Kaisa+Leka

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1. How did Kaisa lose her feet?

Technically Kaisa did not lose her feet, (except once while swimming in the Pacific Ocean, but that is a different story) but chose to have her feet amputated in 2002 due to a painful arthritis caused by a severe malformation of her legs and ankles.

What Kaisa ended up losing was the pain, and what she gained was an assortment of the coolest cyborg feet one can imagine, a huge upgrade from the feet she “lost”!

2. Why is Leka a Duck?

For this there are three reasons, listed in the order from the most romantic to the least romantic.

1. The most romantic reason for Leka’s duckhood is that in Kaisa’s cartoon universe inhabited by mice alone Leka stands out as something very special – a duck, as he is unique and different from everyone else!

2. The slightly less romantic reason is that Leka belongs to the Swedish speaking minority in Finland, a small group known by its own members as the duckpond, a small body of water where everyone knows each other (and quacks very loudly)!

3. And then we come to the least romantic of the reasons: Leka is a duck, because just as ducks have flat feet, so too does Leka!

3. How do you find the time for all your adventures and publications?

Once again, several factors are at play here. First off, it is a question of desire – we often find time for that which we value the most.

Secondly, our professions – a teacher and a freelancer – allows for longer vacations, making longer adventures a possibility.

Thirdly not having children (or even pets for that matter) frees up time and funds for activities we consider worthwhile.

And finally we have our beloved cleaning lady Marjo to thank for somehow being able to navigate the chaos we seem to create around us

4. How many bikes do you own?

As any cyclist worth their salt knows, the correct number of bikes is n+1. But we’re not quite there yet. So the number of bikes in the Leka household is as follows:

Kaisa – seven
Leka – eight

It should however be noted that out of these fifteen bikes, eight were given to us, one was found in a dumpster by Leka’s brother Peik, and two were bought used. Oh, one bike almost slipped our mind! We actually have a tandem lying around somewhere, so make the total number of bikes sixteen. Yay for bikes!

5. What is your favourite font?

This is one question which we need to answer separately. Kaisa will go first:

Eames Century Modern by House Industries. Inspired by the awesomeness of Ray and Charles Eames’ body of work, drawn by my favorite type studio in the whole wide world.

And then we turn over to Leka:

This is a question I abhor, because there are so many wonderful typefaces out there, and they all serve widely different purposes. I wouldn’t go picking berries in a three piece suit, just as little as I would attend a fancy dinner party (which I never actually do) dressed in my cycling gear.

Fonts are the same.

What is good and appropriate for one occasion will be a most horrific faux pas in a differet scenario. I’ve often said that there are no bad typefaces, only improper usage of type. This, of course, is a statement that requires some degree of qualification, but I will not bore you with the details at this point. I find my own taste gravitate towards older typefaces, the classics, if you will. Nicolas Jenson’s roman fills me with warm feelings, Paul Renner’s Futura is a typeface I find myself returning to ever so often, and the more eccentric side of Roger Excoffon’s letterforms fill me with joy whenever I see them.

But regardless of my conservative leanings I have made a conscious effort to work with newer typefaces as well. Unsurprisingly I too find myself drawn to the reverse contrast faces so popular today. But not the extreme ones, but rather the very subtle ones like for instance Nina Stössinger’s Nordvest. In the end I feel compelled to conclude by saying that there’s endless beauty out on the vast vistas of of type. Too much to explore or appreciate in one lifetime.

Come to think about it, better you come over for lunch, and we can continue this discussion over a nice meal!