The (Not So) Glamorous Life of Karlssonwilker

Hjalti Karlsson (left) and Jan Wilker at their studio. Photo: Elisabeth Smolarz
Most design monographs follow a fairly predictable formula: in their beautifully produced pages, triumph follows triumph in a career of uninterrupted glory punctuated by pauses to pick up yet another award or admiring magazine profile. Not so Karlsson­wilker’s Tellmewhy. Published in 2003, the book, as its subtitle reveals, documents “the first 24 months of a New York design company” set up by Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker. It would be fair to say that those first two years were something of a struggle…