WAWA Print Shop Summer Capsule for SNS Stockholm

SNS: Can you tell us a bit about WAWA Print Shop and why you started it? 

Axel: WAWA Print Shop is my design studio, where I mainly work with graphic design and printing. WAWA Print Shop is sort of like my brand and a workshop space. In the workshop, I explore my different ideas and create clothing and interior products that I sometimes sell. 

I also do a lot of collaborations with different brands. When I work with a brand, I usually design a collection of graphics, and then I host workshops where people are invited to come and print the graphics with me. Some examples of brands I have worked with recently are Arc’teryx, adidas, and Gore-Tex.  Whilst running WAWA Print Shop, I also work as a freelance graphic designer, taking on projects with different clients. 

A couple of years ago, whilst studying, I started to get a bit tired of always working with my computer. I bought a tufting gun - a tool with which you can make rugs with- and started creating small cushions in wool. Using that tool, I felt like I had found a fun way to work with design in a physical form. I sold the handmade cushions just for fun and received unexpectedly positive feedback. After that, I started creating more and more different physical products, such as board games, slip mats, and clothes. After just a few months, it felt like I had created a brand without even planning on it. From then on, I have continued exploring different physical craft and design techniques. Here we are, almost five years later, and I am still having fun making new things and teaching people how to create things with their hands.

SNS: You used to work at the SNS Stockholm store while studying at Beckmans — what did that time mean to you creatively and personally? 

Axel: I studied visual communications at Beckmans, and when I graduated, I wanted to freelance as a designer and continue developing WAWA Print Shop. I got a part-time job at the SNS store and worked there whilst I developed my freelance career. It was great to have a flexible extra job that helped me feel safe financially during that time, fresh out of school. I have always been interested in clothing and sneakers, so it was fun to work at SNS in an environment where all my colleagues shared that interest. During my time working at SNS, I got to know a lot of fun people which I am still in contact with today.

SNS: If you could only work with one font, what would that be?  

Axel: It would have to be Helvetica. For me, Helvetica is like a clean slate which I can use as a base to take further and tweak to how I want it. For example, the WAWA Print Shop logo is created using Helvetica, but with an added stroke and with a gritty texture. 

SNS: We always like working with you because you’re so good at graphics & colour. What’s your approach when it comes to working with colour, dyeing, and print in your garments? 

Axel: I like to create things in a way that involves a fun and experimental process. 

For example, when I recently made a poster for your adidas SNS GT II event. I used the actual shoes as stamps to create a pattern for the poster design. I started by designing the text for the poster on the computer, and then I riso-printed the posters on paper. I placed the posters all over my studio floor, and I put on the shoes, dipping them in paint and walking all over the prints on the floor, creating a pattern. The colours I used for the prints were the same as the colours on the shoes. I did not know exactly what the end result would look like. But I had fun making it, and I believed that the idea was thought through enough so that, regardless of how it would look, it would work for the intended purpose of communicating the shoe. 

When I print and dye stuff, I do not always have a plan of how it should look in the end. I like to experiment with what I have in the workshop until I get a result that I am happy with. For me, it is exciting to let the process lead me in directions that I could not have predicted from the start of the project. I like to work in this experimental way when possible!

SNS: Tell us about the concept behind the WAWA Print Shop Summer Capsule for SNS Stockholm. What was the starting point? 

Axel: It started with me feeling excited to create some new WAWA Print Shop garments, as it had been a while since I last did that. I had a bunch of old blank t-shirts in my studio, which felt perfect to use for a summer collection. I started by dying and bleaching all the shirts in different colours, to make them feel a bit more interesting. Then I decided on the different print graphics. The graphics are a mix of some of the WAWA symbols that I have used for a long time:  

The hypno swirl, which to me represents the creative spirit. And the self-portrait, which I use to humanize the products, to show that I have been involved in creating the product. In this case, I have designed, printed, and dyed the shirts. There is also the spoon-graphic, which is a photo of some spoons from my old workshop. And lastly, the Arts & Crafts graphic, which to me is one way to describe what WAWA Print Shop is about, and also a shoutout to the Arts & Crafts movement.

SNS: Where do you see WAWA Print Shop heading next? 

Axel: I want to continue doing fun projects with different brands, creating design collections, and hosting workshops. I also want to experiment more in my workshop and hopefully develop new techniques to work with and create more products for people to wear and use in their homes.

SNS: I heard rumours of a follow-up in fall? 

Axel: I heard so, too! I am excited to see what we come up with and for more people to be able to get their hands on some WAWA Print Shop products!

WAWA Print Shop Summer Capsule for SNS Stockholm available exclusively in-store at SNS Stockholm, from July 1st 2025!