Posts Tagged ‘Sweden’
Friday Photo: On the Water
West Coast, Gothenburg, Sweden. A salty breeze, a forgotten towel, waves lapping at the granite rocks, kayakers sliding by on the calm waters. Sensory memories for a winter afternoon.
Swedish Delight: Food From Gothenburg
I’m excited for my article on Swedish food in the latest issue of Wend Magazine. Chanterelles + crustaceans + Aquavit = some of my favorite things. Read it here.
Fjällräven NYC: Swedish Outdoor Gear Comes to US
There are few times when I wish that lived in a city other than Portland… but this month has given me a few reasons to want to live elsewhere. First there was the Nau NYC pop-up shop. Who doesn’t want to go visit that? And now it’s the Fjällräven NYC store. The Swedish brand is probably best known for its classic, and slightly vintage-looking, backpack (yes, that is the Swedish flag made out of a bunch of them pictured above).
I grew up camping in a Fjällräven tent, purchased by my father sometime back in the 70s, and I must say that I’m highly jealous of all the New Yorkers that now get to bask in Swedish outdoor gear glory. Certainly not helped by the fact that I fell in love with a certain red, Fjällräven winter jacket when I was in Sweden a couple of months ago… Not only does Fjällräven design durable and functional products — my father’s tent is still in working order — the company also has a respectable set of responsible environmental codes used to run their business.
So if you live in the Big Apple, make sure to drop by and say hej.
[Via: Cold Splinters]
[Photo: paulandwilliams, Flickr]
Tio Gruppen Stockholm
Tio Gruppen is a name synonymous with Swedish design. The design collective, founded in 1970 by ten young textile artists and designers, has produced more than 600 printed fabrics and wallpapers. With a classic Scnadinavian aesthetic, Tio Gruppen designs incorporate simple and natural designs in a style that manages to be both contemporary and classic.
The Tio Gruppen store, located in Södermalm in Stockholm, is a design lover’s paradise, the walls covered with colorful prints in the form of bags, napkins, aprons and textiles by the yard. Always a favorite stop of mine when in the Swedish captial… very much worth a visit! And if you can’t make a quick Scandinavian jaunt, take a peek at the website.
Full gallery after the jump.
Winter Palace
As we head towards colder months, here is some gorgeous winter inspiration. Restaurant Tusen is a creatively and naturally inspired building in Ramundberget, Sweden and was designed by Swedish firm Murman Arkitekter. They recently won first prize in the “holiday” category at the World Architecture Festival.
More at my article in Been Seen here.
New Josef Frank Textile Designs from Svenskt Tenn
Svenskt Tenn might be one of the most influential design stores in Sweden, a well-known lifestyle company and boutique that’s been around since 1924. Founded by designer Josef Frank, his prints have been synonymous with the shop, and even though he died in 1967, his design legacy lives on. The store just recently released two new Frank prints, called Aramal and Ceylong, produced in the 40s but that have up until now never been in production; Svensk Tenn actually owns about 160 different Frank textile prints that are archived and released at random. The new prints are available on 100% linen textiles sold by the yard.
Makes me wish I was able to take a stroll down Strandvägen and take a look.
Full print images after the jump.
Sweden by the Numbers
A few weeks back The Traveler’s Notebook published my piece Sweden by the Numbers, a fun little collection of stats from my last trip to the motherland.
Since I’m feeling a little need for Sweden today, I figured I’d post a quick excerpt:
Bags of Swedish candy brought back in suitcase: 6
Meals that included potatoes: 10
Meals of blood pudding: 4
Days with less than two fika (coffee break): 1
Starbucks sightings: 0
IKEA sightings: 3
Postcards sent with photos of topless sunbathers: 3
Topless sunbather sightings: 0
It’s an interesting exercise to reduce a whole trip down to pure numbers. Whole article is here.
Rediscover Cycling: Gothenburg’s Official Bike Campaign
This video, produced by the City of Gothenburg, came out a while ago, but I still think it’s worth a mention.The video was part of an official campaign to get inhabitants to rediscover the benefits and joy of cycling.
There’s also the behind the scenes film which I discovered thanks to one of my favorite Swedish blogs, Below the Clouds. Love them both!
IKEA Heights: Flatpack Melodrama
Everyone has a love hate relationship with IKEA. Sure, all your friends have the same inexpensive dinner table and chairs, but as much as you want to stray for the norm, you’re a sucker for simple Scandinavian design and are tempted by the same ones. But IKEA is more than just a store. It’s become a part of our cultural conscious, those big yellow letter legible from miles down the highway. Fortunately, the big Swedish giant provides for some good humor as well
Remember that guy who spent some time living in an IKEA? His venture pails in comparison to my new favorite find: IKEA Heights. It’s a mock melodrama, all taking place within the confines of IKEA. What makes this truly hilarious however is the fact that the IKEA staff had no idea the crew was filming.
And this is just the first episode… if you need some afternoon entertainment, you can catch episode 2, 3 and 4 as well.
Stockholm in Pictures
Surrounded by water and nature and flavored with old cobblestone streets and classic architecture, Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Or at least I think so.
Here’s a little gallery pulled together from my last trip:
More here.
blog.annabrones.com 