Linnea Gits is the creative director at Uusi, a design studio based on the idea that life is worth the meaningful effort, and its reward is one of discovery. Both Linnea and her creative partner Peter have a love of traditional craftsmanship, material exploration, and a search for the essential beauty in everyday objects. We first came across Linnea’s work through a project titled “Materia Prima”—a tarot deck inspired by the periodic table and recently picked up by CB2. After two decades in Chicago, Linnea and Peter have relocated to a small 1890’s wood cabin in a remote part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. From this remote sanctuary of quiet and respite, they have expansive conversations with nature that are reflected in their work.

Throughout this conversation we discuss believing in yourself prior to external validation, fearlessness in creativity, managing expectations, outsourcing help, and cultivating patience in the midst of process. As you’ll soon hear for yourself, Linnea is committed to the slow build of creating more of what she wants to see in the world. Her love for process has led her to some exciting places like working with companies like Herman Miller, Design Within Reach, Chronicle Books, Sharpie, Prismacolor, and most recently, Louis Vitton. It was a gift learning from the way that Linnea sees, what keeps her inspired— and we’re honored that she so generously shared herself with us here.

Full show notes, downloadables, and links are also available at empoweredhumanacademy.com/40—and watch the conversation on YouTube here! And if you want to take an even deeper dive, we've recorded a subscribers-only bonus episode where we digest the conversation's themes and swap art recommendations—it's a lot of fun. 

Keep the conversation going...

Table Question: What are you currently discovering about your process?

Journal Prompt: Write about an inner knowing you carry that you may have lost touch with along the way.

Action Step: Make a wish list of things you want to bring into the world.

View the printable worksheet on Google Docs

Further exploration:

Learn more about Linnea and Peter's work: uusi.us 

Follow Uusi on Instagram: @uusidesignstudio

Brain Pickings by Maria Popova

Memoirs, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung

On Being with Krista Tippett

The Unknown Craftsman: A Japanese Insight Into Beauty by Soetsu Yanagi

This is a production of Lightward, Inc.