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When she's not designing, travelling or surfing, Hanna's always on the lookout for other ways to inject a little colour into the island she now calls home.
Most of that creativity is used in her role designing websites with her company, The Wildly Design, but she recently started thinking about a new endeavour to help others with artistic flair.
The result was collaborative creative community and studio space Creators HQ - a home for everyone from designers to photographers and party planners.
Pictured: The Creators HQ team. (Holly Smith)
Aside from making waves on the island's arts scene (and in the sea when she indulges her hobby of surfing), Hanna's a passionate traveller.
She was born in Norway, spent some of her childhood in Thailand, and studied in Australia before moving to Jersey four years ago - but frequently hops off the island to experience new things.
In her opinion we should look on the bright side and recognise all of the brilliant things in Jersey, but also consider applying innovative and unique solutions inspired by elsewhere. Here are her five ideas to change things for the better...
The easiest thing you can do for the environment is say 'no' to straws, but what about the bigger problems, such as how much we consume? It doesn’t matter how much we declutter and give to Hospice, it’s more important to consume less. Reducing how much we buy, how often we drive the car or how much we waste we throw away.
Pictured: Hanna thinks we should have a lot more of these around.
I love Plastic Free Jersey and what they have managed to do, and also the Recycling Centre, but can we get more recycling bins around town? Teach kids at schools what they can do, and maybe have all businesses go through a workshop? Let’s get more aware of what we bring to the island, reuse what we have and be better at recycling.
I believe it’s so important to encourage new parents to take the time they need to feel connected to the child and also not to stress about going back to work if they aren’t ready. Fathers and mothers should have equal paid leave.
Pictured: Parents should be able to spend more time with their children, says Hanna.
In Norway, new parents have the option of taking 49 weeks of leave at 100% pay, and the fathers are entitled to take two weeks paid leave when the baby is born and must take an additional 14 weeks of paid leave before the child turns three years old. Meanwhile in Jersey it’s only 26 weeks and paid maternity leave has only increased to six weeks and paid parental leave is two weeks.
Non-conventional medicine should be helped out too, whether it’s seeing a chiropractor, a nutritionist, EFT tapping coach, hypno-birthing or Chinese medicine. We all need different ways of healing and often we need more time than 15 minutes at the GPs being told to just take some medication. Especially mental, gut and physical help has to be seen by someone who has the time and that can find out where the problem lies.
Pictured: According to Hanna, we should all be doing a bit more of this.
However, these things do add up in costs. Having a chronic disease myself, it’s been a costly journey which I wish I could get more help with. If the government used more money now teaching kids at schools about meditation, yoga and nutrition, it would be a huge health benefit for them in the future.
I think it is so important that how our surroundings reflect us. There are so many buildings around town and when you drive from the airport that have not been looked after. We should look after what we have and not just build new and let the small old buildings rot. To make it more friendly, get the nature out and encourage people to enjoy the outdoors (and not just shopping).
Pictured: Hanna wants us to look after old buildings and not let them become dilapidated.
The island offers so much. Could Jersey be stricter on what shops are on the main street? Instead of having more cheap shoe and cards shops (that are wasteful), can we reach out to brands we love and that produce quality work? Make it easier for local businesses and zero waste shops to be in town by offering a subsidy for the high rents.
One of the biggest shocks of moving to Jersey is hearing what people say about immigrants, racism, homosexuality and feminism. Even though things are said as jokes, I think respecting that everyone is different is important in how we treat people. Could there be more talk about it at schools, create adverts, talks at big finance businesses? It’s easy to feel protective over a small place and believe we have everything. It can be scary that people have other cultures, but that can help Jersey become better and opening up to them you can learn a lot.
Pictured: Hanna thinks we should be heading in the other direction.
No matter where people come from they have a lot to bring to the island. We have to respect women, stop catcalls and body shaming, or being inappropriate at work. That women have to ask their husbands to sign tax documents or businesses asking when they are planning on having kids. It should be the woman’s decision and right to do what she wants. Feminism is believing everyone should be treated equally and all genders should have the same opportunities.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not those of Bailiwick Express.
Pictured top: Hanna captured hard at work. (Ollie Jones)
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