Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Who are you:
Jasper Overgaard, 33, Danish. Holds a Master of Fine Arts in Furniture and Spatial Design from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from Aalborg University.
Your current job:
Creative Director, designer, maker and co-founder of Danish furniture label Overgaard & Dyrman (O&D).
In which city are you located?
Roskilde (outside Copenhagen, Denmark) I’m in charge of our creative workshop in the eastern part of Denmark. My partner in O&D, Christian Dyrman, and our main workshop is based in the other end of Denmark near Aalborg, where our manufacturing facilities are located.
A word to define what kind of worker you are:
Dedicated. I see myself as half part designer and creative director, and half part craftsman. When talking about craft skills my primarily strength is within leatherwork.
What tools are essential to your life (app, software, etc.)?
My hands are the most important ones. All our craft tools are extremely essential in the development of new designs, but also 3D computer programs such as Rhino and Inventor is of great importance to us.
When you decide to make the kind of furniture we do, it’s important to see the whole world as your market. It would never be possible for us to base our business on Denmark or Scandinavian alone, so it’s really important for us to stay connected to the rest of the world via web, social media etc. Furthermore, my partner and co-founder of the company is located 400 km from my office, so we are in daily contact over the phone. Therefore my laptop and my Iphone 6 (I also use the camera a lot) are my trusty followers almost no matter where I am – I’m not proud of that, and I would never say that they are essential to my live, but they are indeed essential to my job.
What does your office space look like?
My office a mix between a workshop and an office where the desk and computer are at one end and the workshop with all the tools, sewing machine etc. are at the other. It’s located in a part of an old dairy from 1888. I love the place because it inspires me and gives me the space to be creative. Depending on when you enter the workshop and where we are in a design process it can look as everything from an office to a creative laboratory and sometimes it even looks like a dumpster. I have a big desk and a big worktable but most of the time they are about 90% covered with stuff.
What kind of music do you listen when you are working?
The music often reflects the project I’m working on. When I’m in front of the computer I listen to all kinds of music. Here it’s most important not to be disturbed. When I’m in the workshop it’s another story. Usually the radio is tuned in on a channel playing all the best rock and grunge from the 90s. I guess I’m a bit stranded in the past when it comes to music.
Do you have a way to organize your day to maximize your work ?
Nope! Every morning I have a plan for the day, but it never turns out as planned. I think it’s the curse of being an entrepreneur. In a young company like ours we as founders are involved in so many things and that makes it really difficult to organize. Yesterday I forgot my phone at home and I must admit I really enjoyed not having to answer any calls.
What tips would you give to improve productivity?
In my case, organization is the key word but also the type of task means the world to me. If it’s something I find really interesting I can work for hours and days almost without noticing time and space. So my advice to improve productivity must be to do what you find interesting. Also training and sport gives me extra energy.
You’re better than your colleagues to:
I have a big role in the preliminary process in the making of new designs, so that must be the one. I see myself as a creative thinker who primarily focuses on the creative direction of the projects carried out at O&D and my strength and passion is in the embedded aesthetics of materials and the overall design.
What is the best advice anyone has given you?
Shut up and dance! They were not the exact words, but the point is that I was told to stop talking and go for it. That was when we decided to quit our jobs and go all in with our own label.
What is your best tip for saving time?
Stop using valuable time on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. and use the time in real life instead. It’s also an advice to myself.
What is your routine start and end of the day?
I really wish I could say go for a run, but the honest answer must be coffee and TV (sport news are preferable).
Aside from your computer and your phone, what gadget can you not you go without?
I hate when I’m not wearing my wristwatch. Then I’m constantly looking at my bare arm.
nstagram.com/Overgaard_Dyrman
twitter.com/OvergaardDyrman