Gracious and bold, with a touch of glory

Saila-Mari Kohtala, the editor-in-chief of Gloria and Glorian Koti magazines, is not afraid of failure. We met with Saila-Mari and realised that perhaps that holds the key to success.

Hi Saila-Mari! What’s up with you?

We moved to a new home during the Christmas holidays, and it was sheer horror. It was also only just recently that we had an internal move in the office, and at the same time, we reformed Gloria magazine. Now, however, the situation is beginning to settle both at work and at home, so I’m good. At home, we have agreed with our 9- and 11-year-old sons that every night at eight, all the gadgets are turned off. Settling down for the evening and spending time together is quite a small thing, but it makes a big difference.

Our new home is located in a place where you face the sea when you step outdoors. My daily life has changed so that I can nip down to the beach to take in the view or visit Uunisaari island before going to work. I used to walk to the seaside from my previous home, too, but this was often on sunny days when many other people had the same idea. Now, I go there in any weather, and I feel like I’m alone and the sea is just for me. It is lovely.

Tell us a little about your work history. How did you get to where you are now?

Fashion and design have been a part of my life since childhood. If my mother hadn’t ended up as a provost’s wife, I’m sure she would have had her own sewing shop. My mother was very fashionable, doing sewing and knitting. I believe I inherited my passion for aesthetics from her, while my father led me into music and art. My grandmother’s home was magical. She worked as a shopkeeper with her husband, but her soul was that of an interior designer and an artist. Each room in my grandmother’s home had its own colour; it was like a magic house that I believe instilled in me an enthusiasm for beautiful and wonderful spaces.

I am a trained social psychologist. My education, which links society and the individual, has been useful to me at many turns along my professional path, and it still retains its validity, bringing an additional perspective to my work. I have worked widely in media and marketing, for example, as a strategy manager, concept designer, development manager and country manager. When Gloria magazine asked me if I was interested in the post of editor-in-chief, I thought I had already finished working in the media. But this was Gloria! If I had said no, I would have regretted it when I finally sat in my rocking chair. Now I have the great honour of working in two of my passions, fashion and design, as editor-in-chief of Gloria and Glorian Koti magazines. I feel very lucky and I’m grateful that I have crossed paths with people who have remembered and supported me.

“It’s a good idea to keep a gracious attitude towards what you do and to focus your resources on what matters the most.”

You are at the helm of two magazines. What’s going on in the world of print media from your vantage point?

I believe that although the market may be shrinking, it will not disappear. There is always room for magazines and aesthetic publications with specific target groups. People want to keep certain things as physical experiences: tearing a picture or a page out of a magazine is quite different from hectic clicking on Pinterest. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive, but sticking a picture to your own, concrete collage with tape is somehow more personal and intimate.

It’s wonderful to be able to focus on making a good, high-quality publication without worrying too much about having to publish simultaneously on multiple platforms. In a roundabout way, this leads me to Habitare’s theme for this year, the Art of Living. Making choices for a more responsible and eco-friendly lifestyle is, of course, important, but panicking does not get the job done, and instead, it’s a good idea to keep a gracious attitude towards what you do and to focus your resources on what matters the most.

“Setting up the stand at Habitare has stuck in my mind as a particularly fond memory. There was this exciting sense of community, like in a secret society. I was probably a bit shy, and I didn’t know anyone, but the camaraderie that I could sense while setting up for the event felt wonderful.”

What kind of history do you have with Habitare?

Years ago, I worked for Creanno, and Habitare was a big thing with them, and something they planned for a long time and into which they put a lot of effort. Setting up the stand at Habitare has stuck in my mind as a particularly fond memory. There was this exciting sense of community, like in a secret society. I was probably a bit shy, and I didn’t know anyone, but the camaraderie I could sense while setting up for the event felt wonderful. Taking down the stand after the event was a sad moment that came quite abruptly and almost brutally. It was a surreal experience, like a dream. The Gloria Fashion Show is a similar experience: a wildly intense, agonising and long journey that just suddenly comes to an end. Afterwards, you feel spent and terribly sad, but really happy at the same time.

Who are Gloria and Glorian Koti for?

Glorian Koti has a slightly different profile from interior decoration magazines in general. In my time, we have returned to a more luxurious overall feel, but we still make sure that the magazine offers a diverse range of content. In our magazine, we are bold enough to highlight homes that may even be a little bit over the top. They are aesthetic eye candy, and our magazine is in the feel-good business!

Gloria is a world-class fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine for the adult woman: a magazine for the ageless, quality-conscious woman. Gloria was established in 1987, and it was quite a bold move to launch a sassy magazine in Finland at that time.

“A good example of an acquisition we made is when Lincoln bought light fittings designed by Louis Poulsen for our kitchen from an auction held in a church in Jyväskylä. They are from a time when they were still made by hand.”

What makes a home?

We do not decorate our home. When I met my husband, Lincoln, I had just bought my own flat, and we lived there for a long time. I’ve always loved flea markets and vintage items, and Lincoln introduced art and design, which he collects, into our home. This was what I initially had to get used to: I had, for example, this ceramic Eiffel Tower in my flat that I had bought in Paris, which had to be hidden, and I half joked that I have been decorated out of my home.

A good example of an acquisition we made is when Lincoln bought light fittings designed by Louis Poulsen for our kitchen from an auction held in a church in Jyväskylä. They are from a time when they were still made by hand. The light fittings are a little crooked, and they bring so much joy when I look at them in the morning. The fact that an item has a hand-made feel or a skilful design makes it enjoyable to look at.

Through my husband, I have discovered and learned about meaning in carefully selected objects and works of art. If something needs to be renewed, it should be done with careful consideration. I don’t want to belittle my ceramic Eiffel Tower, but at some point, I noticed that I no longer missed it or other decorations – instead, in our home, I prefer to look at carefully selected works that blow my mind with their soulfulness.

“I’m very adaptable: if I’m close to the sea and can have a view of the sea, I can be anywhere.”

Where are you at home when you’re not at home?

I come from Kannus in Central Ostrobothnia, but being close to the sea has always been really important to me. This does not necessarily mean that I should constantly be able to see the sea, but that it is enough that I sense it is somewhere near and that I can go to it at any time. I’m very adaptable: if I’m close to the sea and can have a view of the sea, I can be anywhere. The bigger the sea, the more wonderful it is! We were in Zanzibar some summers ago, and there, the tides of the Indian Ocean and the prevailing soundscape were something completely unbelievable. Our family’s island cottage in Himanka is a place that often appears in my dreams. If I want to create a place in my mind to calm down, I always find myself on the cliffs of that island.

What is the best realisation you’ve had in your life?

I have learned that failure is not so dangerous, and you should just try and do things. In my life, I’ve been fired and have lost a lot of money, but it does not kill you. I could endlessly wallow in the setbacks I’ve experienced, but I can also say that I am here now. How you talk about your life is important.

Being relaxed is my most important guideline. I feel that I’m in the middle of a wonderful phase in my life. Working and parenting both involve being relaxed, but that in no way means that I would have an uncaring attitude towards things. Many things go well on their own when you dare to trust and think positively about other people and situations: nowadays, our boys come to us at eight in the evening asking us to turn off our gadgets.

Text: Hanna-Katariina Mononen, photograph: Gloria