and discover new places or perspectives is what fuels me. I want to keep learning, improving my existing skills, and growing—that’s what keeps me moving forward.

100% definitely not. I was a heels girl when growing up (although now I can't even walk in heels anymore), I didn’t wear sneakers until I was in university, and I don’t even own all the shoes I have designed!

Do you care what you wear? In which ways has your attitude towards clothes evolved?

I do care what I wear, but at the same time, I don’t. I keep up with trends (mostly due to my work), but I’m very easy with clothing in a way that I don’t care about brand names or that it’s following the latest trend. But I do care about materials that feel good against the skin. I still have some things in my closet that are from Humana from at least ten years ago, and I continue to enjoy and wear them frequently. 

Nowadays, I try to buy fewer but better-quality items that are timeless. I want to feel comfy and confident in the clothes I wear.

Putting aside the well-known environmental and labor-exploitation issues, I think the biggest but easiest-to-change problem of the modern business of fashion is the lack of inclusivity. It’s already slowly changing, but I feel that this is a relatively simple issue to fix, yet it remains inadequately addressed. 

Talking about more specific moments or actions, I think it’s sad how fashion (and society in general) is a game of egos where everyone wants to see the other side failing, so it often results in campaigns being scrutinized for flaws, with people actively searching for mistakes. In today’s climate, where political correctness is highly sensitive, it’s easy for such errors to occur.

First of all, my big dream is to have a studio with a lot of light, high ceilings, and different machines and tools, from woodcarving to sewing machines and other stuff. 

Unfortunately, most days, I go to the office, and on Fridays, I’m usually in my home office working behind my handmade tiled desk or working from a cafe. 

My typical day starts at nine and ends around five, and after that, I’m often at the gym.

We’re usually working on many seasons simultaneously, so my workdays are either very chill or very busy; there’s more or less nothing in between. It gets hectic after sample review, when we need to focus on design and pattern updates to be made on Illustrator, re-sketch some designs, or rework some details, or when we’re preparing for a seasonal kick-off and need to get as many ideas on paper as possible. During quieter times, things are more laid-back, so I can go to Makerlab to clear my mind, get my hands dirty, and do something that doesn’t involve looking at the screen. 

A perfect day of leisure should be nice and sunny, but not too warm and ideally I’d be somewhere in the mountains. I’d wake up early-ish, have a nice long breakfast on the balcony, and head out for a 15-20 km hike. After a few hours of walking (that includes a few snack breaks, of course), we’d arrive at the hut and have lunch; if I were in the Alps, I’d definitely drink Almdudler (it’s Austrian herbal lemonade). Then, after arriving back down the mountain, hopefully, there’s a lake to go for a quick swim before a shower that feels like the best shower ever. In the afternoon, I’d feel spa-tired (I don’t think it’s a real word, but in my group of friends, we always use it - it’s the cozy-tired feeling you get after going to the spa/sauna or after an active day after you’ve showered) and would have a small nap before going out for dinner.

On a normal weekly perfect day of leisure, I usually cycle, go out for coffee, and meet friends. 

150% DOGS! My favorite pastime on the way to the office is guessing how many dogs I’ll see in the park and how cute they will be on a scale of 1-10. 

I get very anxious when I have to be in a new group of people and when I don’t “click” instantly with one/few of them. I hate small talk, and I’m really bad at it. 

Presenting or talking in front of people makes me anxious as well. I don’t think I’ve nailed how to get rid of it, but I’m getting more used to doing it and therefore I’m less anxious. 

Who hasn’t?! Sometimes, to this day, I feel that I don’t know how I got to where I am and that it should be someone else instead of me. 

It feels like things just come naturally to me without much effort, and I had the same feeling back in school as I never had to actively study hard, but I still did well. 

Very often in my life, everything fell into place effortlessly.

I rarely feel bored. I’m very crafty person, so I usually have many projects on my mind and in the process. I’m always missing time to finish them before starting a new one. I don’t remember when was the last time I felt bored. 

A few years ago, I was extremely overworked, and I made a deal with myself that I needed to learn to work smarter, not harder. The outcome is that whenever it’s a quiet time, I try to relax as much as possible, but on the other hand, I work very well under pressure. I love the feeling of having a long to-do list and being in the zone, steadily checking things off one by one, and staying organized; I always have a lot of to-do lists.

As a designer, I think we never really stop working - walking in the city or scrolling on Instagram automatically becomes “work” when you see something exciting and inspiring.

The creative process in the Y-3 team is much more open and free than in some other teams, and it’s not just marketing coming up with specific briefs - everyone’s ideas are welcomed. Usually, at the start of a season, I’ll come up with a few ideas and then research to see if they’re relevant. If they are, I’ll back them up with references—whether from the archives or current trends. From there, I move on to sketching, creating tech packs, developing upper patterns, and working on tooling or outsole designs.

Over time I also learnt that whenever I face a wall of uncreativity, it’s always better to step away and do something else, even if timewise it doesn't make sense. It could be either taking a nap when I’m tired, going on a city trip, or even going for a run, and I’ll automatically feel inspired again. 

I'm a very strong team player - I believe no idea is as good on it´s own as it can be when a team collaborates. 

That's a good but really complicated question. I really loved and want to go back to Iceland. The nature is so impressive, and I’ve only seen it in winter, so I’m dying to go back in summer and hopefully stay a bit longer.

My home (whenever it is) is always the best place after a long (business)trip. 

Estonian summers! There’s something special about summers in Estonia; they’re much more precious than summers anywhere else in the world. 

This industry is so small, so you might end up working with people you once looked up to. 

Funny story: When I first started as an assistant designer at Adidas, I really admired a footwear designer at Puma. She was a woman (which was still quite rare a few years ago when I started), only a few years older than me, but she was responsible for most of Puma’s collaborations back in the day. I thought she was so cool and really wanted to meet her, and funnily enough, now we’re working together. 

Nowadays, I mostly admire small creatives who do the thing or craft they like and just embrace who they are. This intimacy and honesty are amazing. For example, I really respect what @herrlich.dining is doing and how far she has come.

I’m not a big jokester, but Instagram account @good.cheap.fast has so many good ones that always make me laugh out loud.

If I could travel anywhere, I’d very much like to see how the statues of Easter Island or Stonehenge were built. On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind spending a few days in 20s Paris and hanging out with all the creatives of that time.

I’d say that you should always say yes to new experiences, never think that something is impossible, and also to be more confident in yourself and love yourself - the last one took me a while to figure out, but maybe it’s one of these things you’re supposed to learn a bit later in your life.