Anna-Karin Karlsson: Sunglasses made for icons

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I am Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union in 1962. And I'm Max Kennedy, the nephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. We explore what was a terrifying moment in history. The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. How close the world came to nuclear war. And what they had to do to pull it back from the brink. The bomb, Kennedy and Khrushchev. All episodes available now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

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1:14She's not just a designer, but she's an artist. She makes things that you never thought possible work. And you get hooked because it's like nothing else that you've ever seen. Welcome to the documentary podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Swedish journalist Anna Åkerlund. And for this episode of In The Studio, I'm delving into the creative mind of Anna Karin Karlsson, who makes some of the world's most iconic glasses and sunglasses frames. I need to push myself or push the things I'm making to, I wouldn't say perfection, but to the way I see it. And that's why sometimes things take a long time when I make them.

2:04Like me, Anna-Karin Karlsson lives in Sweden, a tiny Nordic nation with a population of just over 10 million people. But her bold, bejeweled frames are collected, coveted and celebrated by some of the biggest global music stars of the last few decades, like Beyonce, Madonna and Snoop Dogg, as well as other fashion fans across the planet. We have an optical shop in Ghana, which does luxury eyewear. And one of our biggest, biggest products is Anna Karin Eyewear. I wear Anna Karin Carlson to full board meetings. And people are looking at me like, oh, I could never pull that off. I'm like, that's right, you could never pull this off.

2:54Yes, absolutely right. Those are some of the clients at the glitzy event Anna-Karin is hosting at Paris Fashion Week to celebrate the launch of her latest collection. But our story starts five months earlier, in the soft light of a Swedish spring morning when I visit her home to find out what inspires her inventions.

3:25So this is your garden? Yes, this is my garden. With all the egg trees and all the birds. And you can hear children playing down on the playground. A 30-minute bus ride from central Stockholm, Anna Karin's house, is close to the sea and wrapped in forest. It's a modern grey, detached building resting on the hillside. She lives here with her two children and her boyfriend. Inside it's bright and airy. The walls and windows seem to melt away so that nature slips seamlessly indoors. And it's spotless. I need my space around me to be extremely tidy when I work. It's like a canvas. If it's already something on there, you're influenced.

4:19So I try to have a clean slate when I start working. For many years I worked as a fashion and culture journalist for Swedish public radio network Sveriges Radio. But this is my first time meeting Anna-Karin. For someone who is one of Sweden's most successful contemporary creative figures, she is unusually private. so it feels exciting to step into her creative world and follow her as she works on the new collection that she will showcase in Paris. Well, I am in a constant pregnancy with my work because it's sort of not like you design and then things come. It's like a constant. I do decisions every week for the collection.

5:12And this year, the year after that, and the year after that, it's already in progress. So every week I do something. Where do you do your sketches? Where do you draw? Here, mainly here. In this room? In this room. I do a lot of my sketches. I sit in one of those chairs and have my sketchbook in my lap, a couple of pens, pencils, and yeah, let my arm and my brain go to work. Those sketches transform into frames made of crystal, 24-karat gold, diamonds, Japanese titanium and handmade Italian acetate. Many of her designs have animals on them, birds, cats, claws, monkeys, but they are not tacky like novelty glasses you might wear at a fancy dress party.

6:09They are luxury products starting at around$600 with the most exclusive pairs costing up to$6 ,000. There are some wonderful eyewear designers before me but there was a gap with the more flamboyant, well executed eyewear that I wanted to make. Anna-Karin has a small team, just seven full-time colleagues who I'm hoping to meet later. She tells me it's been an all-female business for years, but now her boyfriend and her son also work for the company. She personally draws sketches of every pair of eyewear sold under her brand name. Then the team takes her sketches and creative vision and collaborates with some of the world's foremost producers of optical glass and gemstones, creating eyewear that blurs the line between art and fashion.

7:15I make really tricky things to make and not that many articians can make them. So what I deliver is, I usually don't know until it's in my hands just before the shows. And sometimes I do know, and then I set the tone for the collection earlier. But it really depends. Soon she will tell me more about her latest work. But first, I want to find out more about how she ended up working in this niche industry. I already know she grew up in a small industrial town in Sweden called Västerås. Her father was a tire technician and her mother stayed home and took care of Anna Karin and her siblings. Being born where I was born and raised where I was being raised by my parents had utterly freedom and something that I cherished the most.

8:10It was a freedom that allowed Anna Karin to draw every day when she was a child. So I did my 10 ,000 hours before I was 10. She also loved disco music, boys and makeup. And as soon as she turned 13, she got a part-time job after school to save up for new clothes and beauty products. She says her mother always told her, your love for the finer things in life is... Way out of anyone around the A.S. League. Do you want anything? You have to go and get it. So Anna-Karin did just that. Her passion for fashion led her to one of Europe's biggest fashion hubs, London. She moved alone straight after high school in the 90s.

9:00It wasn't that I was going to college or any funding. I wasn't backed by any money from anyone. I just literally had to go there and get three jobs just to pay the rent. To cut a long story short, Anna-Karin eventually found a role at an upscale eyewear store where she gradually took on more and more responsibility. She began traveling to Paris for the company to select the collections to sell in the store in London. Eventually, she was inspired to design her own frames as well. Then, soon after having her first child, she moved back to Sweden and started her own business. I didn't have any funding, I didn't have any money.

9:50So that was, the only thing I had was time. So I made a plan that over 365 days I'm going to work 20 hours a day. I had nothing else in my life really than my son and this. So for me this was everything. She started drawing the kind of bold, colourful eyewear she couldn't find on the market. Then she walked into her local bank with some of her sketches and convinced them to loan her enough money to create her first prototypes. I put them in my bed and I slept with them because I wanted to make sure I didn't relax anywhere. Don't you relax, girl. You need to get up, you need to get going. You need to do this every day in this year to make sure you can put food on the table.

10:51Fifteen years ago, Anna-Karin applied to the world's largest eyewear fair in Paris with her first collection. Called Rose à la Mer, The Rose and the Sea, and it's a dedication to my sister Rose. And this was her big breakthrough. Buyers from some of the world's leading department stores and eyewear boutiques discovered her work and placed orders. Soon, fashion magazines and stylists discovered her glasses too, spreading the word about her quirky designs. When I started my own brand, it was actually the fashion world who was very welcoming. They were like, welcome home, you long lost child. We cherish you.

11:36Come and party with us. And the optical industry has been a bit of a tougher side of it because it's more traditional. It's more set in its own ways. Nowadays, Anna Karin's brand produces frames for both sunglasses and prescription glasses. I ask her more about the collection she's working on for this year's show in Paris. And it sounds like there's a lot of back and forth between Anna Karin's team and the factories that produce her prototypes. So hopefully I will get the production this summer and then I will look at them, make sure I'm absolutely satisfied with them and then I will show them.

12:18So I'm awaiting that. At the same time I'm creating new things also. For each collection Anna Karin strives to create something truly unique and new. This time she has also designed a small bag that can work as a glasses case too. The you and I bag. I want to see it. Yes! Can I see it? It's just a 3D frame. Yeah, wow! She tells me she's been drawing eyes ever since she was a child. To me, the little bag feels like poetry. On one side it's marked with lines like lifelines and two tiny figures walk hand in hand. It looks like almost a perfume bottle or like a sculpture. It's an eye that you can open.

13:09Open your eyes, baby. No, I have no idea. But it's like a little sculpture. That's how I see things. That's how I tend to make my eye aware as well, that could be little sculptures. And this one is, show you, it's going to be like in gold and one in silver, but then I also is trying to make a colourful version. It's almost time for me to catch my bus home. But before I go, I can't resist asking what it's like to produce products for global icons like Beyoncé, Madonna and Snoop Dogg. Beyoncé has even worn several of Anna-Karin's sunglasses on stage, including a statement frame in white gold with mirror finish lenses and glittering crystals.

13:57But suddenly Anna-Karin seems a little uncomfortable. It feels like this is a subject she's not so keen to discuss. I had to think of what my contract says. Well, I work with her. You still work with her? Yes.

14:21Anna-Karin walks me to the bus stop It's 4pm and I'll soon be cooking dinner for my kids But Anna-Karin is going back to work And it strikes me how disciplined she is It means early mornings And sort of every day and every hour is covered More or less When I had to have stuff to do As I sit on the bus home thinking about our first interview I reflect on how uncomfortable Anna Karin is discussing the celebrities she's worked with Maybe it's because of Swedish culture Because here it's a bit taboo to show off about who you know and how much you earn But I make a mental note to try and talk more about fame and fortune next time we meet If I dare

15:23You're listening to the documentary podcast from the BBC World Service. And this episode of In the Studio is brought to you by me, Swedish journalist Anna Åkerlund. I am Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union in 1962. And I'm Max Kennedy, the nephew of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. We explore what was a terrifying moment in history. The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. How close the world came to nuclear war. And what they had to do to pull it back from the brink. The bomb, Kennedy and Khrushchev. All episodes available now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

16:11America is changing. And so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is The Global Story. Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. The Interview. The best conversations from across the BBC. Today we are spending trivians on war and peanuts on peace With the people shaping our world You're making decisions that will have long-term consequences for the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere Wind power in the United States has been subsidised for 33 years Solar for 25 years, that's enough The interview from the BBC World Service Listen now wherever you get your BBC podcasts

17:18Two months after my visit to Anna Karin's home, summer finally arrives in Stockholm for real. It's late afternoon, and in the city center, the streets are full of office workers cycling home early to enjoy the sunshine. But Anna Karin is in her studio. It's in Södermalm, a creative neighborhood that's home to edgy bars, second-hand stores and design agencies. Hey! Come in! Tack! Please! Long time no see! Indeed? Wow! Wow! Her studio is really beautiful. Cream-coloured sofas, soft deep carpets and carefully chosen pieces of designer furniture. What have you been up to since I saw you last time?

18:15Lots of trouble. Obviously, Anna. We have been working a lot, obviously, like most of us do. But you work more than almost everyone I know. Yes. Where are you at the moment with your Paris collection? Oh dear. I've just, last week I shipped some... Anna-Karin tells me that she just sent some samples of bright red glass she'd considering using in her next collection to the factory making the prototype. and I need to push myself or push the things I'm making to, I wouldn't say perfection but to the way I see it and that's why sometimes things take a long time when I make them if they turn out to be the way you really want them to be they will show up they will show up and they will shine and I will place them on podiums and they will look like little art pieces and when we're in Paris, you will tell me like, Anna, that's the most beautiful bag I've ever seen.

19:31And I'll say, oh really, Anna? We're going to stand there in our high heels, maybe drinking champagne. Of course. No other way.

19:42Anna-Karin has also been busy developing the You and I bag she told me about last time. This little bag, the second prototype, So we watched the first one, which is smaller, made it a larger one. Did they come out the way you wanted them to be? Not yet. No, that's why I'm making a third one and a fourth one. So we will walk through the summer.

20:17A warm welcome to Paris, where we are landed 25 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time. In September, at the end of Europe's summer, I finally arrived in Paris. For safety reasons, keep your seatbelt pads and escape routes free from baggage until the seatbelt side has been switched off. I'm here to see how Anna-Karins collection has turned out. To get to her showroom, I walk along Rydé Rivoli, a grand boulevard that runs through the heart of the city. I pass the blooming public tillery gardens, just steps from Paris' iconic art museum, the Louvre. I enter a quiet courtyard through a large gate.

21:06And when I walk up the staircase, I can hear Anna-Karin embracing the local language.

21:26Anna-Karin has rented a turn-of-the-century apartment with views of the Eiffel Tower. This is where she will meet prospective buyers and private clients. And it's here that I get to meet some of her colleagues for the first time.

21:46Mina and Amanda show me around. They've both worked with Anna Karim for several years and handled sales and social media. We are standing in one of the smaller rooms in the apartment where the collection she's been working on for months is now on display. So this is the new collection. Exactly. So here is our gallery with all of the new pieces for this year. The Rose La Revue. I'm sorry for butchering the French language because that's probably not how you pronounce it at all. It's this oversized acetate front with the crystal cat with two diamond eyes. So the crystal cat in this case is black.

22:29We have had previous versions that's been like a different kind of color variation of the cat. But now we do it in full black zirconia stones with two diamond eyes that sparkle even more when it's surrounded by the black. Anna Karen showcases her latest collection in Paris once a year, usually in a calm gallery like this one. The idea is that her clients can see and feel the products in a relaxed environment. She also hosts a cocktail party designed to make her customers feel special. Our clients, they are, it's a mix of people. They are unique. They are, there's a lot of them, but no one is boring.

23:17Everyone is colorful. They are, I think the only word that really describes everyone is individual. When a group of buyers from Portugal and Dubai arrive, Mina and Amanda turn their attention to them. And I slip into the apartment's kitchen, where there's just me and Anna-Karin. How do you feel? Ooh, for real? I'm kind of tired and excited and happy at the same time we have been here just a couple of days and I've had enough meetings for what most people probably haven't here but I'm blessed I dare to bring up the subject of money I want to hear her reflections on how far she's come since starting the business as a way of putting food on the table for her and her son.

24:19I make millions in any currency each year. And that is important because it gives me a lot of freedom, creative freedom. And often we think that money is an obstacle for freedom and creative and artistic expression. and I find it the opposite, that when you make your own money and don't rely on society or a partner or anyone, you can shine your own light to objects. And you can create things that nobody who only follow money can or people who avoid money can't. So money is of importance. And I'm very thankful that I have this great life. Anna Karen says she's had several offers from people looking to buy her company.

25:25She's been tempted but currently has no plan to sell. Right now she owns the entire business, which is rare in her industry. Are you happy with how everything turned out? I don't think I'm a happy person I mean I don't think I'm a satisfied person there's always like a little hook inside of me that knows I can do more, I can do better, I can do faster I can be so asking me that the answer would be no but I've done really well so it's two sided and what happened with the you and I bag. We came to Paris on Tuesday and Monday I received the U &I bag. From the factory? Yes, but it's a prototype so then after that you have to think about how I can execute it better for production.

26:24You only showed them in silver? Yes, because I didn't like the other colours. I told you that. I only show things I feel for. I also ask her about sustainability, a recurrent topic at this year's Paris Fashion Week. I know how much nature means to Anna-Karin. Remember the deep forest back home in Sweden, the sea, the birds. I make things that last. So I'm trying to make really well-made things. But when you go into uncharted territories like I do, production and results can vary but my intentions are that I will make things that last

27:19Once again it's time for me to leave Tomorrow Anna Karin will host a cocktail party for her clients But before that, both of us need some rest.

27:41When I step into the apartment the next day, the atmosphere is completely different. The tables are full of figs, strawberries, french cheese and crackers. Waiters move gracefully between the guests, topping up glasses of champagne. Anna-Karin is wearing towering red heels, a headpiece of two enormous cherries, and of course a pair of her own sunglasses with chunky black and gold rims. She's the center of attention, and I understand how all those hours of hard work are worth it for this reward. Hi, I'm Ursula Owusu-Ekufu, and my husband and I are in Paris 4. We have an optical shop in Ghana, which does luxury eyewear, and one of our biggest, biggest products is Anakareen Eyewear.

28:40She makes things that you never thought possible work once you put it on, and you get hooked because it's like nothing else that you've ever seen. Ursula tells me she's a huge fan of Anna Karin's animal motifs and wears the designer's products as well as selling them. And I have quite a few of her designs. I do my selection first before it gets to the shop floor. Yes. I pick what I like first before anyone else gets to choose. And so when anybody sees me wearing something new, they know, ah, they've got a fresh consignment in town.

29:28It's past midnight and the party's over, but a few of the guests are still chatting on the street. Anna Karn is taking her closest circle to a fancy nearby restaurant for late dinner. Among them is Terrence Lackron. He discovered Anna-Karin when he was watching a TV show featuring Hollywood actress Taraji P. Henson, famous for films like Hidden Figures and The Color Purple. And she had these glasses on that were two swans. And she looked around, took one of the lenses and flipped it down, looked around, gave everyone an evil eye and flipped it back up. And my wife was like, who makes those glasses?

30:10I said, I have no clue. I've never seen anything like that. So we went on a deep dive on Anna Karin Carlson, and that's how I found Anna Karin. Terrence is the founder of Icons Agency, which does marketing for eyewear designers and retailers. He feels that all of Anna Karin's clients are part of a special club. the men have a little oomph to them the women have a little bit of a little fanciness to them as well i feel like we all can connect especially me as a man i wear a lot of anacorrent and not many men feel like they can pull this off but a man can like okay what else is going deep down in your mind and your heart that we can connect on you know the good thing about glasses in general You can be who you want to be that day with glasses.

31:01So if you want to be someone like, okay, I'm shy, but I want to come out of my shell a little bit and I want to start conversations, but I don't know how to start conversations. Let the glasses do the talking for you. Anna Karin has a big smile on her face as we say goodbye. She tells me she's still got a few more days of work in Paris before she flies home. What are you doing when you get back to Stockholm? I'm going to rest a lot, have dinner with my kids, my man, and then I'm actually back in Paris next week for a party. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay, so you're going back and then Paris, and then you just continue working.