Get to know Arilyn – Frida, Marketing

Nothing. I usually don't have breakfast, sleep the extra 15 min, then grab a coffee and go. The longer I dwell at home in the morning, the slower I become!

What would you rather have had?

A creamy cappuccino and a goodness-packed smoothie would get my day going for sure. I am also a sucker for soft boiled eggs and jam toast. 

Favourite drink?

What I drink depends very much on the setting but I guess a gin and tonic can never really go wrong. But I wish I didn't have to choose!

Favourite season?

I don’t have a particular season I like the most, they all have their own feel. But my favourite transition is summer to autumn. Not only the leaves change, but the light becomes a warmer shade and the nature takes on a deeper, more earthy fragrance. Kind of like summer all grown up.

Do you like the rain?

I like listening to it, but I won't venture out in it. I have naturally curly hair and wet means frizzy, so all kinds of moist is the enemy.

Chocolate or strawberry?

Dark chocolate. Creamy chocolate ice cream. Chocolate fondant. Hot chocolate with whipped cream. Yeah, let’s go with chocolate.

Dogs or cats?

We had both cats and dogs at home all throughout my childhood, so yeah definitely both.

In the movie of your life, who would play you?

Rose Byrne or Marion Cotillard, two sassy actresses that would surely both be awesome at being me. 

Biggest career fail?

I am not one for dwelling upon past failures and regrets, but I guess hesitating or failing to take or seize an opportunity are ones that come to mind. But without them I wouldn’t be here right now, so s'all good.

Best career advice?

Never stop learning. And know your strengths and nourish them!

If you didn’t do what you do now, what would you be doing?

I always dreamed of working with calligraphy. Types and fonts have fascinated me since I was a kid and we played around with scratch-on lettering.

What job would you be terrible at?

A lorry driver. Parallel parking from hell.

What do you wish you knew more about?

Anything, always! But my biggest thirst for knowledge is languages. Not only learning to speak them, but learning about them, the origin of the words, of the pronunciation and how they reflect on historical events and movements gives a different perspective on how nations and cultures came to be.

Any great frustrations in life?

Climate change definitely keeps me up at night. Outcome projections are not keeping up with the changes and governments are not doing a fraction of what they could. Most people are taking an ignorance is bliss approach and that is probably the most frustrating thing - the feeling that people do not understand or are not even trying to digest the severity we are about the face. [end of doomsday rant]

Do you have a hero?

I have many strong female role models in my family, in particular my mother, my grandmother and my great-grandmother, but also my aunts and my sisters. They all inspire my every single day.

Favourite band?

Here also very much a mood listener, but any person jamming out, either on stage or behind the decks, and gets me and everyone else going. May it be funk, RnB, techno, breakbeat, or whatever really, doesn't matter, as long as we feelin it.

Unusual hobbies or interests?

Not too unusual but I love reading cook books. I can sit and read about recipes and ingredients for hours on end!

Tell us a story about your childhood!

Ok so I have quite a few siblings, we are 5 all together, or actually 7 with our bonus sisters. Of the 5 I am right in the middle with two older brothers and two younger sisters. Me and my younger sister are closest in age and therefore spent our childhood on continuous adventures but also fighting. A lot. I mean, my older brothers teased me so of course I was to pass on the pain. So here goes an anecdote of the evil that is Frida 4 years old, before Ronja could fight back.

It was a quiet afternoon in the Gullichsen household and Ronja, 2, perched on her children's chair and Frida next to her, were both happily drawing away in the playing room. Frida decides to make her sister a drink, her favourite, milk chocolate. Enter evil, Frida decides to add washing liquid to the drink, just you know, to see what happens. Let's just say there were bubbles and there were tears, and that was the beginning of a long childhood of Ronja being the "let's see what happens" guinea pig. The end.