What's the story behind Quyet?
The story behind Quyet is actually quite simple. It came from my own search for more rest, more peace, more quiet in my life. In a society that is always on, through work, through family, through friends, I was really longing for more silence.
What's non-negotiable in how you design and make your pieces?
For Quyet itself, the non-negotiable is that it has to fit into any interior. It really is a design piece. The wood on the wooden version has to be perfectly finished, and so does the felt. We made it in different colours as well, so it works in any space.
We also have a version in aluminium, where the colours of the top and bottom lids can be fully personalised.
What's the one thing you want people to know about Quyet?
The one thing I want people to know about Quyet is that it can change your life. It's a visual reminder, every day, of who you want to be as a person. It's a kind of symbol for rest.
What does rest mean to you?
For me, rest is the freedom to choose whether I'm available or not, for myself and for others. If I want to give my full attention to a company, to a client, but also to my family, I want to make that choice myself. That is the most important part: that I'm available whenever I choose to be, not whenever society or friends or family want me to be.
And in practice, what do your mornings and evenings look like? Do you have any rituals?
For my mornings and evenings, I do something I call intermittent scrolling. I don't have my phone after nine in the evening, and I don't open it until the children have left for school. In the morning I get up around six thirty and do something for myself first, reading a book, or sport, something that's mine. Then something for my family: I get the children ready and spend some time with them before I open my phone. In the evening it's the same. I put my phone away around nine, and I read, or watch some television, but I'm not on my phone again until I go to bed around eleven.
The last thing I do before I sleep is five minutes of breathing exercises. I have an app on my Oura ring, I follow along, breathing in and out, and then I fall asleep.
Which piece in your collection do you always come back to, and why?
I actually have a Quyet in different colours, in different places around the house. I have one at the office and one at the dinner table. Every time we sit down to eat with my children and my husband, I use it to switch into focus mode and genuinely put the phone away. It makes it so simple, and I use it every day.
