#30: Jeffrey — Iceland, Design, Type II Fun

At home in Scandinavian life.

Jun 27, 2024

Welcome to Mia’s Queue, a newsletter spotlighting the secret agents of taste among us. In each edition, I chat with an undercover tastemaker infusing creativity and wonder into their (and our!) everyday life. Learn what lights them up, where they find inspiration, and what they think we should all be enjoying right now. Meet Agent 030: Jeffrey Nebolini, the founder and creative director of HEKLA PROJECTS, an independent design studio.

I’ve never met Jeffrey but I’ve admired his work: I love the sunny rebrand he did for my friend Melissa’s Salty Sweet cookie company*. When I told Melissa I was going to Reykjavik this summer, she said I had to talk to Jeffrey because Iceland is his spiritual home. Why is this Italian so obsessed with the land of Björk? You know I had to find out and get his best tips.

How and why did you get so into Scandi stuff?

This is a great question and something I have thought about quite a bit. The short answer is, I’m not sure, but I have some ideas:

Even before I could articulate or recognize it, I’ve always had an affinity for a certain type of design. I wasn’t exposed to Scandinavian art/culture/design at an early age (unless we’re counting Lego), and being 100% Italian, I have exactly zero family ties to Scandinavia. Come to think of it, my interest in Scandinavia may have been a reaction to the Italian culture that surrounded me. I’m quiet, reserved, and a bit stoic, so the “vibrancy” of my family life was a bit alienating, whereas I felt more at home in the pensive way of Scandinavian life. This was and still is a tension for me because, of course, there are many things about Italian culture, and especially Italian design, that resonate with me.

Alas, my first car was a Saab 900 Turbo, not a Ferrari. ;)

Things started to crystallize more in college when I was majoring in geology and had a Danish girlfriend. These are, of course, unrelated, but significant because I became very interested in geologic hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, etc., and extreme weather environments — and concurrently I got to spend time all over Denmark, so I gained an insider’s experience of Danish food, architecture and language.

The threads of geology and design became further intertwined in graduate school, where I explored that relationship through my work at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Everything I did connected them in some way. For example, I designed textiles with patterns derived from crystal geometry and glacial ice textures. While I was at Cranbrook I applied for, and was ultimately awarded, a Fulbright Fellowship to Iceland. My proposal was to study the relationship between extreme geology and fashion — the “Tectonics of Fashion,” as I called it.

While in Iceland I worked with a very accomplished fashion designer, Steinunn Sigurðardóttir, who had previously made a name for herself at Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, La Perla, and alongside Tom Ford at Gucci. Steinunn’s expertise was in knitwear and she used aerial photos of Icelandic landscapes to inform her work. This was truly a dream scenario for me, as I got to see all parts of her process, from early inspiration and sketches — to photoshoots and runway shows.

What would you recommend others read/watch/hear/see/eat/do if they also share this passion or are just curious about it?

There’s so much more to Iceland than the superficial ‘land of fire and ice’ cliche that many people associate with the country. The first thing I’d recommend, even if only visiting for a short time, is making an effort to familiarize yourself with the language.

🗣 Unsurprisingly, there are not a ton of resources for this, but Language Drops is an incredible app that makes it fun to learn (even for my 10-year-old daughter) because of the way they’ve gamified the process. Knowing even a little bit of the language immediately puts you in a different category with locals.

I can’t emphasize this enough — but IMO it is important to look beyond the well-worn paths of tourist spots in Iceland. Of course, many of them are popular for a reason. Gullfoss waterfall is an incredibly powerful sight. It is absolutely worth experiencing. But so are the local swimming pools, parks, and paths on the outskirts of Reykjavik.

🌲 Here are some of my favorite outdoor places:

• Sundlaug Garðabæjar — a wonderful small swimming pool in Garðabær
• Heiðmörk Nature Preserve — great for a hike or a bike ride
• Ellidaardalur Park — my favorite place to walk/run/ride outside of Reykjavik

🏠 And some of my favorite indoor places:

• Dill — a Michelin Star restaurant in downtown RVK. Their original location was magical, but the new location is great and the food is 10/10
• Marshall House — an art center in Reykjavik Harbor and the location of Olafur Eliasson’s studio
• Brauð & Co. — coffee, pastries, atmosphere.

📸 If there’s one visual recommendation I have, it would be to check out the work of Benjamin Hardman, a photographer based in Iceland. It’s remarkable. There are so many talented photographers in Iceland — but IMO he is just on another level.

🎥 Nordic Noir is my favorite film genre. There are some great movies and series worth watching from all Scandinavian countries, but here are a few that are specific to Iceland.
• Trapped
• Rift
• The Oath

Where do you find inspiration?

I’m inspired by people who aren’t afraid to be themselves and who are fearless when it comes to making the most of every day.

What routines and rituals do you have in place to fuel that inspiration?

I’ve been going to Iceland regularly since 1999 — before I had a family — and will continue to go there until my ashes are spread in the North Atlantic. It really is a second home for me and would probably be my first home if it wasn’t so hard to stay there long-term. I feel incredibly fortunate to have lived there for years, and to be able to share it with my family. The first time I took my daughter there she was six and it was incredible to see it through her eyes. There’s just no substitute for being there.

When I’m not there I’m often looking for the next opportunity to get back. There’s been a lot of volcanic activity over the past year, so I’d love to get back and see it firsthand. There’s also a bike race called The Rift that I will undoubtedly do within the next couple of years.

What else are you into?

📷 Photography. I’m terrible at it but I keep trying and hope to make good pictures someday. I’m always trying to learn more about composition, editing and getting the most out of my cameras. I developed an unhealthy relationship with Leica, so I keep striving to honor the pedigree of my camera.

I’m a big fan of Moment which has tons of affordable online courses you can take on everything from composition to editing. These have been valuable for me because they are really thorough and I can do them on my own time.

🚴 Fitness. I enjoy endurance sports like cycling and running. Some people call this “Type II fun.” I guess I love Type II fun and I’m always looking for ways to combine activities in new ways. When I lived in San Francisco, I would ride my motorcycle to the Marin Headlands, go trail running, and then ride back home. I couldn’t ever find anyone to do this kind of stuff with me so they were always solo missions. Now it’s interesting to see more grassroots things like this popping up. I’m preparing to do The Picnic in Jackson Hole this summer.

🩺 Emergency medicine. I may have missed my calling as an ER doc but I’ve always been passionate about emergent care in high-stress or pre-hospital situations. I’m a ski patroller and an EMT, which gives me unlimited opportunities to learn new things. I like that I’m always expanding my knowledge and that, at a minimum, I can help someone if they need it. Preparation = confidence.

Do you consider yourself a tastemaker?

Yes, but I don’t have a big audience and therefore my sphere of influence is small. As a designer and creative director, I’ve no doubt been paid for a POV and a level of taste. I think that a key quality in any tastemaker is the ability to recognize what’s played out and to have the foresight to see it from a mile away.

Also, I pay attention to everything. Sometimes just paying attention is all it takes. I’m not just sleepwalking through life doing what I’m told. Usually, it’s the opposite. This doesn’t mean I’m always in a rebellious state. It just means I’m not afraid to carve a path that might make other people anxious or uncomfortable. In work, this means substantiating a POV by giving clients the confidence to push limits, and in life, this means that I’m going to do what I’m going to do even if conventional wisdom is against me.

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Salty Sweet, home of the world’s best chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, among others. Trust me on this one! They’re made with love in San Francisco by my dear friend (and connector to Jeffrey), Melissa P. Cohen. And now Mia’s Queue readers get 25% with this code: MIASQUEUE25

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Mia’s Queue is a free newsletter at the intersection of curation, connection, and personal change. Each edition is full of links hand-picked by authentic people who savor the hunt for the Good Stuff, always strive to be their best, and know that sharing is caring. Thanks for being here!

Mia’s Queue

#30: Jeffrey — Iceland, Design, Type II Fun

At home in Scandinavian life.

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