JUST GIVE ME A REASON

Every time I pass by the hardware and home goods store I try to find the perfect excuse to get the soup/salad bowls from Bitz. The proportions are pretty, the glaze looks great. If ours were a single person household it would be the perfect size fruit bowl. Maybe I need a designated bowl for onions and garlic?
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE JERNIA 

DAY OF THE DEAD

If you want a text book example of cultural imperialism via commercial mechanisms, consider the celebration of Halloween in Norway. If you want a text book example of how to honour your dead in Scandinavia, consider visiting an ancient grave site. Strewn across every landscape are the typical mounds and stone circles. These standing stones in Greby, Sweden, were painted in water colour by Olof Hermelin, most likely in the 1880s.
PHOTOGRAPED BY LARS KENNERSTEDT

NOVEMBER

The first week in November we remember those who have passed, honour their lives, and light candles in their memory.  A poetic line from an old Swedish folk psalm capture the mood: "Sorrow and joy they wander together".

Image made with the crosstitch generator.

WOODLAND CREATURE CHRISTMAS

This is my kind of Christmas! Throw pillow Skogen from Åhlens can grace your home from October through March, look great in reading chairs, as well as the kid´s room.

KELP ME

This is my colour inspiration at the moment. Kelp and seaweed under the frozen surface of the sea, mirroring the fading fall colours as nature shift gears from blazing October to quiet November. Photographed in Lauksletta in Troms County, Norway.
PHOTO BY L ORIOL 

TAKING THE TUBE

The boys are learning to light matches and love to cozy up with breakfast around candle light. The  card board tube to hold old tea light cups so they make it to the recycling, has been upgraded from wish list to need list. Made by Swedish FORMAT. 

IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE INREDA.COM

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The past few years coloured glass has become trendy, and I love myself some colour in the home. But  there is something to be said about clear glass and its versatility. Two BERAKNA vases from IKEA with is soft curves would look lovely filled with pine cones, perhaps on a moss green table cloth, surrounded by low pillar candles reflecting its light in the glass. Or the other way around, with pillar candles in the vases and pine cones strewn on the table. A great base for a seasonal setting without going overboard with Santas and reindeers.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE IKEA 

4 GENERATIONS AWAY

The Parish Constable August Ländin and others at a horse and carriage on a country road at Åkeshov, Sweden, in the 1930s.

I am fascinated by photos from this era because my grandparents were born between 1920-1930. This is what the regular and everyday looked looked like to them, though they come from other regions in Sweden and Norway. Imagine the changes in the standard of living they have seen during their 90+ years on earth! Cars, plumbing, washing machines, vacuums, electric ovens, changes in the school systems, a world war, telephones, television, the internet, digitalisation, and the list goes on.

I look at images like these and realise that I get to hold the last hands of this generation, but also bury this generation as grandparent after grandparent passes away, and therefore in some way, this life is as well. It amazes me.

IMAGE: THE SWEDISH NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD, PHOTOGRAPHER; EINAR ERICI

FALL FAVOURITES

Kastehielmi tray, Iittala / Kaj Boyesen wooden monkey, Rosendahl / Stoneware bowls, H&M Home / Terracotta flower pot, Granit / Rosehip drink, IKEA / Golden leather string, House Doctor / Soap, LA Bruket / Beanie, Fjallraven / Round pen holder, Hay / Stoneware bowl, House doctor / Storage box, IKEA / Scented candle, LA Bruket.

IMAGES: PRODUCT IMAGES FROM IITTALA; ROYALDESIGN.SE; H&M HOME; GRANIT; IKEA; FJALLRAVEN; HAY; LA BRUKET

WEEKEND READS

Packed with some of the best brush strokes of the region, the auction catalogues from Bukowski are treasure chests of inspiration. This weekend I am turning to The Classic Sale – Helsinki Auction from 2013 and 2014.  

IMAGES: CATALOGUE COVERS from ISSUU

ODE TO ERNST

This summer I spotted one of the best looking pots I have ever seen as I was standing with my mother on the escalator of Åhlens City. It became my summer gift to myself, because really, why not get a heavy terracotta pot as hand luggage when travelling? Ugh. It still sits at my mother's house waiting for me to come retrieve it.

Mind you, I have never been a dedicated member of the Ernst Kirschteiger fan club, though I have dipped my toe in his pond a few times. When he eventually branched out into design the product line wasn¨t my cup of tea. In the past two years the brand seem to have come into its own with new products and great styling, just scroll down this page to see what I mean.

I visited the shop in shop at Åhlens City in Stockholm and was intrigued by how many of the items I not only approved of, but simply adored. What had looked dead on screen seemed to come alive with its irregular surfaces, colour variations and beautiful proportions to both hand and eye. If you are curious about the Ernst collection, look past the Zoolander portrait of the designer himself and browse the catalogue here. Or better, go have a look.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE and PRESS IMAGES ERNSTFORM.SE

IKEA WINTER 2017

The Winter and Holiday collection at IKEA is inspired by Iceland and showcases a pared down, more neutral collection than usual. I for one love to see inspirational imaged showing tables the way I actually dress them rather than over the top fantasies. Table settings without tablecloth and only simple white china is underrated. My favourite inspiration-take-away here is placing all silverware on the right side of the plate for a cleaner look. 

IMAGE: PRESS IMAGE IKEA 

CLIMB EV'RY MOUNTAIN

Happy campers. Tromsø in the faded background.
IMAGE: PERSPEKTIVET MUSEUM