Illustration by Lauren Tamaki
Scandinavian-made products have long been icons of design. New Nordic food has captured the world’s imagination. Scandinavian film—especially from Denmark—is now an established global force. Scandinavia’s cultures of parenting, transportation, and education are the envy of the rest of the world. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before someone explained why the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden manage so deftly to address the human needs of well-being and happiness. I’m not surprised that that person is Josefine Campbell.
Having taken a number of trips to Scandinavia on behalf of my organization and staying with Josefine while in Copenhagen, I’ve gotten to know her reasonable and nuanced approach to daily life. With Nordic, African, Indian, and Amazonian roots, Josefine is the embodiment of diversity. Her Danish-Guyanese background has not only prepared her to understand other cultures, but also given her the passion to spread wisdom among them. She is pragmatic and boundlessly optimistic—qualities that are at the root of her new, disruptive publishing venture, Pine Tribe, a London-based company with offices in London, Copenhagen, and New York City. By translating and adapting books by well-known Scandinavian authors for larger audiences, she hopes to export some of the more valuable qualities of balance and positivity that make up Nordic culture. In the spring, Pine Tribe will launch the first five books in the “Your Best Self” series in the U.S. and the U.K. They are Happy Hour Is 9 to 5 by Alexander Kjerulf, 10 Years Younger in 10 Weeks by Thorbjörg, Happy Lemons by Thomas Flindt, Don’t Despair by Matias Dalsgaard, and Winning Without Losing by Martin Bjergegaard and Jordan Milne.
Pine Tribe not only publishes books about holistic living—every aspect of the company functions holistically. Books are printed only on demand, and, to further reduce their carbon footprint, they are produced as close to the buyer as possible. And after every book purchased, the nonprofit re-forestation organization WeForest plants a tree in the area where it is most needed. “The way we build and run Pine Tribe is a manifestation of how I believe that a sound and sustainable 21st-century business should be,” Josefine says. “We are doing our best to positively impact the planet and the human race while making an economically sound business.”
Casey Kelbaugh is the founder of Slideluck, a nonprofit dedicated to building and strengthening community through food and art.
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