Ika runs her sign language interpreting business from Skaraborg

Ika Andersson is the CEO and owner of one of Sweden’s larger sign language interpreting companies. She is also a newcomer to the Skaraborg region. After being married to Richard in Götene for several years, the couple have now moved in together full time. And Ika’s mother also joined them in the move.

Ika Andersson lived with her son in Ljungskile when she met Richard, who lives in Götene. It was clear that the two of them belonged together, but at the same time neither of them could leave the place where they were living. The solution was to get married while continuing to live separately. But now Ika’s son has moved out, and Ika has finally relocated to Skaraborg.

“It’s wonderful to live together with your spouse. From only having weekends together, we now see each other every day - what a luxury!”

Ika now lives with Richard in a large house in the countryside outside Götene. But for the move to happen, there was one more person who had to move as well - Ika’s mother. An apartment in Hällekis is now her mother’s new home.

And the new living arrangement seems to be a perfect match.

“Mom is thriving! She moved to Ljungskile to be closer to me and my son, but unfortunately arrived just as the pandemic hit and wasn’t able to build a strong social network. Now she has an apartment in a 70+ residence and has plenty of people to socialize with. In addition, both the municipality and other organizations arrange activities connected to the building - she couldn’t be happier with her new home!”

Running a sign language interpreting company

Ika is the founder, CEO, and one of two co-owners of the company Tecken och Tolk Sverige AB, which provides sign language interpreters for a wide range of services. The company operates in Örebro, Stockholm, and Gothenburg.

“…and guess what lies right in between those three cities? Being based in Skaraborg is perfect!”

Ika explains that the company has long worked in a highly digital way, since their interpreters are usually out on assignments most of the time anyway. And when she needs to travel to one of the offices, it doesn’t take long. Today, Ika is primarily focused on her responsibilities as CEO, but she describes the work of an interpreter as both rewarding and enjoyable.

“As an interpreter, you are present at all stages of life and in many different contexts. We might accompany someone to a healthcare appointment, but we can also be at conferences interpreting for an entire auditorium. It never gets boring!”

The message Ika communicates in the video above is: Hello! This is what it can look like when an interpreter joins remotely. The interpreter listens to what you say and signs it to the deaf or hard-of-hearing person, and vice versa—interprets what is signed and speaks it to the hearing person. A warm welcome to us!

A social life in the countryside

For Ika, moving to Skaraborg has brought a whole new interest: renovation. The house where the couple now lives has been completely renovated by them together since they decided that Ika would move in. The plan is to turn the upper floor into a separate apartment so there will be plenty of space for their children - both hers and Richard’s - to visit. But renovation and DIY projects don’t discourage Ika.

“We live in a house from the 1920s. There’s a lot of renovation in our spare time, but I think it’s so cool to live in a house with history.”

In addition to the older house, there are also several smaller buildings and a large former carpentry workshop on the couple’s property. They rent out space in the workshop, and at the moment two people are using it.

“Soon, an artist originally from the United States will be moving into the studio we’ve prepared. And in part of the carpentry workshop, an instrument maker is building an oud, a string instrument from the Middle East.”

The reason Ika and Richard live in the countryside has nothing to do with wanting to be left alone - quite the opposite. Ika describes life in the countryside as very social. Having good relationships with neighbors and being able to share what you have with each other is important to her.

This text has been translated with the help of AI.