INTERVIEW
Original Sleepy Girl 😴👧, Iceland's meme queen
Iceland's best content creator, by miles? I interviewed her earlier this week.
Just as your eyes begin to glaze over from the same old Iceland tourism content, you stumble upon a reel gem (pun intended!). Let me introduce you to Original Sleepy Girl 😴👧, whose Instagram reels reveal more about the country as locals experience it, than those picture-perfect accounts. Plus, she's got a great sense of humour!
Just as your eyes begin to glaze over from the same old Iceland tourism content, you stumble upon a reel gem (pun intended!). Let me introduce you to Original Sleepy Girl 😴👧, whose Instagram reels reveal more about the country as locals experience it, than those picture-perfect accounts. Plus, she's got a great sense of humour!
Natka Klimowicz
What inspired your idea for the account?
I had been in Iceland for many years and the algorithm always fed me Icelandic influencers, the same stuff over and over again, Iceland through rose colored glasses. I realized there weren’t many people who were talking about the grit of Iceland, what it’s actually like living and working here, the not so perfect things. I wanted to share my experiences and was happy to see lots of other people were feeling the same way.
Where do you find ideas for posts?
It’s endless. Sometimes something happens during the day that makes me laugh or sometimes I see something funny online that reminds me of something that happens in Iceland.
Do you get backlash? I can imagine some of your takes on the locals can divide opinions. How do you deal with it?
Yes, sometimes people are upset, but I get much more positive feedback then negative and that’s all that matters to me. I have to remind myself that some people do not have the same sense of humor as me, they may take a joke as being rude or ungrateful for the country, but it never comes from a mean place.
Can you give your top 3 tips on creating content / a successful account / coming up with a great idea?
Look for something that hasn’t been done yet, try to create something new. Think of something that you would like to see that is missing. Find something you believe in and keep going, don’t look at numbers.
What's your creative process?
Ideas just hit me randomly, when I’m walking down the street or if I find a meme and it makes me laugh and I can make it my own and apply it to my situation.
What’s next for Original Sleepy Girl?
I’m starting a Discord so that people can more freely talk with each-other about life here maybe make some friends. I make a lot of art, so I might start trying to share too. I don’t make money off this so I don’t really need to worry about my next steps anyway.
I had been in Iceland for many years and the algorithm always fed me Icelandic influencers, the same stuff over and over again, Iceland through rose colored glasses. I realized there weren’t many people who were talking about the grit of Iceland, what it’s actually like living and working here, the not so perfect things. I wanted to share my experiences and was happy to see lots of other people were feeling the same way.
Where do you find ideas for posts?
It’s endless. Sometimes something happens during the day that makes me laugh or sometimes I see something funny online that reminds me of something that happens in Iceland.
Do you get backlash? I can imagine some of your takes on the locals can divide opinions. How do you deal with it?
Yes, sometimes people are upset, but I get much more positive feedback then negative and that’s all that matters to me. I have to remind myself that some people do not have the same sense of humor as me, they may take a joke as being rude or ungrateful for the country, but it never comes from a mean place.
Can you give your top 3 tips on creating content / a successful account / coming up with a great idea?
Look for something that hasn’t been done yet, try to create something new. Think of something that you would like to see that is missing. Find something you believe in and keep going, don’t look at numbers.
What's your creative process?
Ideas just hit me randomly, when I’m walking down the street or if I find a meme and it makes me laugh and I can make it my own and apply it to my situation.
What’s next for Original Sleepy Girl?
I’m starting a Discord so that people can more freely talk with each-other about life here maybe make some friends. I make a lot of art, so I might start trying to share too. I don’t make money off this so I don’t really need to worry about my next steps anyway.
Natka Klimowicz's award-winning design for Egils Orka
What drew you to illustration and why do you love it?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, and over the years, it has become my means of expression. I am rather introverted and shy, and I have a hard time communicating precisely how I feel with words—but I feel I can share so much more when I draw. It's a universal language that everyone can understand. Being an illustrator is like being a translator, or more like materializing the unspoken.
Can you talk a little bit about your creative process?
It depends on the type of work I'm doing, but let's take a poster, my most beloved format, as an example. I get an email from a client, read the event description, and by the time I finish reading, I have my first ideas, which usually end up being the best ones. A poster is a quick-response object, and the process of creating it reflects this nature, in my opinion. You have to make a catchy connection so that what makes sense to you when you read the brief should make the viewer react the same way—no overthinking.
I usually write down the ideas, then maybe go make some tea or do a little something to let them sink in before returning to my desk to read them again. If I like them, I start making very rough sketches. If nothing feels right and I start to struggle, I open one of my poster albums and look at old (usually Polish) posters, analyze them, and reflect on my own ideas.
Once the sketches are ready, I do the detailed drawing and lettering with an ink brush, often on many different layers of paper, and scan it. The rest is just computer work, assembling the poster and coloring it digitally.
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, and over the years, it has become my means of expression. I am rather introverted and shy, and I have a hard time communicating precisely how I feel with words—but I feel I can share so much more when I draw. It's a universal language that everyone can understand. Being an illustrator is like being a translator, or more like materializing the unspoken.
Can you talk a little bit about your creative process?
It depends on the type of work I'm doing, but let's take a poster, my most beloved format, as an example. I get an email from a client, read the event description, and by the time I finish reading, I have my first ideas, which usually end up being the best ones. A poster is a quick-response object, and the process of creating it reflects this nature, in my opinion. You have to make a catchy connection so that what makes sense to you when you read the brief should make the viewer react the same way—no overthinking.
I usually write down the ideas, then maybe go make some tea or do a little something to let them sink in before returning to my desk to read them again. If I like them, I start making very rough sketches. If nothing feels right and I start to struggle, I open one of my poster albums and look at old (usually Polish) posters, analyze them, and reflect on my own ideas.
Once the sketches are ready, I do the detailed drawing and lettering with an ink brush, often on many different layers of paper, and scan it. The rest is just computer work, assembling the poster and coloring it digitally.
Natka Klimowicz
Quote
I don't like to be limited to illustration; I want to have all the fun.
Natka Klimowicz for The Reykjavik Grapevine
In your bio you say that you are "here to speak visual language for grassroots organizations, minorities and anyone who likes things to look fun." Can you describe why this is significant for you?
I have a very strong sense of justice, and any unfairness makes me mad. My skills are the weapon I use to fight for the world I want to live in. Graphic design exists to convey messages in an accessible way, so creating posters for important causes is my favorite and most fulfilling thing to do.
What is your advice for self-employed artists who are struggling? In general and for artists of foreign origin here in Iceland?
The struggle never ends, but you just learn to accept it. It's really hard to make it when you are a foreigner; you have to build your social network from scratch, and there are no gigs accessible for outsiders. But that makes it even more rewarding when your work gets recognition because you know you earned it yourself.
It's such a small market here in Iceland, so it's easier to shine, but at the same time, it's harder to get enough commissions to live off it. I'm always juggling many jobs at once.
Right now, I am lucky enough to have everything I do be in my field of interest and education, but this wasn't always the case. It takes a lot of patience and can be frustrating, but don't give up.
I have a very strong sense of justice, and any unfairness makes me mad. My skills are the weapon I use to fight for the world I want to live in. Graphic design exists to convey messages in an accessible way, so creating posters for important causes is my favorite and most fulfilling thing to do.
What is your advice for self-employed artists who are struggling? In general and for artists of foreign origin here in Iceland?
The struggle never ends, but you just learn to accept it. It's really hard to make it when you are a foreigner; you have to build your social network from scratch, and there are no gigs accessible for outsiders. But that makes it even more rewarding when your work gets recognition because you know you earned it yourself.
It's such a small market here in Iceland, so it's easier to shine, but at the same time, it's harder to get enough commissions to live off it. I'm always juggling many jobs at once.
Right now, I am lucky enough to have everything I do be in my field of interest and education, but this wasn't always the case. It takes a lot of patience and can be frustrating, but don't give up.
Natka Klimowicz
Now that you and the team have won one of the biggest advertising awards in the world, what's next for you?
I'm curious about that myself! I hope I get to work on more projects like Orka—commercial but with a lot of visibility and artistic freedom.
I also hope the venue situation downtown improves so there will be more live music and more posters to create. Next month, I am co-curating an exhibition at Gallery Port, and I'm really excited about that.
I don't like to be limited to illustration; I want to have all the fun.
I'm curious about that myself! I hope I get to work on more projects like Orka—commercial but with a lot of visibility and artistic freedom.
I also hope the venue situation downtown improves so there will be more live music and more posters to create. Next month, I am co-curating an exhibition at Gallery Port, and I'm really excited about that.
I don't like to be limited to illustration; I want to have all the fun.
Be sure to follow Natka on Instagram.