Valborgsmassoafton

Happy Walpurgis Night! (Said no-one ever, as far as I know.)  I don't even know what that is, but I know that Swedes celebrate the night before May 1st - Valborgsmassoafton - with big bonfires, and "sing the season in".  Tomorrow choirs around Sweden will wake up early and welcome "Sköna Maj" (beautiful May) welcome.  I will miss hearing my stepfather sing tomorrow - so glad I got to hear the male choir that he sings in last year, bright and early in the beautiful park. It was just lovely.  Here is some more information on the tradition.  http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/annualeventstraditions/qt/walpurgisnight.htm
Maybe I should just start a fire for old times sake?  ;-)  Kidding!  Happy May Day everyone.

Mother's Day is coming!

"My mother told me, you better shop around," so I did.  I got the best price that I could for the kids and I to fly to the homeland this summer, but "herregud" (oh my God) it is expensive this year! So I'm hoping that this year returning home will be the best Mother's Day gift I could get, but I am very tempted by some beautiful gifts on Etsy.  They are doing the cutest things with embroidery these days, and my mother being an amazing artist and craftswoman herself would appreciate them. (Shout out to my awesome mamma here who I can't wait to see!) Take a look, aren't these adorable? They're embroidered initials in your choice of yarn, and fabric color:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/merriweathercouncil

How about this at the knotworkshop on Etsy? Too cute. I love personalized gifts don't you?  

Just one more shot out to the creative folks at Etsy.com, selling these great looking pillows.

These are at Crumkunster and use your loved one silhouettes.  Neat idea don't you think?  Here's a link if you have some mother's day shopping to do.  Enjoy! Mother's Day Gifts at Etsy 

Funny Swedish sayings

Tee, hee.  This one is my favorite: "Smaken är som baken, delad."  Go to this link to see what it means: Funny Swedish Sayings. And of course, to bring another smile on your face, there's this guy.  Remember him?  Bork!

We're off to Master Luke's soccer game, and then the movies. Yes, Tom Cruise is calling us today.  Oblivion should be good, but I'm not sure about Morgan Freeman in that role.  We'll see (I'm very tough on movies.) Good thing I'm not a movie critic I guess ;-) Have a great day!

Hilma af Klint - cool Swedish artist

Can you imagine living in the late 19th century when magnetism, electricity and x-rays were invented?  The unseen world became manifest in magnificent, mind boggling ways.   Not strange then that seances and spiritualism were as popular as they were.  If forces unknown could show through your skin to your organs, or bring your relative's voice into your living room through a phone, then surely, they believed, we could connect with the dead?

Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was an artist who pursued these ideas and deemed her art to be so futuristic that she didn't want the public to see it until 20 years after her death. The Modern Museum says that she was influenced by contemporary spiritual movements, such as spiritism, theospohy, and later, anthroposophy* and that when she painted she believed a higher consciousness was speaking through her.  They now have a retrospective up at the Stockholm Modern Museum (Hilma af Klint exhibit).  Some are saying she was the pioneer of abstract art.  What do you think?  I like this one:

De tio största, nr 3, Ynglingaåldern

The show is up until May 26th.  Maybe I'll just fly on over and check it out? ;-)
* an·thro·pos·o·phy

 [ ànthrə póssəfee ]   

1. spiritual philosophy: a religious philosophy developed by Rudolf Steiner from theosophy, holding that spiritual development should be humankind's foremost concern. Waldorf education uses this philosophy.

Peace

It's 2:50 the official minute of silence to commemorate those killed one week ago at the Boston Marathon.  I am reflecting on peace.  My yoga teacher today read us a lovely mantra.  I hope that you find this illuminating and helpful too as we all struggle to find acceptance, strength and forgiveness.  Have a great day. Namaste.

Evoking the presence of the great compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion–towards ourselves and towards all living beings.

Let us pray that all living beings realize that they are all brothers and sisters, all nourished from the same source of life.  

source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/buddhist-prayers-for-peace.html#ixzz2RD

We came back from paradise to this?

We were on a true vacation, the family and I, away from all electronic devices, phones and even my beloved blog.  Of course rushing now to fill you in on what this winter-weary Swede has been up to (yes, even Swedes tire of the cold hence the exodus to Thailand once a year.)  :-)  We were on the Riviera Maya in Mexico where we enjoyed amazing weather, tons of good food, cerveza and playing with the kids in the pool.  So hope you didn't miss me too much but sometimes you just have to get away.  'Specially when your beloved home town is being terrorized.  What a shock to come home to that!  I'm just glad that I can tell my children that they are caught, and thank you Boston Police Force and everyone for your amazing work.

At Xcaret, where's Newport, RI?

The kids even swam with dolphins - luckys

Yeah, I didn't go the Stellan* route, I covered up all the way!* See prior entry on the Skarsgards

Alexander Skarsgard

For those of you who aren't familiar with my blog I try to write about things of interest with a Swedish bent - contemporary, historic, design-oriented, even silly.  This may fall under that category, a fan-based musing on Alexander Skarsgard, a super hunky Swede, who, as I've just learned, was raised by hippy daddy Stellan Skarsgard.  Stellan had wild parties, with carousing until the wee hours and would walk around naked at home.  This could be disconcerting to friends, especially young ladies, that Alexander would invite home.  Seems rather awkward to me too, but I do agree with Skarsgard that violence in the American media is way more damaging than nudity.  As he said aptly said in this week's periodical "The Week":  "If a kid sees a nipple on television, how is that more damaging than watching someone bash someone else's head in with a baseball bat?" Hmmm, it's not.  (How's that for quick answer.) Anyway heading out for vaca soon.  Hope my body can handle a bikini, 'cause I'm sure not secure enough to go the whole Stellan route.  :-)  By the way, he's in a new movie with Justin Bateman (my fav) coming up called "Disconnect".  Check out the press: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disconnect-jason-bateman-alexander-skarsgard-437806

Starting a new business: "Less is More"

My goal is to start a small business, and I am blessed to have entrepreneurial friends who are smart and savvy enough to have done so already, and shared their learning with me.  So, knowing that many people are in the same boat, I thought I would pass along their thoughts and knowledge to you on a regular basis. 

The first person I talked to when I got back to the States after a year in Sweden about this "crazy idea" was my friend, Sharon, co-owner of "Less is More" a staging company in the North Shore of Boston.  See http://www.onyourwaytolessismore.com/ Sharon was so inspiring and helpful to me.  She's a burst of energy, great fun,  and I think you'll really enjoy reading her and co-owner Merri-Lee's, answers to my questions: 

1. Did you have a business plan when you got started?
2. How do you gauge success?
3. Tell us about your business.  What's your philosophy?
4. Where do you get inspiration?  

Please check out their answers below, especially inspiring for Home Stagers and others interested in starting their own companies of any kind.  Thank you so much Sharon and Merri-Lee!  Read on... and make sure you check out that to-die-for organized closet at the end.  Drool!  And I happen to know Sharon's own closet is even nicer. ;-)

How great to be asked these questions and have the opportunity to look back over the last two years and reflect on the early days of our company. First, let us introduce ourselves; we are Sharon Honey and Merri-Lee Steeves and we co-own Less Is More LLC. We are celebrating the 2 year anniversary of our business on May 1^st!  (Well at least the 2 year anniversary of its life in the United States! Read on to find out what country Less Is More originated in! )  It’s all very exciting to be past the “start-up” phase and to be moving into a growth phase. We’d love to have you learn more about us and see some of our portfolio by checking out our blog, On Your Way To Less Is More, at www.onyourwaytolessismore.wordpress.com or our web site, www.OnYourWayToLessIsMore.com. We are particularly proud of our before and after pictures so be sure to take a look at those! J

 Tina:  Tell us about your business. What’s your philosophy?

Less Is More is a service company offering Staging, Organizing, Interior Styling, and Packing/Unpacking to Move assistance.  Our philosophy revolves around our clients. Our goal is to offer clients our experience and guidance in order to help them meet their individual goals. This may sound vague but in reality it is quite specific once we know what projects our home owners want assistance with.  For us, it’s all about defining our clients’ goals and making those goals attainable in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible.

 Tina: Did you have a business plan when you got started?

Well, not really. Actually, we had a homeowner who knew that Sharon owned a staging business back in England (Sharon started Less Is More in England in 2006) That same homeowner wanted help to stage and prepare her property for the market in three weeks or less. She asked Sharon for her expertise.  

At the same time, Sharon and I, we’d had been friends for 3 years, were both chatting the way friends do about wanting to get back into the work force. We already recognized and respected each other’s talents and skills. Sharon knew she was ready to start up Less Is More in the United States and asked me if I would consider partnering with her.

We talked, hugged (shaking hands would have been too awkward – remember, we were friends first, business partners second J ) and jumped on line to formally file all the paper work necessary to officially start a business.

I guess you could say, we didn’t have a business plan; we had a plan to start a business in a week or less in order to take on our first client who was already asking to book our first session. The rest is history!

[A picture from that very first staging project where we used the client’s furniture]

 Tina: How do you gauge success?

For us, the word success has many different meanings. There are a number of sub-questions that we would have to answer to know if we are feeling successful.

First and foremost, are our clients pleased with our work?

When we read the reviews and testimonials that our clients have offered to us over the last two years then we do feel a sense of satisfaction that we were able to help our clients meet their individual project goals. One of the things that we have learned is that if you want honest feedback, just ask! We always ask for feedback when a project is coming to a conclusion and clients are very often happy to offer their opinions either in an email directly to us or by using online review sites such as Angie’s List, Manta, or Yelp just to name a few.

Second, we might judge our success by the number of industry professionals we have had the opportunity to meet and work with over the last 2 years.

We are thrilled to have been selected by William Raveis, The Dolores Person Group as their designated staging company. We love working with the talented and professional realtors at Raveis. They offer our services to their property owners and we  then assist those property owners with staging as well as other related services such as preparing to move (sorting, eliminating what they no longer need, and packing up their belongs). Home owners will often call us back in to assist them get organized and settled in their new homes! It’s all very rewarding to see clients progress through their transition from beginning to end.

Third, being a new business and a small business as well, we have been working to promote our Less Is More name. Admittedly, our marketing and advertising budget is a small one (by choice) so it is always satisfying to get feedback from people we meet who say, “I’ve seen your information around town” or “You were referred to me by my friend or realtor”. For us, this means that our marketing efforts are paying off. 

And finally, we are a business. So, of course we must judge our success on profit and loss. If success in the Profit and Loss category means that you have to have a positive bank balance, your accountant doesn’t laugh and shake his head at your annual Tax meeting, and your children are able to attend college, then yes!, we are feeling positive about the direction the company is heading in. J

 Tina: Where do you get inspiration?

This question has to be answered in two parts really. Our inspiration is related to motivation! It’s different depending on if the goal is to sell a property or if a home owner has contacted us to style or organize a space that they want to continue to live in.

If the project is a “staging to sell” one, then our goal is to show the property’s best features off in a way that allows the buyers to picture living in the space. Our Staging Services strive to enhance architectural details as well as show off the very best features that the home has to offer whether that is tons of closet space, an amazing master suite, plenty of play space for a large family or the ability to have a home office. Creating a neutrally staged space in which the buyer can picture their own colorful life is the goal of every stager  J

[A recent staging project where rental furniture was used in an empty home]

If the project is an “Organize or Style to live” one, then our goal is completely dictated by the home owner! We often have clients who will sigh and noticeably show signs of relief by the middle of our very first meeting. It never ceases to amaze us when our client’s say, “Oh, I am SO relieved”.  When we ask them why, we are always told the same exact thing, “I thought you were going to tell me I have to have (xyz) because that is what is popular right now”. Our answer is also always the same. We tell them that living in a space and staging a space are two completely different projects. Our Styling Services are about creating spaces that make our home owners happy and satisfy them. If they feel comfortable and happy in their environment when we are finished working together, then we have done our job properly. If they want orange as the focal color in the room then they get a room designed around their favorite shade of orange. End of story!

[A closet re-due where the clients needed help purging and organizing]

In a nut shell, Less Is More is about helping our clients succeed. If they’re happy then we are happy and we have done our job. Each and every day that we go to work we are amazed about the differences of each project and the uniqueness of each client. It keeps our days interesting and our time at work fun.

It’s been great visiting http://www.livinglavidalagom.blogspot.com and sharing a little bit about ourselves and our company. Thanks for your interest and asking about us.  J

Annie Sloan Chalkpaint Workshop and IKEA

That's a weird combo I know (see header) but that's where my heads been at lately.  I've been playing with the idea of using Annie Sloan chalk paints for a dresser - aubusson blue is my current fav- and we headed down to the Swedish behemoth today, IKEA, photos to follow.  (By the way did you know most of the IKEA product names are actually either real Swedish names, like Eivor, or words like this one "pruta" (to haggle).  This one makes us giggle because it's dangerously close to "prutta" which means "fart" and this is the name of some classic Tupperware-type bowls and lids.  Tee, hee. Inside Swedish joke for y'all.)

Anyway I digress, can you tell how tired I am?  Hubby and I headed down there with angelic, soon to become whiny children at 8 this am for their big kitchen sale.  We quickly decided that even 20% off wasn't enough to encourage us to wait in the massive line of fellow procrastinators, so we scoped up the basics - toilet bowl brush, new wine glasses, light strip for kitchen, and Swedish fish among other sundries and headed home.  Home to our shabby kitchen, not shabby chic mind, but cozy and clean with a lingering smell of tonight's lasagna.  "Hem" sweet "hem", or rather "Home Swede Home".

p.s. thinking that this would be a very nice mother's day gift - http://shopmaisondecor.com/collections/paint-workshops/products/annie-sloan-intro-workshop-sunday-may-26-10-2. It's in Malden, MA anyone care to join me?  Picture from Annie Sloan's website, http://www.anniesloan.com, bureau in that awesome blue!

Tina Pinxit - oil paintings

Hej, take a look at my new page, http://livinglavidalagom.blogspot.com/p/art-by-tina-rawson_4.html

Hope you like it!  Have a great day.  Master Luke and I are heading off to school. This picture is from the fall but it kind of sums up our morning routine.  Can't wait to be wearing shorts again though!  The weather here is typical March blah but the crocus are up.  :-)

Sweet Swedish Homes and Textiles

I'd like to start a regular feature where I highlight Swedish homes.  There's so much inspiration to be gleaned and as handsome hubby and I are planning on renovating it's a great way to brush up on my aesthetic and get new ideas.  First up an amazing "parade lägenhet" (parade apartment) from Malmö featured in the blog, "My Scandinavian Home", that I follow and love.  Check out:
http://myscandinavianhome.blogspot.com/2013/03/guest-post-malmo-masterpiece.html?showComment=1364401679607#c126827472745050570

Also what blog entry about Swedish homes would be complete without a mention of the giant force in the home industry IKEA?  Hubby and I are going there this weekend to look at the Lidingö kitchen and I am so digging the Swedish Country look which is my stylistic first love i.e. "allmoge" as it's called in Sweden.  See http://www.ikeafamilylivemagazine.com/us/en/article/31963  Here's a peak at Eva Lundgreen's work above.

Eivor Leva by Kajsa Aronsson at IKEA

IKEA does a great job of sourcing it's textiles (shout out to Kajsa Aronsson, friend, part-owner of HAPPY Stockholm, and textile designer extraordinaire). HAPPY Sthlm She developed this gem above "Eivor Leva" for example.  Stop by her store in Gamla Stan, Stockholm if you're there and tell her Tina sent you. ;-)  You'll be so inspired.  Well I can't make it to Sweden this weekend but looking forward to checking out the new Swedish Country collection in Stoughton, and planning our new kitchen.  It's a start.