Swedish Design at HAPPYsthlm

Pretty soon Stockholm will be filled with happy summer visitors! Swedish/Scandinavian Design has really become a famous and popular concept these days and one of the top questions I get from visitors is where they can see and purchase great design knick-knacks in the city. As you can imagine, Stockholm is filled with interior design stores, some better than others, from small independent shops to larger chain stores.

A new boutique, called HAPPYsthlm, has recently opened in Gamla Stan and offers a great opportunity to find some unique objects... whether for your home, yourself or souvenirs for friends & family. On a side note I can explain that "sthlm" is a shortened form of Stockholm, used by Swedes. Behind HAPPYsthlm is a trio of local designers (Katarina Andersson, Kajsa Aronsson and Caroline Lindholm) who have worked together for many years. Each of them has had success in their respective fields of design (product, textile and jewellery) but always dreamed of opening their own independent boutique together. A dream that was fulfilled late last summer when they opened HAPPYsthlm!

In the store you will find vases, ceramics, napkins, tea towels, cushions, place mats, fabric, silver earrings & pendants and much, much more. All making it easy to give your home that Scandi feel when you get return from your vacation. The boutique's location in Gamla Stan is just a 10-12 minute walk from the Rival Hotel, otherwise it is just a couple of blocks from the Gamla Stan subway station (green & red lines). All three pictures in this article were taken by Karin Björkquist, with thanks to HAPPYsthlm.
Click here for some earlier shopping tips!

Ginger Bread House Competition at Architecture Museum

While visiting Moderna Museet yesterday (see blog entry below), I stopped by the Architecture Museum (Arkitekturmuseet) to see their exhibition on ginger bread houses. You see, both museums have the same entrance and you can either pay a 60 SEK entrance fee for the architecture museum, or you can pay 160 SEK for a combination ticket for both museums (reduced price for senior citizens and free for children under 19 years of age).

This exhibition is actually a display of contest entries for the annual ginger bread house competition. There are four categories of competitors... architects, professional bakers, amateur bakers and children up to 12. There are over a hundred entries this year and I couldn't decide whether I liked the professional and creative houses or the whimsical houses created by children. The theme this year is "I can join! Bake your smart idea for a better life" (direct translation from Swedish). Quite a vague theme... but it was fun to walk through the exhibit and see the different houses and breathe in the peppery ginger scent (but don't eat the works of art!). Visitors can vote for their favorite designs at the museum. Prizes will be awarded at 3pm on December 16th for designs in the different categories; winners are decided by both a jury and the public. If you are coming later in the month, don't worry, the exhibition will run until January 6th!

The museum is located on the island of Skeppsholmen and is easy get there from the Rival Hotel. There are regular ferries between Slussen (10 minute walk from hotel) to the islands of Skeppsholmen and Djurgården. The trip takes only 10 minutes, but make sure you tell the ticket agent that you wish to disembark at Skeppsholmen... sometimes they don't stop at that island if there aren't any passengers to drop off or pick up.

Shopping at Mood Stockholm

Entrance

One of the most anticipated events in the Stockholm retail world happened today... the opening of Mood Stockholm. There has been a lot of press and hype leading up to the grand opening. So I had to, of course, stop by Mood Stockholm today to see what all the fuss was about and I must say that I was very impressed.

Some shopping...

For all intents and purposes, Mood Stockholm is a shopping center, though they advertise themselves as Stockholm's "newest neighborhood". It is refreshing to see a shopping center with unique stores (mainly clothing & interior design) and not the same chain-stores seen in every other shopping center in Sweden. Some are familiar names, but the majority are stores that I haven't heard of before. Nice, soothing lounge music interspersed with chirping birds(!) can be heard from the loud speakers. Dining options are also not like other shopping centers... no "food court" here! Instead it is trendier options from cafés to restaurants. Two of special note (and much anticipated) are Vigårda Barbecue and EAT (European Asian Taste). Both restaurants have heavy culinary names behind them... Melker Andersson (of F12) and Henrik Norström (of Lux) respectively. Another one that looked interesting is the tapas restaurant Boqueria. Can't wait to try them!

...and dining (Boqueria restaurant & bar)

What makes me happiest about Mood is their location. It takes up en entire city block, just behind the NK department store in the downtown area. This neighborhood has been a strange dead area in Stockholm for many years, surrounded by other vibrant shopping/restaurant areas on all four sides. Mood will be a great face lift for the area! There is also a Concierge Service to be found in Mood which is a fun idea... according to their pamphlet, they offer everything from a personal shopper to babysitting to yard work. You can also "hire a cook/bartender" through them.

The stores in Mood are open from 10am to 8pm on weekdays, 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. The restaurants are, of course, open later! It is very easy to get there from the Rival Hotel... a direct subway trip on the red line, 4 stations to Östermalmstorg and exiting to Stureplan. Click here and scroll down for more of my shopping tips!

Stockholm Fashion Week(s)

Photo: Nicho Södling, Stockholm Visitor's Board

Over the past decade or so, Swedish fashion has risen in global prominence with such well known brands as  Filippa K, Whyred, Fifth Avenue Show Repair, WeSC, J. Lindeberg, Acne, H&M, Odd Molly and Cheap Monday among others. Stockholm has become soooo fashionable, there are actually two fashion weeks coming up.
First out is the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (Jan 30th - Feb 1st). Noomi Rapace, Sweden's latest export to Hollywood, will be opening the festivities on Monday... followed by three days of fashion shows and other events. Most of the shows will be held in the Mercedes-Benz pavilion in Kungsträdgården or at nearby Berns. Click here for the schedule of events. Expect the city to be overrun by supermodels, designers, stylists and other fashionistas!
Second out is Stockholm Fashion Week (Feb 6th - 12th), with over 800 brands showing their wares during the week... mainly in showrooms and trade fairs. Most of the shows, events and parties during both fashion weeks are for buyers and press, though some events are open for the general public. Of particular interest is the Fashion Play exhibition (12 designers from the alternative fashion scene) going on all week at the Museum of Architecture.
If you want to explore Swedish fashion at your own leisure... head to either the SoFo or Biblioteksgatan districts, where you will find the highest concentration of Swedish designers.

Gingerbread House Competition

Photo by Matti Östling

The Architecture Museum's (Arkitekturmuseet) annual, and popular, gingerbread house competition has started.Over a hundred bakers, architects, children and happy amateurs have created gingerbread houses for the competition in different categories. The theme this year is "pride and prejudice" and shines a spotlight on the problem of bullying in schools. It is the visitors to the museum who vote for the best creations! The competition/exhibition ends on January 8th... so stop on by to admire the houses and cast your vote.

Photo by Matti Östling

The museum is located on the island of Skeppsholmen just adjacent to the Modern Art Museum (Moderna).
Entrance costs 60 SEK (free for youths under 19) and you can buy a combination for both museums (architecture & modern art) for 140 SEK. Free admission for holders of the Stockholm Card. Pictures in this blog entry are from the 2010 competition.

Those Creative Swedes!

Photo: Nicho Södling, Stockholm Visitors' Board

The Martin Prosperity Institute recently released its annual Global Creativity Index, a ranking of 82 countries based on creativity (as a way of showing economic competitiveness). And... Sweden ranks as #1. Several factors are used in compiling the GPI: number of patents per capita, openess and tolerance as well as the number of people employed in creative fields.
Even though the population of Sweden is only about 9.5 million, the country is an international powerhouse in the fields of design, fashion, music, literature and the performing arts. Swedes' creativity is quite apparent if you keep your eyes and ears open while wandering the streets of Stockholm.
And you don't have to travel to Sweden to enjoy Swedish creativity. I can guarantee that in the past few days you've either worn Swedish fashion (Acne, H&M, Whyred, Fillipa K), used/admired Swedish design (Ikea, Asplund, Kosta Boda), listened to a Swedish singer/act (ABBA, Swedish House Mafia, Robyn) or Swedish produced music (Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Pink), read something by a Swedish author (Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, Tomas Tranströmer), seen a movie or TV show with a Swedish actor (Malin Åkerman, Stellan & Alexander Skarsgård) or used technology invented by a Swede (Spotify, Skype)!
It's all part of our plan for world domination...

Shopping: Svenskt Tenn has moved (temporarily)!

I have blogged earlier about the popular Swedish interior design store Svenskt Tenn. They have been located on Strandvägen 5 since 1927 and are now in the process of renovating their flagship store. But not to worry, they have temporarily moved shop around the corner at Nybrogatan 15 in the former movie theater Astoria. They plan to have the renovations finished and be back at Strandvägen this September.

The Stockholm Furniture Fair

The Stockholm Furniture Fair & Northern Light Fair are going on all this week at the Älvsjö International Fairgrounds... and this Saturday, February 12th, it is open for the general public. Sweden is well known for its furniture & lighting design and this is the perfect oppurtunity to see the new trends, get inspired or do some shopping with over 700 exhibitors taking part.On Saturday the fairgrounds are open from 9am to 5pm and the entrance fee is 130 SEK. It is easy to get there from the Rival Hotel... just take the commuter train (pendeltåg) from the Stockholm South station (10 minute walk from the hotel) to the Älvsjö station and then follow the signs.
Click here for more shopping and design tips.
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How Do You Say "Sale" In Swedish?

Christmas is coming to an end... now comes the time that Swedes call Mellandagarna, meaning "middle days", which is the time between Christmas and New Years. It is the big shopping week here in Sweden and all types of stores drop their prices to get rid of excess stock brought in for Christmas. Wherever you go in Stockholm you will see signs that say REA! which is Swedish for "sale", or perhaps MELLANDAGSREA!

Where to go for the sales? The best place is the downtown area which has the highest concentration of stores. A great place to start is the NK Department Store which is located at the head of Kungsträdgården park. A beautiful store, here you will find everything from food to bedding to clothes to interior design. Across the street (kitty corner) you have the Gallerian Shopping Center with loads of stores. If you exit NK at the basement level you come to Sergelgången, an underground passageway lined with stores and leading to the Sergels torg square. At the far end of the square you come to a street that bisects the square called Drottninggatan (Queen's Street). This pedestrian street is a shopping mecca... heading north you'll first find Åhlen's Department Store and a couple of blocks later the PUB Department Store which is on the corner of Drottninggatan and Kungsgatan (King's Street). Heading east on Kungsgatan, you come to a high concentration of electronic stores like On/Off, Siba and Elgiganten. At the end of Kungsgatan you come to the posh district of Stureplan. Right on Stureplan square you have the Sturegallerian Shopping Center. This whole area, including the street Biblioteksgatan, is where you will find the high-end designer shops. To the east of Stureplan is Östermalm, a great place to find interior design stores... like Svensk Tenn.
That pretty much gives you a good overview of the downtown area. If you think it's too cold to fight the crowds in town, then you can find some great shopping closer to the Rival Hotel. Within a 10-15 minute walk of the hotel we have the pedestrian street Götgatsbacken, the shopping center Skrapan and the hip neighborhood of SoFo... all of which I have written about earlier.
Happy Shopping! For more shopping tips, click here!
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Shopping - Efva Attling

Efva Attling may not be a name you are familiar with, but if you are planning on purchasing something particularly Swedish and you like accessories in silver then you should keep her name in mind. Efva Attling started her career as a model and a Swedish popstar, but her passion for design caused her to branch out in the mid 90's to avant garde jewellery design, specializing in silver. Her designs quickly became popular and found fans in people like Madonna and Kylie Minogue. These days she designs all types of jewellery, including watches, for men and women and her designs are sold all over the world. Here in Sweden she has several concept stores, two of which are right around the corner from the Rival Hotel on the street Hornsgatan... both "Efva Attling" and "Attling Man" (next door to one another). I find her designs to be beautifully sleek and strong; modern and Swedish.
Click here for more Stockholm shopping tips!

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Shopping - Gudrun Sjödén

The newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently announced the top three Swedish clothing exporters for the past year. Once again, Gudrun Sjödén was in first place with sales of about 335 million SEK in 2009! Sjödén, who opened her first store in Stockholm in 1976, designs women's wear and accessories as well as home textiles. She is also famous for her enviromental efforts... using eco-friendly textiles, reducing the amount of paper & plastic is shipping and so forth.
A large portion of Gudrun Sjöden's business these days is through post-order, though she does have three shops in Stockholm. Two of them are quite close to the hotel... one store is around the corner on Götgatan 44 and the other is in the Old Town on Stora Nygatan 33. Her flagship store (that opened in 1976) can be found in the downtown area on Regeringsgatan 30. Drop in and have a look at what makes her the #1 clothes exporter from Sweden!
In case you were wondering #2 on the list was street-fashion Wesc and #3 was fast growing Nudie Jeans.
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Click here for other shopping tips!
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The National Museum

The National Museum is the premier art and design museum in Stockholm. I took a swing by today to check the summer exhibitions. It is located on Blasieholm right across the water from the royal palace. Swedish artists, like Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn, take the forefront, though there are great works by international artists like Rembrandt, Gaugin and Renoir. There is a great permanent exhibition on Swedish design in the 20th century. Swedish design is world famous and it is interesting to see how it evolved. See early IKEA, glass and crystal from Orrefors and even interior design from SAS. Another exhibition follows earlier Swedish design from 1500 to 1740. There are two great exhibitions this summer. One is a look at Scandinavian Interiors seen through the eyes of artists called At Home. Last day for this exhibition is August 15th. The other exhibition is a look at the Bernadotte royal family (over the past 6 generations) through black & white photography, drawings and graphic art. This exhibition is free of charge, seperate from the rest of the museum, and will run until January 23rd, 2011. Entrance for the rest of the museum is 100 SEK (80 for seniors and free for youths 18yrs and under). Free with the Stockholm Card.

The opening hours this summer are Tuesdays 11am to 8pm, Wednesday through Sunday 11am to 5pm, closed on Mondays.

To get there: The museum is very centrally located and easy to walk to, otherwise the closest subway station is Kungsträdgården (blue line).

Swedish Design - Svenskt Tenn

Svenskt Tenn is one of the premiere Swedish interior design and furniture stores and is also one of Sweden's oldest design companies... 80+ years. They are especially well known for their beautiful textiles. The form designer Josef Frank is closely associated with the store. He emmigrated to Sweden in 1933, escaping Nazi oppression and worked at Svenskt Tenn until his death in 1967. The store is celebrating the fact that Frank would have been 125 years old this summer with an exhibition of his work. The exhibition runs from June 10th through August 15th, 2010.
Svenskt Tenn is located on Strandvägen 5 in the Östermalm neighborhood. The nearest subway stations are Östermalmstorg(red line) and Kungstädgården((blue line).