We Found The Perfect Gift For The Book-Loving Mom (Win!)

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about how to show your mom how much she means to you. If your mom is a book lover or appreciates home décor, then Lagom Collections’ wall art decor is the perfect gift for her. With Lagom Collections, you can curate your mom’s favourite reads into her own unique piece of wall art that displays the covers of her most-loved stories. From hundreds of books to choose from on the website, Lagom Collections allows you to have full control, from the way you place the books in the frame, to the style of the frame – the options are endless! We chatted with Lagom’s Jennifer Steckel Elliott to learn more. —Noa Nichol

Hi Jennifer! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

Hi! Thank you for this opportunity to talk about Lagom Collections! I am a proud married momma of 2 uni-aged kids, who loves to learn and combine different facets of my life and experiences. I love being a mom, working out, reading, technology and design.

When and why did you launch Lagom Collections? What niche were/are you aiming to fill?

In very brief: I created Lagom out of a need to see my favourite books.  Stemmed from an accident I had while walking in a school parking lot (post-kid drop-off) where I was hit head-on by an SUV. One of the severe outcomes of the accident was my inability to read in the short term, and then only briefly with a lot of focus, in the longer term. So, for my reading passion to be fulfilled, and as it turned out, for my recovery to be supported, I turned completely to audiobooks which were amazing life support, not just the stories, but the narrators, directors & producers with all they add to the storytelling experience. But now with no physical books I had an empty library/bookshelf, and needed to figure out a way to display my favourite reads. Thus, Lagom Collections was born. And the more research I did, the more audiobook lovers I found facing this same situation (as do library readers and others focused on lending books/recycling and sustainable reading)! I have often had “invention” ideas but was too chicken to take the risks so this time, I wanted to go for it. The niche I am serving is personalised art (designed by the customer), or a gift of a recipient’s favourite reads. Reading of all kinds is a major passion of mine. I wanted to be an author when I was younger. When I started thinking about this idea I thought of all the ways that readers are similar (we love to show off what we’ve read, we love to talk about what we’ve read, we are keenly interested in what other people have read/are reading…) including, challenges in storing and displaying their books! There are a few offerings today of book art, very few that are personal. We live in a consumer-centric world today where personalised service is expected and becoming part of the product experience (custom Nikes, tote bags, wallpaper and more!), so I decided to serve my own needs, and based on my research, that this would serve the needs of many others.

What products/services do you currently offer, and what makes them unique?

Our entire product line and consumer experience is unique. If you choose, the whole process is digital which means we can serve this amazing market at scale and affordable prices. I am also able to offer design and curating services to people who choose this option and have started a collection of Prêt-à-Porter pieces for those who want quicker options or who are having trouble picking their favourite book to show off. We currently have 10 designs that people may choose from, ranging from the perfect display of one title to many, and a range of cover-facing and spine-only designs. Our designs cover the modern simple white room, the heritage library shelving design, a farmhouse industrial look and a clean classic black walnut shelf. The intent is to continue to evolve our designs to meet the interior design interests of as many consumers as possible, adding additional customization options as we grow.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner; why is Lagom Collections’ wall art decor the perfect gift for the book-loving mom.

A curated collection of Mom’s favourite books is a beautiful demonstration of her interests, and what contributes to the amazing woman she is. I believe that we are what we read, thus, displaying what you see from your Mom’s book interests tells a great story of how you see her, if you also know and appreciate the books, and if not, of how she sees herself even subliminally which is just purely thoughtful and an emotionally kind gesture I think. I extended this metaphor a bit when trying to name the company as I focused on the way we are shaped by our inputs, not just what we read of course, and by nature, and thought of my experience as a pregnant mom nurturing babies, and figured that a cool name could be W.O.M.B. – What’s On My Bookshelf – but thought better of it, and use it as a hashtag only instead.

Can you walk us through the process of creating/curating our mom’s favourite reads into her own unique piece of wall art that displays the covers of her most-loved stories?

First I suggest that you have paid attention over the years to what she likes to read or do. It doesn’t have to be exact titles – if she talks about one day visiting Paris or Tokyo, you could curate a collection of titles about Paris – its history, its food, amazing historical fiction, its art and other insights. If she’s an architect or financial planner, believe me, there are books that fit this genre and show it off or inform it beautifully, and I can help! Then, check Goodreads to see if she has an account where she tracks her reads. If you still don’t have any ideas, you need to contact one of her close friends – they will know! Once you have a long list of books, just follow the simple instructions on our site, outlined here, and don’t forget to save her “digital” copy that she can use in video calls as her new background:

1. Choose Curate Your Own, or, Prêt à Porter from the drop-down “SHOP” options. Curate Your designs are shown with blank books in different settings.
2. Choose print-only or framed, and your preferred size.
3. Import your favourite reads from Goodreads with one click, or manually import one at a time.
4. Review & edit your bookshelf.
5. Approve & check out

What books would you include in your own piece?

So, this is the hardest part of the process haha! Right now, the piece includes books I’ve read recently that have really expanded my horizons and empathy capabilities.

• The Back of the Turtle, by Thomas King
• Surrender, by Bono
• Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Reading List, Sara Nisha Adams
• Hades, Argentina by Daniel Loedel
• How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankhan ThammAvongsa
• American Dirt, Jeanine Cummins
• The Promised Land, Barack Obama
• Becoming, Michelle Obama
• Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice
• The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah Jones
• Five Little Indians, Michelle Good

lagomcollections.com

Win! A Custom Literary Décor Design From Lagom Collections!

Congrats Sarah B. of Waterloo, ON, who will receive a Custom Literary Décor Design From Lagom Collections! Please note: if you are the winner, you will receive a DM (direct message) in Instagram directly from @vitadaily.ca. Please be wary of fake accounts, which often use similar handles with an extra or missing letter, number or symbol. We will never ask for a payment or for your credit card number, and we will never ask you to click through a link. If you are unsure whether you have been contacted, via Instagram, by us or a fake account, email us before responding.