JR: Okay, let's go. Try to relax, Simon. No pressure. Who are you, and what do you do?

Simon: I'm Simon. I run an interior design and carpentry studio called Tosta Studios. We mostly design and build custom interiors, with a big focus on color. And... I've basically spent the last two and a half years renovating my apartment. My neighbors love me. Haha.

JR: And what do you enjoy outside of work?

Simon: I love running. Really simple running. No sports watch, no pace, no training plan. I just head out the door.

JR: So... running as meditation?

Simon: Kind of, yeah. I think running should be fun and uncomplicated. That's the whole point.

JR: Do you remember your first encounter with UNNA?

Simon: Okay... I probably shouldn't say this to you, but when I met you at a Vogue event, you'd just launched and you were only selling socks. I remember thinking, "Good luck with your socks, buddy.

JR: It was never just socks. Haha. But fair enough. Starting a business is hard.

Simon: Yeah... believe me, I know. But then I kept seeing what you were putting out, and it just clicked. Most running brands are all about performance. UNNA felt like the perfect mix of running and lifestyle, and it just made me want to get out and run.

JR: Do you see a link between running and your creative work?


Simon: Totally. If I'm stuck on something, a piece of furniture, an email, a thought, I just go out. When I come back there's new light on it.


JR: Like a reset button for your frontal lobe?
Simon: Exactly.

JR: What is your Good Place?

Simon: Home. We live on Hornsgatan, crazy traffic, but you hear nothing inside. Often I just sit and admire what I've created here. Something I did for myself, not for anyone else. I put so much passion into this project.

JR: Tell the stove story.

Simon: At the viewing I thought the apartment was too big, too expensive. But it had a chimney escape. And I'd always dreamt of a tiled stove. That was honestly what got me over the fence on moving in.

JR: The whole room feels built around it.

Simon: It kind of is.

JR: What do you do to treat yourself?

Simon: I swim in the ocean every day, April to October.


JR: Ugh. Cold.


Simon: Very cold. Not every dip is refreshing. But run, jump in, get some fresh air, run home. Hard to beat.

JR: What Book do you like at the moment?

Simon: Right now im reading The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson. It's about eels, but really about what we can know about anything. And Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen.

JR: And music?

Simon: Ray Charles, all-time favorite. Old blues and soul. And... Celtic music.

JR: Eel books and Celtic music. Very accessible.

Simon: Haha, that's me!