Newsletter from Jonna

I have stayed behind the scenes for a long time. My work as Laine's Creative Director is very different from seven years ago, when Sini and I started our magazine. I get around hundred emails a day, I calculate and plan, think carefully about the visual stories we want to tell, draw guidelines and sit in front of my computer, tapping or Zooming. I rarely have time to do something concrete, except knitting.

Knitting, too, goes in cycles: sometimes I knit every day, a sweater during one weekend, sometimes only once every three weeks. I admit that I miss my old way of working: writing, photographing, and most of all, my knitting friends, this community of ours.

I do write in my spare time: sometimes on weekends, always on trips. I am trying to fulfil my biggest dream since the age of six: I have wanted to write a novel, become a writer, pour my soul onto paper by hand, like I always do.

I have actually written a book. The Finnish WSOY published my first craft book ten (or so) years ago. The original idea of my book Kerällä was to create 52 patterns, one for each week of the year. I did a few less, but the idea came true with Laine in 2020, when we published our first book: 52 Weeks of Socks.

Now it is time for my second knitting book. If everything goes as planned, it will be published in November and contain not only patterns but also pieces of prose, maybe even poems.

I thought from the beginning that I would write a newsletter about the whole process. I would open the doors to the behind the scenes of bookmaking: to good and not-so-good days, meetings with my graphic designer, stylist, editor and our printing house. I would take you with me on photo shoots, tell you (true) stories about flea market t-shirts, 1990s Tony Mora boots, yarn, patterns, audio books and rap music.

My first newsletter was published on Monday. Or was it Tuesday? I just looked at the subscriber numbers, and got tears in my eyes. There are so many of you already. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

If you haven't subscribed to yours yet, follow the link below and you will soon receive the first one. Next time, I will tell you more about the first photoshoot which was all about yesterday's pizza leftovers, wool carpets, leaking bathtubs and the crew that made my day special. As always.

Subscribe here!

- Jonna

Jonna Hietala is the CEO, Creative Director, Editor in Chief and the Co-Founder of Laine Publishing