Some business partnerships don't go the distance, but Aimee Lagos and Christiana Coop had a good idea theirs would make it. The friends' first design endeavor, a hand-drawn fashion catalog called The Denver, debuted in the '80s when they were in fourth grade. Today the preschool pals-turned-lawyers-turned-entrepreneurs share a Minnesota company that collaborates with artists and illustrators to happify homes with pattern. Interview with Mary Beaumont.
MB You found creative kinship early, then grew up to practice law. How'd you get back to design?
CC I discovered a passion for interior design-I'd spend hours in the law library figuring out how I would furnish my new apartment. Aimee found this cool wallpaper company in Denmark when shopping for a project, but their paper wasn't sold here. We became its U.S. distributors. In 2008, we struck out on our own with Hygge and West.
they've got mail
Aimee Lagos (left) resides in Minneapolis, while Christiana Coop works from California. So they email all day long-about the business, sure, but also about cooking and bad TV and comedy. "We both think we have great senses of humor," Lagos jokes.
This story is from the Spring 2024 edition of Midwest Living.
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This story is from the Spring 2024 edition of Midwest Living.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
SPRING AWAKENING
Brown County: You might know the southern Indiana region for its namesake state park or shop-packed main street in tiny Nashville. Or maybe you know it as the muse of Impressionist painter T.C. Steele. But do you know the people who call it home? Those producing sweet mash whiskey, farming sustainably or running an artsy inn that stands out among chockablock cabins? Meet three entrepreneurs and the creative pursuits they're bringing to this popular area.
Pats of gold
The first thing to know about Royal Guernsey The first Creamery butter is that the sticks are round.
FEEL the RHYTHM
WITH HER HEART KEEPING TIME, INTERIOR DESIGNER CANDACE GRIFFIN CRAFTED A WARM, PERSONAL HOME THAT'S PERFECTLY ON BEAT WITH HER FAMILY.
Not about to join the 210-mile club?
HERE ARE A FEW FUN WALKS I’?D RECOMMEND ALONG THE OUTERBELT.
I set out to walk 210 miles around Chicago Here's how it went.
I STEP INTO THE WOODS, take a big breath in, let out a heavy sigh, and feel tensions drain.
IRIS OF MY EYE
ONCE SPRING HAS SETTLED IN TO STAY, BEARDED IRISES STAND UP TALL, SHAKE OUT THEIR SKIRTS AND PUT ON A SHOW IN A CLOUD OF NOSTALGIC PERFUME.
YES, TOP CHEF
THIS SPRING, TV’S BIGGEST COOKING COMPETITION RETURNS TO THE MIDWEST FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2008.
SONG OF THE PRAIRIE
SMOKE AND SYMPHONY HERALD THE CHANGING OF THE SEASONS IN THE KANSAS FLINT HILLS, WHERE FLAMES RENEW THE LAND, AND MUSIC CONNECTS US TO IT.
STUDIO SESSION STYLE ON REPEAT
WHICH COMES FIRST: THE COLOR OR THE PATTERN? CHRISTIANA COOP AND AIMEE LAGOS, THE DUO BEHIND WALLPAPER COMPANY HYGGE AND WEST, SAY THE QUALITIES NEED TO BE IN PERFECT SYNCJUST LIKE THEIR PARTNERSHIP.
Real Talk
Through colorful collage, Detroit artist Judy Bowman tells vibrant stories of the Black experience.
