In Conversation with Tekla Founder Charlie Hedin

The founder and creative director of the Scandinavian bedding brand on his background in fashion, functionality as freedom, and the brand’s collaboration with architect John Pawson

Design Anthology: You first worked as a sailmaker, how did you get into fashion?

Charlie Hedin: I sailed professionally when I was younger, and when I was 18, I had a side job as a sailmaker. I got into fashion because my best friend worked at Acne, which his brother actually owned. I started at Acne when I was 23 and worked as the CEO’s assistant. I came straight out of school, I’d never worked in a shop and I had a big interest in architecture. 

Working for Acne in my 20s was amazing. I learned so much — it was the best education that I could get. I'm very grateful to everyone there, for what I was allowed to do and how much I learned from them. From working on their fashion shows to working with the branding and sales teams, everything was fantastic. 

Has your background in sailing had any influence on your design career?

CH: I think it really forced into me that everything needs to be functional. When you sail, you need things that work. A towel should be something that gets you dry, for example. You wouldn't buy a sweater if it wasn’t breathable or light. I think everything that I put into Tekla is about functionality.

And what led you to establishing your own brand?

I’ve moved around so much — Paris, Amsterdam, L.A, and now I live in Copenhagen. Every time I moved I needed to buy new bedsheets or towels, and I just never found anything that I liked. There was nothing that made me think ‘This is it’. That’s what sparked the idea that eventually became Tekla. It wasn’t just about home textiles, it was more about creating leisure wear — something that you buy to wear in your spare time or to sleep in; products that I want to use, that are very functional but in a beautiful way.

I think I design a lot of things for me and my friends. It’s about functionality before form — I always start with the function and then I add the designs after that. Tekla is about freedom, and to me functionality is freedom. To live simply and not have too many things, to live in an empty space with less but better furniture makes it all so relaxed, and adds more quality to your life I think. 

So sustainability is quite a big part of your design ethos?

Sustainability comes so naturally to us. It should be in your DNA to produce things that don't need to be changed after six months. Everything that we do carries over to the next season, we don't put things on sale. The quality of our products is really high, which means that they’ll last a long time. We try to make things that are very timeless. I think even a lavender-coloured bedsheet is something you’d actually keep until you wash it out, basically. We make everything from organic cotton, and there’s no plastic in our supply chain. I think we’re as sustainable as you can get. 

What do you enjoy most about the design process?

I love the beginning, the research phase of sitting and thinking about how we can make the best possible product. 

Lastly, can you tell us more about your collaboration with John Pawson?

John Pawson’s son is actually a good friend of mine. When I started Tekla, we were having dinner in Copenhagen one evening and he suggested I collaborate with his father. I’ve always admired John’s work, and I'm a very big fan of the kind of thinking you can see in his work and that of other architects like Eero Saarinen. I think their way of thinking about space is very interesting. They're very different, but they're big idols for me. Walking into one of John’s houses can feel like walking into a church, it’s very relaxing. 

John told me that he had just built a summer house and needed textiles for it. It was really straightforward in a way. I think that we had the same thoughts and ideas, which made it very easy to work together. We’re launching four new blankets as part of our collaboration with him, and we’re also looking into some other things for the future. 

As told to / Babette Radclyffe-Thomas 
Images / Courtesy of Tekla