From bearded hipsters to her own brand – illustrator Karin Ohlsson found her creative path at Mid Sweden University

In a 50 square meter studio in Hägersten, filled with mugs, prints, bags, button machines and art materials, you will find Karin Ohlsson – illustrator, designer, creator and the company BahKadisch. Here she works in a flow that rarely takes a break.

"I get completely lost in the creative process. If I sit down at the drawing board or the sewing machine, four hours can go by without me noticing," says Karin.

That's why she's decided, among other things, that her new favorite project, sewing small bags, which she calls "bag in the bag", can only be made at home in the evenings and during weekends.

But doesn't that mean that you work all the time?

–Well. But I'm also good at sleeping in.

She laughs a little and adds:  

"I see it as working around the clock – but I have no problem with that. Many of the people I work with also run their own business and there is a constant flow of emails and dialogues. I can't imagine only working during office hours.

An early love of drawing

Karin grew up in Östersund and has, as she puts it herself, "always drawn". The Christmas gift wishes consisted of markers and stacks of drawing paper. During high school, when art lessons consisted of "drawing shadows" and "photorealism", she lost a bit of desire.

When she then started at Mid Sweden University's Graphic Design and Communication programme in Sundsvall in 2007, her desire to draw began to return. She started a blog and filled it with drawings. During her time at Mid Sweden University, she also received help to start a sole proprietorship. "Illustrator Karin Ohlsson" sounded too boring, she thought, and would rather be called something with the sound effect "kadisch", which she used a lot as a child. "Kaddish" also turned out to be the name of a Jewish prayer, so she chose to add "bah".

"Because I'm a typical 80s person and said 'bah' all the time.

The result was the company name BahKadisch, a name that turned out to be great. And really bad.

"It's great in the sense that when you google BahKadisch, there's no one else named like that. There's only me. But it's also really bad because there's no cone that can spell it correctly.

Advertising agency, hipsters and new paths

After graduating, Karin did an internship at an advertising agency in Stockholm, which led to employment as an art director. At the advertising agency, her most famous motif also appeared: The bearded men.

"The advertising agency was located in the middle of Södermalm and this was when the hipster era was at its peak. Everyone brewed their own beer and baked sourdough bread. I was surrounded by these beards.

A black and white man with a big beard was born. On one of her best-selling motifs, the bearded man sits with a cup of coffee with the text "In Sweden we call it a fika" underneath.   

Now, just over 12 years later, the black and white man is still her signature.

"It really stuck, I'm very happy about that.

From parental leave to self-employment

When her first child was born in 2014, the idea of starting her own business began to grow. She already had BahKadisch lying dormant.

"I usually jokingly say that it's perfect to start your own business when you have children – then you have the parental money to gamble with," she says and laughs.

During her parental leave, she contacted Designtorget, which quickly encouraged her to invest fully. To this day, you can buy her prints, trays and mugs there.

Today, Karin runs both a web shop, a studio and a small shop. The products range from prints and mugs to trays, buttons, bags and art supplies. She also takes on assignments in graphic design and illustration for companies such as Åhléns and Matgeek and she designs everything from beer cans to walls in office hotels.

"It's the breadth that makes the company go around. I wouldn't have been able to live on just the online store, or just illustrations.

On social media, she generously shares her work process, something that is appreciated by the over 15,000 followers she has on Instagram.

"I don't really have a strategy behind my social media. I just think it's fun to show how I do it and I've noticed that my followers really like to see how it's done when I'm sewing bags or pressing buttons, for example.

A look back at Mid Sweden University

Looking back on her education, she describes it as a solid foundation.

"It's been 15 years now, but I got a lot of useful things from the education. The combination of graphic design and communication gave me a broad understanding of the industry. I'm happy that I'm a graphic designer, at the same time as I've added an illustrator, I think it's made me more attractive in the job market.

In five years, she still sees herself in the same place. In the studio and with new projects underway. Over the years, the black and white motifs have had to make room for more color and the creative process is constantly present. Maybe with fewer but larger assignments for customers, so she has more time for her own projects.  

And the bearded men are still there?

"Yes, yes, they are the backbone of this company.

The best-selling mug "cop coffee", "Bag in bag", buttons and then the classic "beard man". From bahkadisch.se