Wow this year I am very much behind in my Christmas blogging. I got recipes I like to share with you and we have so many new and exciting brands in the shop. As well as Christmas goodies! And guess what? Hardly a star or tomte left.
I think I just need a few days in the sofa and try to gather my thoughts together and start catch up on some blogging.
But for now we would like to say THANK YOU for support us and shop local! We are overwhelmed by your love for the shop and obviously delighted.
Now I am at the shop until 14.00ish then our lovely Emma will come and close the shop for us. So the shop will be open until 17.00 ish.
Richard, Stina and Lovisa will all come and collect me and we are heading home for a Swedish Christmas with ham, special bread, herring, Jansons, meatballs and lots more for our little Swedish dinner, probably be just me eating it…but hey I can stuff myself on that and they can do their Turkey dinner tomorrow (not my favourite so that is all good).
Oh I look out and I do not feel like going outside at all today. Rather stay in and bake Swedish Christmas sweeties with the girls instead.
However it is an amazing day today and I do know the shop will be super busy and you know what, I LOVE IT! When the shop is so busy we can not move, we are so happy to have you all in and we are doing our best to make sure you all get the best service (so obviously we apologise for not gift wrapping during busy spells and things selling out in front of your nose).
Small business Saturday was launched by AMEX a couple years back. Make sure you register your AMEX card to get your reward. By using your card in a small shop you support your local shops and get something back…win win!
So I better get myself ready to head across the city this lovely windy day (don’t think I need to do my make-up until I get to the shop). Anna and I will be looking after you today so please do pop in and say hi and get some Scandi goodies for your loved ones this Christmas.
Happy small business Saturday to you all! Thank you for your love for our shop, we would not be here without you!!!
Since Richard and I had the shop and the girls we sometimes struggle to talk about anything else than the girls or the business…I assume this is common called as life! However sometimes you think of things you did before this life (I mean the last five six years) and I think about our city breaks our just taking the car and go away somewhere for the weekend, and yes I must admit now and than I miss that more chilled life. However our girls are getting bigger and spending a weekend with grandparents is heaven to them and I know the grandparents love spending time with their granddaughters too. So after our summer holiday I got one of those spam/promotional emails from the airline we used flying back to the UK. Affordable tickets to Copenhagen! Well why not, asked the grandparents, asked Zuzanna to cover the shop and asked Richard to take time off work (well that was the tricky one since I liked to keep it as a surprise, sometimes it is good to have the shop to blame on). So Richard’s birthday is at the end of October and I bought the tickets in August, yes I managed to keep it a secret! I think everyone knew but not him and he was delighted when he found out (phew)!
So off we went, it was wet and windy but it did not really matter, we did enjoyed Copenhagen!
Even though we are not supposed to talk about business we do, owning your own business makes it your lifestyle! Owning your own business does not mean you leave work and have other things to focus on, no its always there. You do weird things like when having a coffee at a friends house you check the brand of the cup, small things like that! Anyway yes we did see The Little Mermaid (larger than I remember). Sadly lots of tourist hanging on her and I was not that touristy to do the same. We saw her, said hello and kept walking around the beautiful buildings. Oh I could move to Copenhagen in a flash, such a fantastic city. International, happy and chilled!
Of course we have been in great shops, even said hello to lovely Jane and husband from our new brand Mirins Copenhagen and I am excited to introduce more of her lovely bath and body care products to our shop in the future.
Spent a few hours in a amazing shops looking at New brands, displays and of course all the stunning Christmas Windows! Arrgghhh we need a bigger shop, I really like a great big space to show all the wonderful, functional designs, colour combinations or just inspiring designs… Oh well we shall see what the future holds!!!
Now if you have not been to Copenhagen, just go! It is relaxed and lovely, everyone speaks English (which is great because my Danish is crap). And this weekend Tivoli open its gates to their Christmas fair (which we missed…boooo)
Ohhhh LOVE Illum Bolighus Christmas WindowAdvent StarsSuperLove is SuperLivings own shop! So of course a little visit was needed :)
We stayed at a lovely little Boutique hotel very central. SP34, great hotel, great atmosphere, great staff, great breakfast and hello wine hour (oh yes). Tiny let down was the room itself, but we hardly spent anytime there. And if you like a good burger, in connection to the hotel is Cocks and Cows, the burger place to go to! And just down the street is a great independent shop Nordic Nesting, well worth a visit!
Our lovely Boutique Hotel, just loved the wine hour and the opportunity to sit in a little library and read a book with a glass of something.
Now back to reality, breakfast club and nursery, late nights in front of the computer and yes we are busy at the shop which is so fantastic. Thank you all for supporting us. Not all of our amazing stars are on display yet but we can go through them when you are in. And more fantastic Christmas decorations are arriving daily.
Oh hello November and hello lovely looking Christmas shop! I know it is a bit early!!! Quite a bit actually however it is so cosy in the shop and getting to the shop early in the morning and the stars are on…well it does make me all happy!
Just a little notice…lots and lots of deliveries! The shop is transforming in to a fantastic Scandi Christmas shop and we love it (also working our way through in the back to find space for all the stunning designs).
I will get in touch with all of you who have ordered stars, candle bridges, Lucia crowns and so on this week…it is a long list which is amazing. Thank you all!
Sadly my phone and I are about to break up, 4.5 years we been a team but now it has given up so I am of course trying to find one with a good camera and affordable so please bear with me…photos are coming soon! But for now pop in to the shop :)
Just a quick note this lovely Sunday morning. Today is our shop change over day! And with this we have decided to keep the shop CLOSED all day. If you walk by you will see us work away inside but it will not be safe for you to have wonder about so we do like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
You are most welcome to the shop on Monday 2nd November at 10am and then it should be a lovely Scandi Christmas shop. Oh this is going to be a good one!
Not everything has arrived yet which is a good thing, we have no space left and it will be nice to keep introducing new things all the time :) But our stars has arrived and I can not wait to create a bright Advent window today.
Oh it is getting closer… a great day is upon us! Cinnamon Bun Day or as we say in Sweden: Kanelbullens dag! 4th October is the day and yes of course this weekend we will bake at home. Here are some facts by The Local that might be worth knowing.
Buns are super tasty and should be eaten warm (just out of the oven kind of fresh) and with a glass of cold full fat milk!
So if you have never made them, well what’s stopping you? Why not give them a go this weekend. There are million of recipes out there, I personally prefer them super sticky and sweet with a hint of cardamom. Some people struggle to find fresh yeast (I have baked with dry yeast once…did not like it) however most local shops if they have a bakery will be able to sell you fresh yeast. My local Sainsbury’s do, I just head to the bakery smile and say please and 50g cost me about 20p. Well worth the money.
So here is a the basic standard recipe you can find on the packet of plain flour in Sweden. Now in Sweden we use dl which is decilitre. Apparently according to google 1 dl is 100 ml (well is that not convenient).
For about 40 buns
150 g soft butter (use real butter)
5 dl milk (use full fat)
50 g fresh yeast
1 dl caster sugar
0.5 tsp salt (I personally use salted butter and leave this out)
2 tsp ground cardamon (optional)
800 g plain flour
Filling:
150 g soft butter (honestly I think we are talking at least a packet 250 g when we bake)
1 dl caster sugar (come on, these are just guidelines)
2 tsbp ground cinnamon (well a little bit more does not hurt)
1 beaten egg for glazing at the very end
Right so this is how you do it.
First warm the milk to 37 degrees Celsius (finger warm) too hot the yeast will die, too cold it will not prove as it should
Crumb the yeast in to a large bowl, pour the warm milk on top and stir, let the yeast dissolve. Add small lumps of butter, sugar and cardamom.
Add flour but save about 1 dl while working the dough on a baking table later (ok I had never sifted anything in my life before I move to the UK so you do not have to do that at all).
Work the dough hard for 5 min in a machine or 10 min by hand, until it feel right (hmm, it needs to be airy yet firm)
Let it prove, covered of course and out of draft for about 30 min. So make this dough then do your school run or enjoy a coffee or whatever you like.
Work the dough on a baking table easy for a few minutes, divide it in to 4 parts. Use a rolling pin and make a rectangle shape. Not too thin but definitely not too fat. Thinner rather than fatter.
Butter the rectangle (do not be shy). Mix the sugar and the cinnamon and spread over (so this is how it looked like at our home last time with did it)
Roll them up as you roll up a swiss roll and cut in to 10 pieces . Put them either in large paper cases or on a tray covered in baking paper. Cover with towel and let prove for approx 40 min (do not cheat on the prove time).
Oven on 225 – 250 degrees (I have no idea gas, but google tells me gas mark 8)
Beat the egg and glaze the bun, we put a very typical sugar on top called pearl sugar and no I can not find it here. I buy it when I am home in Sweden, it will be fine without!
Buns in the middle of the oven for about 5 – 10 min.
Cool on a wire rack
Enjoy, eat about 20 and either share or freeze the rest (always good to have a spare at home for some fika time)
Now you can use what ever filling you like, nutella, marzipan, jam…go for it!
If you leave them for a couple of days and they go a bit dry, pop them in the oven for a few min with a little lump of butter on top. And I like to defrost them in the oven with a little lump of butter. Mum had this trick back in the day before she stopped eating sugar. She took a couple out of the freezer and then put them on top of the coffee maker while brewing the coffee and a lovely smell of coffee and cinnamon spread in the house (we all have our tricks).
Now you better eat a bun this weekend! If you have an big blue shop nearby they have some “fake” buns (as my friend called them) in their food bit. They taste fine, never as good as homemade but I would not turn them down. And of course if you are local to Edinburgh you have Peter’s Yard, they are a bit here and there now in town. Lovely lovely bakes and the coffee is rather good too. Enjoy!
This is amazing and we are so incredible happy to do this and grateful to all of you who support us and love us. THANK YOU!
Without you we would not have made it this far. Five years ago I was heavily pregnant and we were both super nervous both becoming parents and also opening up our very own shop and I do think it is fair to say we have done well. Now five years later and also another lovely child addition to our family we are still here and also growing stronger.
We love Spektakulär, I love that I can bring a bit from my home country (which I miss sooooooo much) to yours. And that also my passion for happy, inspirational and affordable designs can make a big change for some of you. The comments after we help finding a gift and the photos of how lovely your homes become makes this worth every minute of it. We also like to thank the amazing staff that have been our face outwards Jenny, Lisa, Emma, Åsa, Beata, Joanne, Zuzanna, Alix, Ruth and Anna. You have helped us build up the Spektakulär brand and we are so grateful! Thank you (Tack så mycket)!
As a thank you our lovely customers for your support we will offer 20% off all weekend, so from Friday 18th until Sunday 20th you can enjoy 20% off on everything that is available in the shop.
Hint hint now is a great opportunity to start that dreaded Christmas shopping (which is supposed to be fun).
At the moment at the shop, Autumn designs are starting to arrive and I sit with crazy (but lovely) Christmas orders. This Autumn we will introduce a lot of new brands. We already had a refill of the amazing Våga jewellery, Popomax reflectors, Sagaforms Autumn news and best sellers, Flensted Mobiles and lots more. I am also sitting with a new Pappelina order so if you like to order one now is the time and remember these ones will make someone very happy this Christmas.
We have finally gone crazy and let Google do a virtual tour of the shop. Great opportunity to do it after our repaint and while the shop is looking nice and tidy (just you wait until Christmas, you do know it is almost impossible to move around here then).
Thanks to Jeremy Scott the shop is now available as a see inside on google, we also done an extra tab on our Facebook page so check it out. Jeremy also took some really lovely photos and I am pleased with the result, check it out here.
As you know we are a super tiny shop and we try very hard to vary the stock as well as keep it seasonal. So in a few weeks all these bright summer colours will be replaced with lots of cozy candles and welcoming blankets.
This weekend Richard and I are off to London to visit Home and Top Drawer and chat with all our lovely UK suppliers who do a lot of hard work for us. Having a couple of evenings without children might give us a few ideas for our five year anniversary. Because can you believe it, next Friday the 18th September,we are delighted to announce that we (Spektakular) is five!!! You are all so amazing and wonderful who support us a tiny little Scandinavian shop in Edinburgh, we do adore you all and the kind words you give us when you come in through those doors for a little chat is heart warming.
It is with mixed feelings we say goodbye to Summer and welcome Autumn. I mean who does not like the idea of a warm summer and long evenings in the garden with a tasty BBQ. This summer did sadly not bring great weather, at least not where we were. We missed the beautiful August heatwave in Sweden by spending our holiday there in July. But hey it was fine we got a few days of swimming in the lakes and one or two BBQ’s. We survived! Here are just a few images for you and for me to go a bit homesick (great).
Spent a lot of time here as a child. Love that they have restored it and keeping it safe.
This is were I learnt to swim during summer swimming school, I guess I was about six or seven or maybe even nine, well I was not four that is for sure!
Gosh, they just loved it here, and I don’t blame them, I spent a lot of time here every summer as a child.
My home village Gräfsnäs, 20 min north of Alingsås
View from the Castle… Gosh am going all homesick now!
Just behind my mums house is a forest and the blueberries were ready to be picked.
Beautiful cafe where everything is organic…
Great space for a fika with the whole family or just a good book
Hmm what’s the rules again…oh well lets build a fort instead
Pappa arrived! Was missed after two LONG weeks
A visit to a dear friend. Anna , all you local Edinburgh people knows who this lady is :)
Outside Trädgrårn in Gothenburg. Water is great fun
Well this is a view from the train on the bridge heading to Denmark
Just go in…no need for me to tell you why!
Great independent shop…loved it!
Some of you might have seen some Vissevasse at the shop, oh these are EVERYWHERE and looking stunning
So a quick Summer holiday note. Yes of course we went to Sweden, it is my home and where I would like us to live one day so a lot of Swedish for the girls and lots of amazing food for me. The girls and myself two weeks alone (well with my family and friends of course) and then Richard joined us for two more weeks. We ended our holiday with 24 hours in Copenhagen…oh Copenhagen we love you and we will try to do a longer trip there again next summer.
Since we arrived back it has been non stop, the shop has been repainted and it does look clean and fresh. Stina has started P1 and I did not expect it to be as emotional as it has been (think grey hairs appeared, not nice when you not even reached your mid 30’s yet or maybe I am just being shallow).
At least the shop is looking lovely and this week we had a photographer in to take photos for Google. So now if you google us you can see inside the shop. Of course we can not keep it looking this lovely all the time (you who have been in at Christmas you know how full it can get) but it gives you an idea of what we actually look like inside.
Now we like to welcome Autumn. I personally love Autumn. A sunny day walking in the forest with an explosion of colour in the trees and that hint of nip in the air. We are lucky to live in a country with four seasons. Even though not as extreme as Sweden, where it can get really hot in the summer and very very cold in the winter it is still stunning and I really need to make an effort to take the girls out and pick leaves and enjoy the colours as well.
Here at Spektakular you will see more designs and also some new brands, I have just placed our blanket and throws order from Swedish Klippan. I am very close to turn on the heating every evening now (not yet please) and it is also time to place orders for more candles. Autumn does bring darker evenings which means hello sofa, cozy blanket, candles, tea, homebakes and great books.
This weekend Richard and I will head to lovely London and two days of intense shopping for Spektakular. We will catch up with our suppliers, see more brands. After our visit to Sweden this summer I also fell in love with a few new brands and I have booked in to see some new agents which is very exciting.
But first, hopefully this week the first new seasonal stock by Swedish Sagaform is due to arrive. Including new additions to the so ever loved Oval Oak range which I am really looking forward to see.
DELIVERY! Yes I am shouting it, because I want you all to know how much I love this stunning brand. SPIRA and a massive delivery just arrived to the shop and it looks stunning and I which I could take all the cushions home and just create a cushion paradise. Alright fine I admit, I go on and on and it does sound a bit much but sometimes my love for designs just gets me a little bit too excited. And there is something about fabrics and stunning patterns. Such a easy way to transform a room.
Spira is a fantastic company run by Lena and Susanne, together with well known designers in Sweden they create stunning patterns. The idea behind Spira is lovely. Each season brings in new and fresh patterns which you can combine with a previous seasonal patterns. Four times they have been in nominated for the best design in Formex Formidable which is a fantastic achievement . Latest was the Nemo in Red, (of course we have this cushion in the shop right now).
Nemo in Red
This Summer we took the opportunity to visit Spira who are based in Borås, only 35 min from my mums house so easy to get there. Lena met us and welcomed us to have a look around their studio and warehouse. I could have moved in right there and then. What an amazing location and layout. Oh a dream place to go to work to everyday. We were shown the latest designs and also learnt a lot about fabrics and colours which was very inspiring. Oh I loved it and then to receive this delivery is fantastic.
We focus mainly on cushion covers but of course some runners and tea towels sneaked with as well. Good thing with Spria is, if you know exactly how much fabric you are after they will cut it for you and send it to us. Since we do not have space for big rolls of fabric this is brilliant and a win win for us all. Please do have a look on their website for brilliant fabrics and inspiration. Pop in and see all our cushions, they do make us happy!
Welcome to Spektakulär 