TheBoldWay

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—
“Men have changed, but the beauty industry hasn’t in the same capacity.”
Pontus Frankenstein has spent his career exploring what makes people want something: an object, a brand, a place or an experience. In this episode of TheBoldWay, I meet the creative director and co-founder of OBAYATY in Stockholm, inside the historic brick building the brand calls home.
We begin with the creative scene that shaped him. Within the Acne family, designers, filmmakers and musicians worked across disciplines, often without the money to make their ideas happen in conventional ways. Pontus describes the confidence, collaborations and resourcefulness that emerged from that environment, and what he carried into his own practice, Frankenstein Studio.
His work took him through fashion, art, gastronomy and hospitality. He tells me how an unexpected call from a property developer led to five years working on the concept behind Six Senses Ibiza. We discuss how he approaches unfamiliar industries, turns research into a creative vision and brings together people whose expertise goes beyond his own.
That experience eventually led to OBAYATY, the beauty brand he co-founded with his friend, music producer Max Martin. Watching artists prepare to step on stage had prompted a question: how could more men have access to the products and rituals that help people feel confident in their appearance?
Pontus takes me through the answers they developed, from a three-minute routine to refillable packaging designed around the feel, weight and sound of each object. He explains why developing the collection took several years, how promising formulas can fail late in testing, and what the first retail partnerships taught them.
We also discuss the challenge of introducing products that do not fit neatly into a department store’s existing categories. A conversation about creative ambition, changing habits and the work required to turn a vision into something people can use.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
How the Acne creative collective shaped his approach to work.
Why limited resources encouraged unexpected collaborations.
How he approaches a project in an industry he has never worked in.
What developing the concept behind Six Senses Ibiza taught him about building a team.
How his friendship with Max Martin led to OBAYATY.
Why the brand began with men’s habits, concerns and everyday routines.
What several years of formulation, development and testing involved.
How packaging helps communicate the thinking behind a product.
Why creating a new category also means helping retailers understand where it belongs.
How curiosity helps him respond to uncertainty and technological change.
TIMELINE
00:00 : Cold open
01:34 : Meeting Pontus in Stockholm
02:18 : Inside OBAYATY’s historic home
04:17 : Stockholm’s creative scene and the Acne family
08:06 : Growing up in Sweden, magazines and international influences
14:28 : Building a creative agency within Acne
19:03 : Frankenstein Studio and the search for desirability
22:08 : Ambition, hard work and looking beyond Sweden
26:23 : Books and the projects that stay with him
28:02 : The unexpected call behind Six Senses Ibiza
31:03 : Approaching unfamiliar projects and building a concept
33:21 : Finding clients and collaborators who share a vision
36:55 : From agency work to building a beauty brand
38:13 : Max Martin, music and a long friendship
40:26 : The origins of OBAYATY
44:20 : Confidence, beauty and products designed around men
49:36 : Face, eyes and a three-minute routine
55:31 : The collection, refills and packaging choices
58:12 : Years of development and the reality of product testing
1:02:42 : Launching the brand and early retail partnerships
1:05:33 : Creating a category retailers do not know where to place
1:08:09 : Masculinity and differences between markets
1:11:12 : Customer feedback and the importance of a ritual
1:13:34 : First encounters with the products
1:17:52 : Branding and communicating the product experience
1:21:33 : Inside the Essentials collection
1:26:42 : International ambition and finding the right partners
1:31:11 : Looking back and advice for the next generation
Vous souhaitez sponsoriser TheBoldWay Podcast ou nous proposer un partenariat ?
Contactez mon label Orso Media via ce formulaire ou thomas@orsomedia.io

Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

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—
How do you make a design brand feel physical through a screen? Niels Strøyer Christophersen explains how FRAMA has built consistency through an in-house creative team, honest imagery and a refusal to overproduce its visual world. He also discusses the limits of traditional trade fairs, the cost of chasing poorly qualified contacts, and why the brand has chosen more selective ways to meet people. From content production to opening the doors during Copenhagen's design week, this conversation explores how a company can protect its identity while giving customers a real experience of its universe.
Vous souhaitez sponsoriser TheBoldWay Podcast ou nous proposer un partenariat ?
Contactez mon label Orso Media via ce formulaire ou thomas@orsomedia.io

Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

👉 Mon sponsor du mois | Shopify
📧 Ma newsletter | S'abonner
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—
What does it actually take to turn a creative idea into a product? Niels Strøyer Christophersen goes behind the scenes of FRAMA's care collection, from working with perfumers in Denmark, Korea and the United States to finding a supplier for an architectural bar of soap. He explains why the shape, mould, packaging and logistics demand as much attention as the original concept. For Niels, the idea represents only 10 percent of the work. This excerpt is a practical look at the less visible decisions, supplier relationships and operational details that make a design business possible.
Vous souhaitez sponsoriser TheBoldWay Podcast ou nous proposer un partenariat ?
Contactez mon label Orso Media via ce formulaire ou thomas@orsomedia.io

Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

👉 Mon sponsor du mois | Shopify
📧 Ma newsletter | S'abonner
🖥️ Ma chaîne YouTube | S'abonner
—
A customer asking for a lamp helped Niels Strøyer Christophersen take his first step into entrepreneurship. A few years later, an invitation to a Berlin trade fair forced an even bigger leap: FRAMA had an exhibition space, but no collection of its own. In this excerpt, Niels explains how he pulled together ceramics, a marble-and-cork table and a Japanese prototype in just six to eight weeks. He shares why starting as an agent reduced financial risk, how relationships made the first collection possible, and why honest construction and visual consistency still shape FRAMA's design language.
Vous souhaitez sponsoriser TheBoldWay Podcast ou nous proposer un partenariat ?
Contactez mon label Orso Media via ce formulaire ou thomas@orsomedia.io

Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

👉 Mon sponsor du mois | Shopify
📧 Ma newsletter | S'abonner
🖥️ Ma chaîne YouTube | S'abonner
—
“I create my own shelf because I don’t fit into other shelves.”
Niels Strøyer Christophersen built FRAMA around three interests: spaces, design and people. In this episode of TheBoldWay, I meet the founder and creative director in Copenhagen, inside the former pharmacy that brings his world together.
We begin with a tour of the shop, Apotek 57 and the offices upstairs. Furniture, fragrance, food and the traces left on the walls all contribute to a place that feels lived in. Then we sit down to trace the decisions and encounters behind it.
Niels grew up far from the design industry. Working on building sites taught him to look at spaces before they were decorated. A period in France gave him time to imagine his own company and find its name. He later learned the business through design retail and by representing other brands, before creating FRAMA’s first collection in six to eight weeks for a trade fair in Berlin.
He tells me how a perfume given to him by a friend became the starting point for a care collection, and how a conversation over dinner helped turn the idea of a bakery into a reality. We discuss the different economics of furniture and care products, the work behind an apparently simple object, and the role of hospitality in letting people experience the designs.
Niels also speaks about independence, the freedom to be yourself at work, and the responsibility that comes with trusting a team. He is candid about the complexity of the company he has built. If he started again, he would begin with a narrower focus and go deeper.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
How building sites, travel and retail shaped his eye for design.
How FRAMA’s first collection came together in eight weeks.
Why a gift became the starting point for the care collection.
What sourcing, production and logistics demand beyond the initial idea.
How content made in-house helps preserve a consistent visual language.
Why cafés and restaurants bring FRAMA’s objects and values to life.
What “freedom with responsibility” means for the team.
Why he would start with a narrower focus if he were doing it again.
TIMELINE
01:39 : Meeting Niels at FRAMA in Copenhagen
02:19 : Furniture, care and hospitality, defining the FRAMA universe
06:36 : Inside the former pharmacy
12:47 : Materials, care products and everyday objects
15:10 : Apotek 57 and the choice to keep things simple
18:34 : Upstairs, the offices and the history left on the walls
24:33 : Childhood, football and learning to work as a team
27:38 : Building sites and learning to read a space
29:33 : Time in France and finding the name FRAMA
31:01 : Developing an eye without a design education
34:11 : A customer’s request and the first step into business
36:11 : Creating the first collection in six to eight weeks
42:06 : The perfume that opened a new chapter
45:13 : Furniture and care, two complementary businesses
47:14 : From dinners to a bakery
48:34 : Suppliers, production and the work behind a product
53:46 : Building a tactile brand in a digital world
57:32 : Distribution, trade fairs and choosing where to be seen
1:01:23 : What care products really represent in the business
1:03:08 : Cafés, a wine bar and the role of hospitality
1:08:55 : Freedom as a personal motivation
1:11:02 : New spaces, sensory experiences and cinema
1:15:41 : Managing the team with trust and responsibility
1:18:25 : Using AI without letting it set the agenda
1:19:53 : What Niels would do differently
1:23:14 : Giving artists and artisans a platform
1:25:12 : Finding energy in people and places
1:27:24 : The Copenhagen creators he would like us to meet

Vous souhaitez sponsoriser TheBoldWay Podcast ou nous proposer un partenariat ?
Contactez mon label Orso Media via ce formulaire ou thomas@orsomedia.io

Nb: TheBoldWay ou The Bold Way, anciennement connu sous le nom de Entreprendre dans la mode ou EDLM , est un podcast produit et réalisé par Adrien Garcia.

Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.