Meet Sofie Engström von Alten | Illustrator + rug designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sofie Engström von Alten and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sofie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
From a very young age I loved drawing and coloring. In old family photos there’s me clutching a cookie in one hand and a crayon in the other. My love for coloring and storytelling (and cookies) have stuck with me throughout my life. I doodled constantly through school, making comic books about my Barbies’ love lives and designing tattoos for my friends. Eventually I was illustrating books and designing band posters for money. It seemed like a natural progression to make a business out of what I love, and that’s how I started illustrating children’s books.

Ten years after graduating college I get to create full time—designing the art for kids books, telling stories with illustrations for pop ups and small companies, and illustrating posters for bands, wineries, and events.

During the pandemic I took my art to another level. Stuck inside, I started (like many) to meditate on the home-habitat space and how we interact with it. It didn’t take long before I was designing carpets, poufs and wall hangings, playing with textures and strange sensory landscapes. I get a lot of inspiration from interior designers/creators like Aelfie (insta @aelfie_) and Alex Proba (@alexproba), and kept my designs light-hearted, bright and playful. I got a tufting gun to make my 3D textured creations and also outsourced some illustrations to a weaver, who made Mexican kilim-like tapestries out of my art. It was an incredibly rewarding, magical experience to see my designs come to life, and it felt great to employ and support local artisans! The woven results are beautiful and cozy, and I’ve started a small side-hustle designing and shipping rugs to clients, friends and family.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been working as a commercial children’s illustrator for almost a decade, but also see myself as a multimedia artist. I’ve participated in several international artist residencies where I created dozens of paintings, and am currently working / learning in the world of art objects like carpets and tapestries.

I first got started when a woman saw a ‘zine’ I made about hitchhiking from Berlin to Istanbul. The zine was full of colorful illustrations about my experiences in different Eastern Bloc countries – comparing pastries and drinks, bits of language I picked up and intricate coloring pages of the cityscapes I saw. The woman was a life coach and asked me to illustrate her uplifting children’s book. We began a collaboration that took almost a year to complete. I’m very grateful to have worked with such a patient and kind person for my first project; I had much to learn along the way!

At that time I was living and working as an artist in residence in a massive refurbished factory complex in Berlin. The place was an industrial concrete/steel landscape, with one section manufacturing trains and another making huge sound systems, which they would ‘test’ every weekend. I had been a part-time assistant pouring champagne for an art dealer, Stephan Schroer, at his gallery Fresh Eggs. When he saw my drawings, he invited me to do a residency at his place on the condition that I would take care of the art pieces while he was away. It was a thrill to sweep around the stark wooden and steel sculptures and dust off framed prints by Otto Dix and Kandinsky. Stephan also happens to be good friends with Rammstein, and represents Till Lindemann who makes awesome 3D art and sculpture. During that time I learned a lot about the art world and got to experience more than a few metal concerts.

With the trust and support of these two people, I expanded my portfolio and started receiving commissions. Eventually I also made a profile on freelancing platforms to get more exposure.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Atlanta is such a fun city, it’s hard to choose all of the activities I’d like to do with my bestie!

First of all, I’m a summer girl and I love being outside on those hot summer nights. One of my favorite things to do is walk along the Beltline after a strong cocktail and delicious Peirogi dinner with Brave Wojtek in Cabbagetown (519 Memorial Drive, open Thursday – Saturday 5-11pm). It’s a great place to people watch, skateboard or rollerblade, watch breakdancers and listen to others people’s music. If we’re lucky we’d catch an open air concert or hit up a First Friday event to get some free wine.

In the morning I’d take them to go shopping in the Little Five Points neighborhood – Criminal Records is a great place to pick up some tunes and comic books, and to buy some of my zines, too! The clothing stores are stocked with awesome patches and rare vintage finds. Everyone is so friendly and I love trying on everything. Me and my bestie would drink lots of cold brew coffee and check out all the cute people walking around. Then we’d track down one of my favorite pop-ups Ba + Me for some delicious Vietnamese food. Then we’d hit a museum – the High Museum of Art or maybe the MOCA and MODA. Also being a 90’s child and growing up with awesome Jim Henson movies like The Dark Crystal, I’d drag my friends to the Center for Puppetry Arts nearby. Later that night I’d take them out dancing; I’m not usually picky about venues but I love the Sanctuary for it’s dope Latina music!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my shout out to my incredible art partner in crime, Santiago Cruz(Instagram: @santicruzart). We met many years ago when our paintings were hung side by side in an art gallery in Berlin. The paintings seemed to vibe with each other, the colors dancing and playing the same notes. He has been a pillar of support for me throughout the years, brainstorming ideas, helping me document my work, and co-creating a studio space.

Website: http://www.hyperkitsch.com/

Instagram: @hyperkitsch

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofieengstromvonalten/

Other: I don’t use YouTube much. However since one of my books – Dino Does Yoga – got published with North Atlantic Books, Berkeley and Penguin Random House, we made a promo video about kids classes which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94GOj0huS3s You can also purchase the book from my website or the Penguin Random House website, here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600500/dino-does-yoga-by-sofie-engstrom-von-alten/ I am also very happy to announce that I’ve gotten the translation rights for Dino Does Yoga and the Spanish version “Dino Have Yoga” is available for purchase on my Amazon KDP site, here: https://www.amazon.es/Sofie-Engstr%25C3%25B6m-von-Alten/e/B07RM7D94F%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Image Credits
Round dinosaur yoga at produced and sold by Supported Soul, illustrated design by Sofie Engstrom von Alten