Behind the brand
Sweden’s smallest, and perhaps most magical, province, Öland, is joined to the mainland by a four-mile bridge and is home to dramatic cliffs, wild beaches and dense forests. It’s here that Jamida’s beautiful birch wood trays are made displaying flora, fauna and our favorite tipples!
Joakim Solberg founded Jamida (pronounced Ya-mee-da) in 2014 and they now have a range of over 300 designs by eight European designers. Printed on melamine, the patterns, pictures and words are applied by hand to trays made from sustainably harvested Scandinavian birch wood.
Meet the creators
After many years working in the Scandinavian homewares industry, Joakim Soldberg branched out to start Jamida in Öland where he lives just 500 yards from the company’s main office. It’s here that he sources new designers and works on collaborations with them, primarily for trays, but now also for mugs and dish-towels.
One of Gretel’s favorites is Jamida’s colorful collaboration with British artist Asta Barrington, whose always cheery designs are produced on an ipad Pro in her home-town of Bath. Asta’s specialization in embroidered textiles at London’s Royal College of Art is evident in her layered and textural designs, which are inspired by risograph printing, vintage printed typography, flea market finds and her travels to places like Bangkok, Burano (near Venice) and Mexico. Asta’s work often includes flowers, birds and food (check out her Sushi tray) but her largest collection is also perhaps her loudest; the vibrant Word trays announce the arrival of a birthday, pizza or a celebratory cocktail!
Asta collects old British toffee tins with intricate lettering and has always found vintage paper ephemera and antique monogrammed textiles inspiring. This interest led to her initial idea for the Word trays, which she experimented with during lockdown. The outcome was an alphabet with different internal patterns within the block form of each letter. She chose words and phrases that were short and to the point; one of the first, and still one of her favorites, being ‘Happy’, on a sunny yellow background.
Tales of discovery
We discovered Jamida while shopping in London, originally drawn to the bright colors of Asta’s kaleidoscopic Fiesta trays. Here at Gretel we are tray-addicts and particularly love how elegant yet resilient Jamida’s trays are (being dish-washer safe and stain-resistant!). Having a Word tray on hand suitable for any occasion has become a priority; Happy Hour is a staple here in Miami and tequila is the drink of the moment, so these trays are perfect for our local party crowd. We love positive vibes and consequently, the word ‘Yay’ features frequently in our vocabulary. We couldn’t resist asking Jamida to make us a bright pink Yay tray. Cheers!