Lina Bodén grew up with a painter for a father and a graphic designer for a mother. ''Luckily I was given a lot of encouragement to draw and paint during my childhood,'' she says. After graduating from Beckman School of Design she started working as a print design assistant, first at H M and then at Monki. But when the urge to work with her own illustrations became too strong Lina began freelancing. She makes imaginative, detailed images that can almost be taken for photographs. ''I strive to draw as realistically as possible, but often add a touch of surrealism to the picture - though in a subtle way which leaves the viewer room for free association''. Lina gathers inspiration from the past rather than her daily surroundings. Her favorite historical period stretches from the late 19th century until the 1920s, encapsulating the Victorian era, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. ''I am a romantic and a nostalgic person who love objects with a long history attached that give a sense of mystery''. Recently she held an exhibition at the bar in Restaurant 1900 in Stockholm. The illustrations were inspired by the bar's cocktails and fantasies about the patrons.

Clients: Bonnierförlagen, Gothia Förlag, Apoteket, Whyred, Weekday, HM, Åhléns, NK, Tidningen RES, Family Living, Göteborgsposten, Show Studio, MUSE Fashionart Magazine, ODD Projects, Skandia, Way Out West and many more.