Elodie x Clara Hallencreutz introduces ´Playground Spaceland´

In this exclusive, limited-edition co-lab together with artist and mother of two - Clara Hallencreutz and Elodie has taken Clara's artistic interpretation of a ´Playground Spaceland´ and created an expressive range of unisex products for little space explorers.
Join us as we interview Clara about her work, the design process, and her favourites from the collection.

Hi Clara! Tell us a bit about yourself!

At the core I’m a photographer who did my Bachelor of Photography in Brisbane, Australia where I lived and worked for four years. I do installations out of ordinary things and transform them into things that are anything but ordinary.

My art is mostly naïve and playful, even when the message itself may be the opposite. Melting ice creams to symbolize climate change, the shifting flowers in a single patch of moss to illustrate diversity. That sort of thing.

It’s always been important to me to make my art accessible to everyone, so I make sure the first impression is exciting as well as comprehendible. If you care to go deeper, there’s always layers of symbolism, metaphors, and metonyms to discover.

I recently became a mother-of-two, which has been, and still is, the most special and fun adventure.

We are so happy for our co-lab with you and this amazing collection. Tell us a bit about how it came to be.

During my first maternity leave I quickly realized it was no longer possible for me to create those time-consuming installations in between breast feeding, diaper changes, playtime, and kisses. I’ve often used living things for my work – fruit, flowers, food and so on. But before I was even halfway done with a project, everything would wilt or die. So, I turned to illustrations instead, and since I was all into kids’ stuff at the time and I’ve loved Elodie as a brand ever since Ziggy was born – it felt like a perfect match.

What is the idea and inspiration behind the art for this collection? Why these colours, quotes, and illustrations?

When I was expecting Ziggy I played Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” on repeat, and those songs resonated in me in a way they’d never done before. I absolutely adore that androgyne alien Bowie portrays, and so the little alien growing inside of me became a Ziggy. I have no problem connecting the dots between space exploration and becoming a new parent. It is cool, it is unknown, it is exciting, and it is overwhelming all at once. Like I imagine astronauts might feel.

Also, we all want so much for our children. We want their dreams, imagination, and possibilities to be as endless as the universe itself. We want them to aim for the stars and dare to do so. We want them to be down to earth but at the same time give them a world of astronomical proportions to explore.

So that’s where this all comes from. I’ve painted a “Playground Spaceland” where anything is possible and there are no horizons. And I’ve added little quotes that I like on the products on the same theme.

You’ve got the heart-symbol from the collection tattooed on your wrist. What’s the story?

Well, I love doodling. You know the way you always did as a kid while on your land line phone, stuck in some endless chat with a friend? For me doodling is basically meditation. I made this Heart/Planet doodle by the end of my third trimester with Ziggy. Then when he turned one month old my husband and I both got it tattooed.

What are your favourite items from the collection?

All of the products! It’s like asking me to choose which one of my boys is the favourite. Can’t be done!

I’m very fond of the collection since I created it with Ziggy as my muse, and while high on the endorphins and hormones that carrying a kicking Tino inside me gave, as I was working away with my pencils and brushes.

Any other Elodie-item you can’t live without?

The Bibs are in constant rotation at our house, both for eating and creative messes, and the MONOD stroller is just magic. So easy and comfortable. Both at home and on travels.

SHOP THE COLLECTION