REPORTAGE

Linnea swapped city life at an agency for studies in Skellefteå

After ten years at an advertising agency in Stockholm, illustrator and designer Linnea Ingeborg Lundqvist has chosen to change career paths. Today she lives in Skellefteå with her family and is studying to be a nurse. But creativity lives on alongside her studies.

Linnea grew up in Stockholm, but since 2020 she has lived in a single-storey house in Sunnanå with her partner Nils. Nowadays, her daughter Eini, two years old, also lives there. The move to Skellefteå in the fall of 2020 meant a new chapter in life.

After ten years as a designer at an agency - where she worked with clients in the restaurant and lifestyle sector - she took the step into freelance life as a graphic designer and illustrator. But after just one year as a freelancer, Linnea decided to change career paths completely. Since January, she has been studying to become a nurse.

- "There is a lot of competition in the design industry, especially in recent years. With AI and everything that is happening, it has become tough. And I felt that I wanted to do something that felt important to me.

The nursing program in Skellefteå is distance learning via Umeå University, with physical meetings from time to time.

- It has always been in the back of my mind to work with people in a different way. Now I felt that it was a good time to try. And it feels really good so far," she says.

Creativity is still alive
Alongside my studies in nursing, my creative side remains.

- I still have my company for design and illustration. But the focus is on studying, so we'll see how to combine it in the future. It may just be something I do in my spare time. One does not have to exclude the other.

Her expression as an illustrator is inspired by children's books from the 50s and 60s, but also folk art and crafts.

- "Right now I try to draw a lot by hand. I use markers and ink pens, some watercolor. I used to draw digitally, but now I find it more exciting to try analog. It's freer.

Nature attracted
Linnea and her partner Nils chose to move to Skellefteå because of the quality of life.

- "We were looking for a different kind of life. To be able to buy a house, live closer to nature, be able to ski. It felt like we weren't taking advantage of Stockholm life anymore. We were done with it.

Moving during the pandemic was special, she says.

- "The first few years were a bit strange. It took time before you felt that you actually lived here. But now it feels very good. It's a calmer existence.

There is no homesickness for Stockholm.

- It has become the opposite. When I visit, I don't feel that I miss it at all. I'm very happy with what I have up here," says Linnea.

The fact that Skellefteå has a rich cultural life is something she values.

- "When we decided to move up, it felt important that there were things to do and restaurants to go to. And there are. I like going to flea markets - Kupan and PMU are favorites. And then there are some friends who meet every other Saturday at Kork, a wine bar. It has become a tradition.

She describes being a parent of young children in Skellefteå as simple and easy.

- "It's so close to everything. And the library at Sara is very nice.

Text: Olov Antonsson

Illustrations: Linnea Ingeborg Lundqvist