Artist Jonas LG Karlsson, who’s also a successful YouTuber with his wife Lindsay and their It’s a Charming Life channel, is finding success with his hand-painted teabag dishes.
The dishes feature cottagecore-style images such as Hobbit holes, winter cabin scenes, scarecrows, headless horsemen and more.
Karlsson and his wife, who both love tea and are based in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., have a partnership with Tea Spectral in Los Angeles. Together, they produce several tea blends in limited-edition tins with fall and winter inspired artwork by Karlsson, including Cozy Cottage, Chin Chin and Sweater Weather (Note that all three tea tins are currently sold out, but the tins are typically available in the fall season).
Recently, Karlsson began painting the teabag dishes and they’ve been selling out quickly each time they become available.
World Tea News chats with Karlsson to learn more about the playful tea dishes and what inspired him to create them, and to discover if the tea dishes will be available on a wholesale basis.
Question: Hi, Jonas – thanks for your time! How did the partnership with Tea Spectral go this year? And are you all planning on doing more tea tins in the future?
Answer: My wife’s and I's partnership with Tea Spectral has been doing really well, I'd say. To those who haven't heard of it yet, I can let you know that I and my wife have a blog and YouTube channel called “It's a Charming Life.” We embrace a slow-living and cottagecore lifestyle since we live in a cottage ourselves. [You can see the cottage on the tea tins from Tea Spectral, featuring Karlsson’s artwork].
Tea time has always been an important daily routine for us, and it is so nice to be able to inspire our followers to create this cozy time for themselves with or without our “Cozy Cottage” blend.
I think that the lifestyle we represent fits so well with Tea Spectral and the tea culture to begin with.We have been collaborating with them now for a while with a few different teas that fit different seasons perfectly – “Sweater Weather” for Autumn, “Chin Chin” for the Winter months and “Cozy Cottage” as an overall go-to.
Question: What can you tell us about your brand – both as an artist and YouTube influencer?
Answer: I call my art studio The Woodland Library, a mix of the academic world of books and its storytelling that I grew up with in Sweden, but also the different historical legends here in Sleepy Hollow and its surrounding areas. My art goes hand in hand with storytelling and it has really inspired me to start painting, to begin with.I enjoy finding inspiration through dusty old book covers and leaves of all sorts, along with known tales and story ideas of my own. People tend to use the words “whimsical,” “woodsy,” and “cozy-spooky” when they see my artwork. It’s something that I definitely can live with. It means the world to me when I feel I have influenced my followers to pick up their paintbrushes.
Question: What can you tell us about your love of tea? What kind of tea(s) do you like to enjoy?
Answer: I have enjoyed tea for as long as I can remember. It was always comforting as a child to know the kettle was on, either if it was tea or hot chocolate, coming home after a day out in the sometimes-arctic winters that I grew up with in Sweden. But tea for me has grown to be even more than just a warm drink. It is for me a very living sort of drink that follows me throughout the whole year, through seasons and holidays with its many flavors. It is also something deeper and warm; it represents wherever in the world I am located. It just makes me feel at home.
In general, I prefer a well-steeped black tea with hints of bramble berries, cardamom or cinnamon – very old Europe sort of flavors. But also, a well-blended herbal tea at the right moment can do wonders for my soul as well. One blend that always stays in the kitchen is me and my wife's own blend that we have in collaboration with Tea Spectral called Cozy Cottage. It’s as if it represents everything we are surrounded by [in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.].
Question: How long have you been an artist and what do you specialize in?
Answer: Being creative has always been a part of my personality. There is no specific date that I can recall being the day I become an artist, it has always been there. I started out with drawing and sketching and, as I got older, my inspiration to paint using watercolor grew stronger. Many of my favorite illustrators from the late 1800s did, and it came naturally to teach myself the techniques that I had admired in the classic fairytale books growing up.
When I moved with my wife in 2015 from Sweden to America, I got a job as a professional pumpkin carver in a studio that I have been a part of since. Instead of paper and canvas, I'm using giant pumpkins that are painted with black ink. I then carve them, and they are used in Halloween shows all over the country. It is quite interesting for someone who didn't grow up with Halloween to be a part of such a thing. Apart from all sorts of mediums and techniques I have used, pumpkins are the ones that taught me that art does not only have to be made on flat surfaces, but also round as pumpkins.
Question: What do you like to paint or create?
Answer: My paintings reflect my outlook on life. I paint what makes me feel peaceful and cozy. I enjoy very much including trees and whimsical details in my paintings. A forest from a storytelling perspective can be both very cozy and spooky, and I like to combine the two as much as I can since the warmth and inviting come forth more clearly in its opposite spookier contrast. It can, as an example, be a very cozy cottage with inviting chimney smoke, surrounded by a very old forest with tiny eyes hiding here and there. It's the feeling of warmth and safety in a sometimes dark world that I try to capture in my artwork.
Question: How did you come up with the idea of painting teabag holders or dishes?
Answer: The idea of painting original art on tea dishes came to me at the beginning of 2020. I had created an art collection of different-sized artwork of mine to be released through my website. One of the pieces was a hand-painted tea cup that sold very quickly. I realized that original art does not always have to be something flat you keep in a frame, but all sorts of forms and shapes. Through my daily habit of having tea time with my wife, I realized that a tea dish is something of an overseen object that mostly just sits on the table staring at you. So, I started to paint a few to see if there was any interest in having an original and unique handmade art piece of mine on something smaller and more affordable. Something that speaks a little extra to art collectors that also enjoy a daily cup of tea, like myself.
Question: What have you painted on your tea dishes?
Answer: I usually paint scenery or concepts that attract me as an artist, to begin with, which are often animals and woodland settings. During autumn, I naturally paint more pumpkins and scarecrow-themed artwork. And when winter comes, I enjoy painting cozy cottages in the snow along with more Scandinavian-inspired things such as Christmas gnomes, etc. One of my favorite themes though is Hobbit holes. They work really well with the round shape of the tea dish in itself, and I don't know any other creatures that enjoy tea more than Hobbits.
Question: What’s been the response so far to the tea dishes? What kind of feedback have you received?
Answer: The tea dishes have grown to become a favorite for many of my own and my wife's followers. Its size makes it more affordable and, I believe, the combination of having an original art piece on something that you love to do – such as drinking tea – makes it a unique and loved collector's item.
Question: Do your tea dishes typically sell out when they’re available?
Answer: Yes, I am very happy to say that they have so far.
Question: Do you plan to continue painting and selling more of the tea dishes?
Answer: Yes, I feel my tea dishes are here to stay and will become a permanent option, as far as getting my original artwork. Even if you don't use it for its intentional usage, it is a nice piece of decor to have in your home.
Question: How long does it take to paint one tea dish?
Answer: It is hard to say since I must paint them in segments and let the paint dry in between. Usually, a couple of hours I'd say, but I can never say to myself, “If I start it at 12 o’clock, I will be finished at X o’clock.” All I can say is usually a well-spent afternoon.
Question: Do you use your own tea dishes?
Answer: Unfortunately, I have to say no, I don't use my own tea dishes. It is a bit of a shame, but the simple answer is that I tend to sell them before I can pick one out for myself!
Question: Thanks again for your time, Jonas! Last question: Would you accept special wholesale orders from tea retailers who might want to sell your tea dishes in their shops?
Answer: At the moment, I am offering a numbered set of custom orders through my website. Since these tea dishes are not only a practical item but as much an original art piece, I can only offer a limited number of open spots at the time. But, I am looking into the possibility to print directly on these dishes and, in that way, offer a signature set. That way it would hopefully be a better fit for a wholesale option. But as for now, I can only offer originally painted ones. I am always open to connecting with people in this industry that offer the service to make it possible to expand my horizon.
To learn more about Jonas LG Karlsson, his artwork and how to order an original tea dish by the artist, visit TheWoodlandLibrary.com (Note that he announces new releases via his eNewsletter). And to follow Karlsson and wife Lindsay on their slow-living lifestyle journey, visit YouTube.com/ItsACharmingLife. Karlsson notes, “It can be a little confusing sometimes to keep our two brands apart, but we are like an earl gray with a swirl of milk. We come in different cartons but belong in the same cup.”
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