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…