StrikAholic (www.strikaholic.dk) was set up after a journey to New York. Dorte Niedziella, designer and owner of StrikAholic, became deeply fascinated by the many – often unnoticed – graphic designs originating from items belonging to everyday American life, such as bus tickets.
Her fascination kept on growing upon her return home to Denmark and she started exploring bar codes and bus tickets in more detail, wondering how she could make other people notice all these amazing art designs of everyday life.
Dorte Niedziella found a way of combining her joy for knitted products with her fascination of everyday graphics when initiating the production of her unique, offbeat and humorous cushions, and StrikAholic was formally established as a company in 2007.
The name StrikAholic is constructed by the Danish noun “strik”, meaning knitwear, and the English suffix “aholic” denoting a person addicted to something. The two components in combination form the pun: Strikaholic (i.e. knit-aholic).
Ever since early childhood Dorte Niedziella has taken an unusually strong interest in knitting.
When selecting a name for her company, she wanted the company to reflect her passion for knitwear – and today has actually managed to make a living out of her obsession.
Today, StrikAholic is known for original designs and high-quality products.
The designer behind StrikAholic
The designer behind Strikaholic, Dorte Niedziella, was born in 1971 in Aarhus, the second largest city of Denmark. Already in early childhood, Dorte Niedziella took a strong interest in knitwear and designing in general; an interest which has increasingly come to define her private as well as her professional life. She now lives in Holte near Copenhagen with her husband and their three young children.
Dorte Niedziella was originally a classically trained musician (recorder). She graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, holding a specialty in medieval, renaissance and baroque music. After her graduation, she extended her knowledge further by studying modern languages (Italian and the cultural history of Italy) as well as arts journalism at the University of Copenhagen.
She has managed to continuously update her skills and knowledge of textile materials and trend development in general, even while engaged in completion of degree programmes during her younger years.
Dorte Niedziella is an autodidact designer, although her strong interest in the arts has encouraged her to complete a course at Scandinavia’s largest design and business academy within the fashion and lifestyle industries (TEKO).
Dorte Niedziella has a distinct preference for converting her artistic ideas into tangible products. Sense of humour, curiosity and high-quality materials are all important motivational factors for her. These factors in combination form the basis for her journey through all phases of the entire working process, right from initial idea through development of design and all the way to actual production of end product.