Lesley Pennington
Lesley founded Bemz in 2004 after careers in the graphic arts business and the computer industry (including some time spent at Apple in California as an evangelist). She moved to Sweden in 1995 for love and, of course, for the splendid weather. She continued to work in the IT industry in Sweden until, one day, while on maternity leave, she conceived the business plan for Bemz.
“It all started with a sofa that needed a cover. A problem that needed an answer. How should I solve it? Because of my background in the IT industry I immediately pictured a storefront on the internet — a place where unique products could be custom made and delivered to customers worldwide. The initials in Bemz are an anagram: the initials of the children in my life — Björn, Emil, Madeleine and Zoë — and they remind me every day of the reason I do what I do.”
Defining Lifestyle: a mix between Swedish Grace and Bohemian Chic
Favorite Bemz fabric: Symmetry-Pale Turquoise, New Baroque-Pale Turquoise
My Bemz at home: Mix and Match "Stig Redux" on my Karlanda sofas in the
living room, New Baroque-Jet Black on the Klippan upstairs, Classic
Ruta-Black on the Tomelilla at the summerhouse
Favorite brand: Apple
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Sara Herring
“I started working for Bemz answering customer service e-mails for a couple of hours a day. That was almost three years ago, and a lot has happened since. Today, I work with our marketing manager Renée, and am very happy to have had the opportunity to watch Bemz evolve up-close. Like most ”bemzies” I work part-time, and divide my days between Bemz and literature studies at Stockholm University. With me in the office are more often than not “the boys” — Pigge the Jack Russell, and John-John the Pug —spreading joy and, inevitably, some dog hair around the office. One of the many reasons I love my job is that it enables me to combine two important aspects of my life: work and education. Visit the Bemz blog to learn out about my home-decorating projects and the adventures of Pigge and John-John!”
My Bemz at home: “I hope to get my butt going on decorating my own bedroom sometime soon, maybe if I’m lucky with a tiny bit of help from our own Katarina and Lisbeth. My favourite Bemz Lifestyle at the moment is Country Romance; it would be perfect to use as an inspirational base. Keeping the room mostly white, I can accentuate with some calming pastels, maybe use my all-time favourite Bemz-pattern, Toronto Ticking- Khaki Beige, on my IKEA PS-chair.”
Stuff I like:
www.studionommo.com, a custom-made wallpaper company from Turkey. Don’t understand any of the text, but the designs are super cool!
www.dorynsdish.com, blog about design, life, links to inspirational sites, a lot about her daughter because she is a new mom.
www.harmonie-interieure.com, French site with wall stickers, a little more ”romantic” and rougher around the edges than your average graphic designs.
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Christie Bhachu
“My journey to design and Bemz has been somewhat circuitous, a little heavy on the dairy and at times a bit foolhardy! Born in Canada, raised in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Lausanne (Switzerland), my youth was spent in swimming pools and developing a keen interest in food and health. This eventually culminated in an MSc in Human Nutrition, more food, less chlorine and a u-turn to marketing. After an eight-year sojourn in Stockholm, marketing various dairy products, I finally landed in Edinburgh, Scotland and hooked up with Bemz. After marketing food for over 10 years the leap to marketing design, although not a huge one, was a change I embraced! I love the whole premise of the Bemz business concept – so simple yet infinitely flexible. How could I not jump onboard?!”
Defining Lifestyle: Bohemian Chic with touches of Nordic Home and Swedish Grace
Favorite Bemz fabric: Static Stripe- Fuchsia
My Bemz at home: Karlstad Chaise Lounge in Stig Lindberg Herbarium - Dark Navy Blue (feet painted matt black)
Favorite season: Summer – I love the heat!
Favorite building: the Louvre – I love how the dazzling, ultra-modern pyramids marry beautifully with the ornate, classic French Renaissance style, providing dominance in a city saturated with stunning, internationally acclaimed landmarks.
Favorite city: New York
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Tina Berglund
I probably have the world’s most enjoyable job. I am customer service manager at Bemz. Even after 15 years of working in customer service, handling everything from answering calls to building a call centre 250 strong, it still amazes me how much feedback, good and bad, that our customers are willing to take the time to pass onto us. It’s thanks to this feedback that we can improve and that’s what I think makes it so much fun. I thrive on being the internal bridge between the company and its customers, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to work at Bemz, where customer feedback is integral in deciding our every move.
My Bemz at home: I am a proud owner of a Tomelilla 3-seater, covered in one of my favorite fabrics, New Baroque-Ash Brown. I would love to get a bigger sofa but just don’t have the space for it.
Known for: I love drinking lattes and am the unofficial espresso machine expert at the office.
Favorite pastime: I am learning to crochet and started a scarf last summer. I’ve only managed a few rows - maybe by next autumn!
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Lisbeth Johnson Toivonen
I work with product development and production of our wonderful slipcovers. Working with textiles has always been very rewarding. Before I’d turned 25, I’d traveled the world in search of inspiration within fashion and design, as well as to find the best textile manufacturers. I’ve worked with some of Sweden’s most successful designers as well as had my own interior design firm. Throughout, my fascination and amazement with the versatility and flexibility that textiles offer has never waned. The possibilities are endless and the fact that there is room for personal interpretation and taste makes it even more appealing. This is the reason why I love that Bemz inspires and offers the possibility of renewing and changing your home in a personal and accessible way.
Defining Lifestyle: Bohemian Chic for the city and Swedish Folklore in our summer home.
Favorite Bemz fabric: New Baroque Pale Turquoise
Favorite building: Riad in Marrakech: a filthy, narrow alley leads to an antique wooden door that opens onto a paradise of beauty; a fantastic old Moroccan palace built within an inner sanctum, highlighted by a fabulous fountain in wonderfully detailed mosaic.
Favorite city: Paris! Art Nouveau architecture, French brasseries, the textile district close to Sacre Coeur, the jazz clubs, the small boutiques, the pastries…
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Katarina Wiklund
I started at Bemz as a freelance designer, but have since taken on broader responsibilities. These include ensuring a theme within the Bemz range while still allowing for enough variety to have something on offer for everyone, no matter the home or country. Also, although the Bemz style is firmly rooted in Scandinavian tradition, I want it to take clues from ethnic influences and global trends.
I work a lot with photography, events and all kinds of interiors to show how our fabrics and products can dramatically change depending on the setting. Check out our Lifestyle pages and you’ll see what I mean.
In a creative job such as mine, I think it’s a good idea to take inspiration from different directions, as diverse things can enrich each other. They often have to do with patterns or textiles. When I am not at Bemz, I’m working on a municipal work of art in an outdoor area of a Stockholm suburb. I am also involved in the costume design and creation for a new electric opera based on William Blake. Good mix!
Favourite Bemz style: Mix and Match
My Bemz at home: I have a 4-seater Klippan in Classic Ruta- Black and cushions in different checks and stripes…
In my bedroom I have a patchwork quilt made from various patterned fabric swatches brought home from the different factories visited for Bemz. Despite the fact that it is a wild mix of quite a large number of colours, I think it still has something that feels very personal about it. And that’s how I hope Bemz can work: a broad base from which each and every one of us can build our own palette.
Favorite building: Insitut du Monde Arabe in Paris, designed by Architect Jean Nouvel. The façade is inspired by traditional Islamic patterns, built in modern metal that looks like and functions as a camera lens. An intricate metal spire casts interesting and beautiful shadows inside and out. In Stockholm, I love Kulturhuset (roughly translated as The Culture House) – both for its contents and its interior. The checkered square gracing the front entrance is also a favourite.
Favourite Bemz fabric: right now I am sitting on my Classic Ruta sofa with a Woven Whimsy cushion under one arm and looking at my Old Fashion Linen covered armchair that has a Turquoise cushion on it. Feels good!
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