'Billy' connects people! ( Second interview)

I want to start with a brief story how I found my second interviewee. When I knew that we need to find participants for our project- I e-mailed the whole school in an effort to find a volunteer. Konstfack approximately has more than a thousand of students. I got only one reply…

His name is Pavel Fiorentino ( and he is a first-year master student at Art in the Public Realm (Fine Arts department). And fortunately he turned to be my fellow citizen. He is living in Sollentuna , nice picturesque area almost out of Stockholm. Pavel sharing his apartment with his partner Ever, who is also a student in IT sciences. Pavel is incredibly interesting person with a great experience of traveling, working and studying (all listed above most of the time is blended in one). Our dialogue was in Russian.

Interview 2

This week our interviewee is Alexander, a 63 year old retired government worker from my home town of Toronto!

Memories on transit Billy

Ulrika Blom/ 28/ 'In Space' Master Student at Konstfack

"For me this bookshelf is more like a storage place, I inherited so many books from my dad. And I don't want to throw them away. So that's why it is important for me. It stores memories."

I found this girl when I asked my Interior friend, if he has any Billy Bookcase at home. Ulrika was sitting next to him, talking on their desing project. After I explained our Billy's mission to her. She voluntary excepted my interview on the next day without any question.

Interview with Cecilia and her Billys

“It probably doesn’t happen very often that a total stranger comes home to you and asks you questions about your bookcases,” I said as Cecilia led me to the kitchen and poured me a cup of coffee. “As a matter of fact, never” Cecilia replied laughingly with Astrid in her arms staring at me with earnest and curiosity.

Through a friend, I was put into contact with Cecilia and able to arrange an interview with her on Billy. Truth be told, it was a rather bizarre feeling to sit in a stranger’s kitchen and try to get them to talk about themselves and most of all, their bookcases. So how did I break the ice? I had to start somewhere. So I began by presenting myself and explaining where this interview was coming from. I told her about the Billy course and the ambition of turning this course into publications and an exhibition or something like that. I think I got my message across all right. So, it was time to get personal.

Cecilia, 28, is currently on maternity leave taking care of her daughter Astrid, who was born in July 2010. Before Astrid was born, Cecilia was a student of Arts Teacher Education at University College of Arts, Crafts and Design. She plans to resume her study in August this year. Her partner, Marcus, who wasn’t home at the time of interview, works as a postman. They live in a two-room apartment in Telefonplan.

Interview-Mojdeh and her Billys

* It is a competition man!

          I started the assignment by asking my friends from Taiwan if they have bookshelf from Ikea or not, but then I realized that it’s not gona work because we are all students who will leave Sweden within one or two years, no one want to buy this kind of bookshelf even it is really cheap.  

          So I turned to my Swedish classmates for help, and soon it became a competition between us because we have four people in this course, and we only have 5 Swedish in our ID class.

          “Have you asked Hampus yet ? ”  “Yes! He has one!!”  “shit!”

         “Did you ask Mojdeh ? ”  “I did ! ”  “Fuck !”

         After the competition, I got Mojdeh as my interviewee.

What Billy can represent you...?

Lars Karlsson-Liljas/ 29years/ Swedish/ Co-teacher at Adult Education Centre (Mostly for Immigrant People) and Contemporary History Student of Södertörn University

Lars has a full-size Billy bookcase in Oak colour, which has been in this apartment before he moved in. It has been placed in the living room besides the wall and staircase to the 1st floor.

He told me, his sister was the one who bought this Billy Bookcase years before. She and her husband had used it for a couple of years until they had another bookcase to replace for their own reason.

The Meaning of Billy

We bask in the sleepy afternoon sunlight of a late February day. The blåmes flit amongst the bare branches of the hedge that frames the snug patio and filter the gold and gossamer rays that illuminate the warm cherry veneer and faded leather covers of Anders’ personal library. Jasmine tea suffuses the air and the whole atmosphere speaks of spring as opposed to the lingering traces of an exceptional winter.

“Epistemology is one of the most important subjects anyone could know. I think it should be a mandatory part of any education. It would only take a single term to know everything there is to know about it, but I think it is necessary to understand epistemology to be good at any other discipline, regardless of its application.”

This is a well known argument of his; I have heard it many times.