Journal °1 – Ola Szwałek

This is Sote Journal – our diary of encounters with friends of the brand, people whose work and attitude inspires us every day. We meet in their natural surrounding – places close to their heart, situations in which they feel themselves most, be it a farmers market or a rehearsal room.

The journal series opens with an interview and photoshoot with Ola Szwałek. Ola is a cook based in Tokyo, Japan. In her work she focuses on produce led cooking, with her particular interest in wild foraging and seasonality as well as soil and terroir diversity. Besides cooking, Ola also works with kids, educating about growing and foraging mushrooms.

1
We meet in Warsaw at the Szwedzka Street market, where you lead us to your favorite stall with products straight from the farmers. What attracts you here, to the Old Praga?

The market we go to only takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays between 7-11 a.m. While living in Warsaw, Old Praga is where I used to spend my Friday mornings. Just like today. Friday is also the day when Weronika (owner of the Rano bakery) bakes my favorite rye bread. It’s a charming ritual to start the day with a market and warm coffee in the courtyard that smells like a fresh bread.

2
You’ve had a strong work relationship with Tokyo for several years now. Which places have a special value to you over there?

My street. I’ve never felt so excited to go home as since i live in Tokyo. Walking home from the station everyday, I pass by the neighborhood temple, with a giant ginkgo tree growing beside it, with it’s leaves covering the street like a long green carpet. As I walk up my street, my elderly neighbors have beautiful traditional Japanese gardens where they also grow their own vegetables. A couple with two children lives at the end of the street, so the asphalt in front of my house is painted with chalk every day from spring to autumn. Just before I left for Poland, I found a painted elephant on my doorstep.

3
For your Morning Signet, you chose amber in a shade of pale yellow. Why this particular mineral? How do you like to wear your jewelry?

This is exactly the stone that two of my dear friends wear. They both happen to share the same name and same colour of amber. Kasia Sznajder lives in Copenhagen, Kasia Marszewski in Berlin and I live in Tokyo- and just like that, I feel like im carrying both of my girlfriends with me at all times. For me, jewelry is an extension of me and my energy. The one on my hands simultaneously emphasizes the delicacy of the hands but also adds a kind of strength, like a small beautiful armor.

4
Favorite little item you own?

I have three of these. One is a beautiful metal pendant in the shape of a feather, recently found in Sweden at an antique market. The second is my little salt box, which I always have in my pocket with me. The third is a little gray elephant that my mum made me out of clay.

5
Autumn in Poland and autumn in Japan – what will you eat here and what will you eat when you return to Tokyo?

Fresh young walnuts in Poland are the biggest treat. I’m also trying to stuff myself with my favorite yellow mammoth beans, which appear at the end of summer, and in a few days, I’m going home to the mountains, where I hope to catch autumn forest raspberries as well. In Japan, my first meal will be soba noodles, which my neighbors make by hand in their restaurant, and my beloved dashi broth with seasonal sudachi citrus.