In Conversation with Marzia Kjellberg: Lonely House
ntroducing Evermade x Marzia Kjellberg: Lonely House: four standalone works mapping a life across Italy, the UK, Japan and Sweden. Rendered in soft pastel and bold colour, each piece marks a chapter: Haru [Spring], her life in Tokyo beginning in spring 2022; Estate [Summer], a vibrant look back at childhood summers in Italy; Autumn, a cosy reflection on the years she and her husband spent in the UK; and Vinter [Winter], Sweden’s dark yet magical winters, where her path into adulthood began 14 years ago.
Together, the four works form a personal atlas of memory and place, yet they resonate far beyond Marzia’s own story: each one asks what it means to feel at home. We caught up with Marzia to talk about the stories behind Lonely House, her creative journey, and the places that continue to inspire her.
The series is available as fine art giclée prints and greetings cards, with the first 25 prints of each design signed by Marzia.
It’s been a few years since our last collaboration. How have you been, and what have you been up to?
Our last collaboration took place before my move across the world, eagerly anticipating going from Brighton & Hove to Tokyo. Moving so far away both came with excitement for a new chapter, as well as challenges of starting again in a new place, missing family and friends, and simply adjusting to a new lifestyle. Overall, this chapter has been wonderful - I have become a mom and my son Björn is now 2 years old already!
It’s been the biggest change, but by far the best and happiest time of my life. Life with a little one means a drastic change in free time, and time to dedicate to my own projects, but as he grows I find myself wanting to create things with him, as well as for us as a family.
I have been making monthly videos to collect all of these special memories we get to make together, and editing them into a montage has been a creative outlet for me, and initially that’s all I could manage during his naps. But now I am crafting a routine which includes more personal time, and that has allowed me to experiment with creativity in different ways again.
Your series is called “Lonely House.” What drew you to it, and can you talk us through how you created the works and how each design makes you feel?
Recently I started to play with soft pastels a lot, and wanted to use them in different ways - from very delicate brush strokes, or smudging them with my fingers, to creating very bold colour palettes and shapes. I really enjoyed this last approach, and my Estate print was the first one I made from this series, in which I created familiar themes but infused them with vibrant shades.
I liked both creating as well as looking at this piece, getting lost in the soft shapes, so much so that I then went on to make all the other pieces from this series.
I immediately knew when looking at Estate that it was my depiction of my fun and colourful childhood memories in Italy, and so for the next theme, I drew my representation of the UK at my favourite time of year: autumn. I find myself daydreaming about pumpkin patches and foggy hills, whenever I wish for fall to come. I wanted to create an image that could convey the feelings of ‘quiet and cosy’.
Having drawn Italy and UK, the next obvious theme was to depict Japan at its peak, through the lovely cherry blossom and softly coloured flower fields. Japan feels calm and serene to me, which led me to a very sweet composition.
Although I haven’t spent that much time in Sweden in comparison, it was the first country I ever lived alone in, as an adult. It challenged me to find my own path. It is where I can pinpoint my adventure into adulthood actually beginning, and I hold dear memories of it. Swedish winters are notoriously famous for the darkness and snow, but my first winter there, I was filled with excitement and wonder.
Each place has a precious place in my heart, and whenever I long for those places and miss family and friends, looking at these simple illustrations I made brings me some comfort and reminds me that they are all a part of my journey.
The titles of the series are each of the four seasons in a different language: which languages do you find yourself using most at home as a family?
My husband Felix and I have always communicated in English between ourselves - although attempts have been made to learn each other's languages, since we have spent most of our lives together in England, English became our natural default.
My family only speaks Italian, so now that we have a child, we definitely both make an effort at speaking our native tongues with him - though English still prevails in common settings.
Yet we are quite surprised at how quickly Björn is picking up Japanese - we always read him books in easy Japanese, and we are of course surrounded by the language, so perhaps it isn’t so unusual, but considering he understands it and speaks it more than Italian and Swedish was something we didn’t foresee happening!
I truly hope that growing up my son will get to experience all the cultures and treasure them the way I do. I worry sometimes that he may find himself confused as to where he truly belongs - which is something I struggle with myself - but the richness each place provides is a worthy trade.
You’ve lived in Italy, Sweden, the UK and now Japan. How has each country shaped you as an artist?
The last time I travelled to Europe I told my husband: “everywhere we go I feel inspired in a different way”. I think what surrounds you definitely influences a person’s work, both when it comes to natural beauty and culture, as well as the local art scene.
Growing up in Italy I studied art history quite in depth as part of my school program, and came to learn about the biggest art movements. This was just my own perception, but it felt that for art to be worthy, it had to follow the rules; so when we focused on Impressionism, I realised how new movements can be so refreshing and just as beautiful.
When I left Italy - putting my chosen university path on pause (again, art history!) all of a sudden I had all this free time, which allowed me to take a step back and discover other styles, outside of the classics, and started getting more crafty myself.
But it wasn’t until I moved to Brighton, where the art scene is so prominent and diverse, that I got the gentle push I needed to really start and experiment with different mediums and styles.
Here in Japan, inspiration is in every corner. When I first came to Tokyo, I figured the initial honeymoon period may be glossing over the everyday things - any task, no matter how small, I would romanticise. And I would often wonder ‘when will I stop finding this scenery, buildings and culture as fascinating and beautiful as I do?’.
But 3 years in, I can pass by the same view of a bridge over the Tama river at sunset and gasp. I can walk the dogs in the local neighbourhood and peek at the city view from the tallest hill and feel so warm in my heart. So the magic hasn’t worn off yet, and the inspiration to create is still very much with me!
You’ve worked across illustration, ceramics, textiles and design. Which medium feels most natural to you at the moment, and why?
I absolutely love dividing my time into different hobbies and mediums; they all allow me to work with my hands, which I find very fulfilling. At this moment, working with pastels, baking and knitting have been my go-tos. I don’t get big chunks of time to be creative on my own, so I do the most I can in those quiet moments of the day.
Baking cakes is something I love to do as I then get to share them with my neighbours, which has been a wonderful way to connect! Although it may not immediately come to mind as an art form, it absolutely is! I have learned the hard way that all aspects of baking are very intentional, and once you get to the decoration part, that’s absolutely creative. Seeing it come together, and getting to see people enjoying it, is simply wonderful.
But drawing and painting feels more personal. It is something I do alone, and I allow my mind to simply wander. I previously spent lots of time working digitally, but wanted to use physical tools to create my pieces. I still have a way to go, but I am very happy when looking at this series I created, that I hope people will find a sense of calm and joy when glancing at them, too.
When people describe your work as calm or meditative, does that match how you feel while making it?
Absolutely! It is me-time. It is my form of self care, in a way. It’s that time of day when I can hear my son sleeping across the room, and my dogs are snuggled up on the sofa, and I get to simply relax and draw. Of course there are moments when I start to really like what I am making, and worry I may ruin it with a simple wrong stroke, but I also feel like there is a playfulness in that. I don’t take my pieces too seriously, I don’t treat them like work; they are simply a way for me to draw something that moved me or inspired me, and by filtering it through colour and simpler shapes I can capture a moment whilst not being too literal with it. So if what comes across is a calm or meditative mood, then I’m very glad I could convey that through my art.
Has motherhood changed the way you view or approach creativity?
Yes, but mostly in the sense that I find more fulfilment in making things for my own home and for my son. In the very beginning, all time for creativity seemed lost and I found myself wondering whether I could ever get back to it, but now I feel like I value the time I get to be creative again, so that I am much more intentional with it. I look forward to it in a different way, and whilst I don’t try to put any pressure on it, find it even more fulfilling than I did before (not that you need a child in your life to feel this way of course, but this is just something I’ve noticed within myself).
What advice would you give to someone starting out on their creative path?
Art is your own journey and expression. I used to feel like I didn’t deserve the attention and can still recognise just how many extremely talented people are out there, but I also realise this is something I do for myself, and I’m thankful if people can appreciate it too. Self doubt will always sneak up, but as long as you find joy in what you are making, it is worth doing it.
Any artists you’ve discovered recently and loved?
I find my friend Arden Rose’s work inspiring; she moved from California to England a few months back and has been sharing her paintings online - she is very talented and seeing her creating art has pushed me to get back into it as well!
I also recently came across Rosie Harbottle and I was immediately intrigued by her flower compositions, especially the ones which include horses - they are simply gorgeous.
What do you listen to while working?
I recently collaborated with Lofi Girl on a curated playlist called Lofi Girl x Pewds & Marzia (listen on Spotify) full of calm and sweet songs - it’s been my go-to playlist and the perfect background music to relax to and be creative!
Explore the Lonely House prints and greetings cards below, or follow Marzia on Instagram @itsmarziapie.
About the four works
Haru: "represents my current stage of life in Tokyo, which begun in spring of 2022 after a long awaited move across the world."
Estate: "a colorful depiction of my childhood in Italy."
Autumn: "a cosy autumnal scene from my years spent in the UK, where my husband and I first started putting down roots."
Vinter: "a dark and snowy yet magical Sweden - the first place I went to as I entered adulthood and left home, 14 years ago."
Availability
Each design is available as a fine art giclée print until 31st October 2025. The first 25 prints of each design are signed by Marzia. Greetings cards are also available.
