Jessica Hammar

What year did you join Input interior?

2008.

What are you working on right now?

I am currently working with a client who is fulfilling their lifelong project: setting up a dental clinic. At the same time I am involved in a project for an independent school that is looking for an interior design that is innovative and functional.

What else do you do on working days?

As a sales representative, my days are very varied. I have clients within both the public and private sector, from nursing and schools to commerce and hotels. It involves numerous meetings, with both architects and clients that I have worked with for several years, and also new clients and suppliers.

And when you are not at work?

I spend time exercising or cooking. The whole family is interested in cooking, so it’s our way of socialising, both with one another and in the company of good friends.

What did you do before?

I have been interested in furniture and design since my teens. When I was 25 I worked at a company in Jönköping as an interior designer and sales representative, and I learned an amazing amount from that. After that I was involved in setting up Granit on Vallgatan in Gothenburg, before I began working in purchasing at their head office in Stockholm.

How did you end up here?

When my family moved from Stockholm to Malmö, I was given a tip by an architect that Input interior would be a good fit for me. I hadn’t heard of the company at that time, but it turned out that they were looking for employees and it went from there, really. I have now been here for 10 years and can’t believe that the time has gone so fast!

Have there been any memorable moments at work?

There is so much, but the spring fairs stand out. We arrange them ourselves and it’s always the case that the sky is the limit for our ideas. We have brought in a coffee van that delivered espressos to visitors, set up a juice bar and planted spring bulbs outside the entrance for a warm spring feel amidst the chill of March! Several exciting speakers have visited us. One of them is Giovanna Castiglioni, daughter of iconic designer Achille Castiglioni, who was here to talk about her father’s life’s work. I spent an extra day with Giovanna and it was really inspiring to chat about design with her.

What is the hardest thing about your job?

The hardest thing is the huge range! It’s a challenge, but also our strength. Something else is allowing the design to sink in. We are regularly introduced to new products and it’s easy to quickly ‘form an opinion’. However, it’s important to hear the story behind it, the designer’s vision, the potential range of uses and functions. That’s when the design grows on you.

What’s the best thing about it?

All the encounters with different people! Being able to find the right solutions through discussion with our clients to create business benefit for them. And getting to see such widely-differing activities and functions within schools, care services and the business community! It truly is not a monotonous job, things are happening all the time.