Well Halloween is not a Swedish tradition, but during the years it has started to become a more common sight in the shops and I know my nephew who is seven has a Halloween party. Traditions do change, but what we Swedes do at Halloween or the weekend during 31st of October – 6st of November, is the time when we remember our loved ones and we go to the graveyards and light up candles and it is a spectacular sight when you walk or drive by at night and you see the graveyards all gloomy and it looks so beautiful. We call it “Alla Helgons Dag” guess it would translate to All Saints Day. I must admit I am not that sure what the real meaning of the name is…
Image by Kjell Isberg
But since Halloween is getting closer I have managed to get a few lovely new taper candles by Ester & Erik. In black and orange of course! We have a few ghost sponges left as well as skull napkins and teatowels. And of course if you are off for a house party at Halloween I do have gifts and lots of them.
It has been a very busy time for us lately and I am still trying to catch up. On last Wednesday when I came home from the shop, a little later that I had hoped, I was a bit tired and grumpy, walked in to our livingroom to turn the lights on and five people jumped out. I almost fainted. Four brothers and sisters (Clairy, Cecilia, Christer and Caj, all of us with C names) and my younger sister’s boyfriend David. I could not work out why there were people in my home screaming at me and yet not them, my younger brother Caj have never flown before and I could not work out why they were there at all and how they got there or what was going on. Well it was supposed to be a surprise in June when I had my birthday but they could not get it organized and then on Friday the 14th, the same day as Stina’s Birthday is my sister Cecilia’s Birthday. So it was a surprise for her as well. They had all just knocked on her door in Gothenburg on Wednesday morning packed her in the car and taken her to the airport. Richard (who knew of course) took time off work so I spent a day in town with my family and then they left really early on Friday morning. It was so nice to see them and I guess these kind of surprises are what we all need now and then…just not too often!
Caj, Christer, Clairy, me (Charlotte) and Cecilia
Stina’s Birthday, well we spend it baking and tiding up after my family members and then Richard’s parents came down from Aberdeen and on Saturday we had a little party for Stina. Saturday night – we all slept really well!
So now we are trying to get back to normality. I have moved things around in the shop, made more space for all the new deliveries that will arrive in the next coming weeks. But at the moment the shop is looking vibrant and colourful and I love it. But before we will turn the shop in to Christmas, lets not forget that we have a Autumn with lovely colours.
Next week is Halloween, not a very Swedish tradition, however I do have lovely taper candles in black and orange, a few ghost sponges left and some skull napkins and skull teatowels.
I have decided to wait until 1st of November before you see Christmas cards, mulled wine sets or any other kind of Christmas designs in the shop, even if the supermarkets have been selling mince pies since August! There are of course already plenty of Christmas gifts but just not any Santas… I am quite excited, do enjoy seeing the changes in the shop.
I have had a lot of interest about the Pappelina blankets we stock, and yes we have a few left of the huge (150×200 cm) Lilo blankets, in Azure blue and in Olive green with large white flowers. They are made in cotton and dralon which gives them a fantastic soft touch.
Pappelin Blanket in Azure Blue/White
Lilo Blanket in Olive/White
We love them here, they are just perfect for a rainy cold day like this one. Stay warm and snuggle up.
Oh I don’t know about you, but I did not enjoy yesterday’s weather at all, felt frozen through by the time we made it home! But it is days like those when I really enjoy some me time in the evening with a cup of tea snuggled up in the sofa under a warm blanket. And best of all: candles, candles, candles…love it! Autumn is here and it sure is time to get cosy. And we have lots of lovely new designs in the shop just for this time of year. New candle holders from Broste Copenhagen and Sagaform as well as lovely new oven and serving dishes for the warm stews and warm desserts.
Our gorgeous daughter is one year today Friday! Wow I think this must have been the fastest year of my life, it sure has been an amazing year!
We have taken some time off from the shop this weekend, but fear not! Emma is in the shop every day this weekend and will look after you! And don’t miss out on this weekend’s celebration offer at the shop, 10 % off on Stina’s favourites! All Teddykompaniets animal slippers, they are soooo cute and funky and all of course Färg & Forms lovely soft children’s blankets in 100% cotton!
One of our most popular brands is Sagaform, perfect for gifts.
“Sagaform stands for joyful, innovative gifts for the kitchen and the set table. Indoors and outdoors. Joyful gifts for friends or family, or to spoil yourself with”.
This week we are expecting in some of the new Autumn designs, such as more of the lovely Season range. We already do the lovely oven dishes that have been a great gift for weddings, birthdays or as some of you say, just can resist a little treat. We have added in serving bowls, ramekins and a lovely jug! As well as a wonderful new range called Spectra, colourful wineglasses, tumbles and carafes. I think these will be a new favourite with many of you. And not to forget, if you are in our shop now and then, well then you know how much we love candles and candle holders, and it is perfect this time a year,when it is dark and wet to get cosy, stay indoors and just light up some candles, so we have introduces a lovely tealight holder, Tubelight. Comes in three different colours, purple, green and blue.
All images by Sagaform
And soon Sagaforms Christmas range with mulled wine sets, tealight holders, schnapps carafes and not to forget the popular Squirrel bowl that was a massive hit last year and that lots of you already asked for…soon soon it will be back in!
Have a great weekend and don’t forget to come in and say hi if you are in the area, we have lots of new things in the shop:)
Alingsås is my hometown in Sweden, a small town about 40 min drive north east of Gothenburg. It is a lovely village, it is often called the café village, it is a cosy town where the centre of town is all built in wooden houses with cobble streets. For eleven years now the town lights up during October. Lightning designers and students from across the world gather in Alingsås and create wonderful illuminations. This is the largest arrangement of experimental lighting design of public places in Europe.
I remember the first year and how amazed I was and how happy it made me feel whilst walking around in the evenings admiring the buildings and objects that were transformed. Autumn is very dark in Sweden, well here in Scotland as well, but when you are starting to feel a bit gloomy this event is something that is really cheers you up. I am pleased that this event has kept growing and I really recommend to visit Lights in Alingsås during October each year, and every year it changes with new designers lighting up different parts of the town.
These lovely images are just a few, please check out the Lights in Alingsås website for lots of fantastic images and inspiration during a dark Autumn day.
I have a new favourite in the shop, Nordic Wool, thermo cups. MENU has launched a new design with their award winning thermo cups that maintain both heat and cold, and ensure that you never burn your fingers. This time the pattern is inspired by traditional Norwegian knitted sweaters. And yes, they look like home to me, like one of those jumpers I wore when I was younger and is now back in trend.
They come in sets of two, with two different designs, so in all there are four designs. A perfect gift for someone who loves a great design, knitting, or just a bit homesick.
But this is of course not the only products that arrived last week from MENU. The gorgeous spice grinders in carbon and ash are back in stock, as well as the Dropp bowl in pink. Verner Panton’s great thermo mugs in pink and dark blue sits now nicely with espresso cups in black and purple. And in the same Verner Panton pattern are those lovely egg cups with silicone hats.
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