First outfit post eva' for MPG

Thanks Mindi for providing me with the inspiration to post my first outfit post ever!  Mindi asked me to help out at her super-awesome, highly-hip interior design/architecture firm which enticed to try to assemble an outfit rather than pulling on my nicely worn 501's.  OK, please don't laugh, but I really don't ever get the chance to do this in my other work, so I thought it was worth it. (And this even though she told me she works in casual attire).  Well my outfit may not be up to snuff (hey, I warned you in my last post about fashion) but the job will be.  I am excited to help out however I can and looking forward to learning a lot.  Check out MPG home design and you'll see what I mean about my gorgeous, creative and very fashionable friend.  Thanks Mindi, you inspire me!

Modern day kurbits

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurbits

The kurbits is an invented, fantastical symbol of vegetal fertility based on a gourd or pumpkin of biblical legend, principally used for ornamentation in Swedish folk art and on painted furniture and domestic objects. Very popular between 1720 and 1870, particularly in Dalarna and southern Norrland, the paintings and murals have mostly biblical motifs, such as "The Triumphant Entrance of The Queens of Sheba to Jerusalem", and the people and buildings depicted are as locally fashionable at the time of painting. They were done by itinerant painters, mainly from Dalarna, who specialized in the style and whose signatures are to be found in many localities.Today it is still used for decorating tourist memorabilia from Dalarna.

Do you love kurbits?  I do. It is such a beautiful folkloric element to Scandinavian decor from the early 1800's.  I associate it with the farm, nature and rich color.  I will be painting my new-old leather clogs with a kurbits style I think.  I bought them on ebay and I am so excited to experiment!  Just need to get me some new leather paints and should be good to go.  It's either that or portraits of the kids.  What do you think?  Also, here's a great blog by a very talented craftsperson & designer.  Frida is quite an inspiration and even though her blog is in Swedish I think you'll enjoy the gorgeous ideas, and her new take on Swedish crafts http://www.kurbits.nu/.  Frida just added these thoughtful words:

I would say that kurbits in general in Sweden today is patterns associated today with skillful handicraft, based on proud traditions and a long history of decorating. Without the development of kurbits and similar folk art patterns, the Scandinavian design and ways of skillfully master craft, design and handicraft today would not be as vivid and well spread in Sweden,and boldly said, out in the rest of the world. The strength with kurbits lays in the roots of the people  and that is something we all can acknowledge and recognize here. We have a long history of decorating, teaching ourselves making, and making for survival in our past, today we are making for the joy of it, for the fulfillment of doing. But in all I think our history reminds us whenever we are sitting there creating, and that's why kurbits and other traces of history is so popular today. 

hejhej,

/frida

Kurbits.  

You won Melodifestival!

Yohio

Well OK, maybe not you but Robin Stjernberg did with his song "You" beating the cross dressing Yohio by 30 points today, winning 166 to 133 at the Swedish Melodi festival final.  Yohio does something called Visual Kei, a subset of Japanese rock where they wear androgenous clothing.  (David Bowie inspired?)  Yohio looks full out like a girl but plays guitar like Jimi Hendrix so although technically Robin won with "You", I think we'll hear more from Yohio in the future.  Check out this link for the whole scoop and music videos from the two singers.  You go!
Swedish melodifestival winner

gunpowder and women

"Med krut och kvinnor ska man umgås varsamt." - Danish saying.  

It means something like "One should be extra cautious with gunpowder and women." Just thought it was funny.  Have a Happy International Women's Day!  We can do it all.

Rosa Ljung: mid-century sculptress

Today's item from my blossoming "Nordic Niche" collection is this very cool vase.  It was designed by Rosa Ljung, who lived and worked in Helsingborg, Sweden.  She was born January 28, 1917 and worked at Torekovs Keramik AB, and Deco in Helsingbord from 1967-1973.  Her work is highly admired and collected in Sweden.  She died in 1983. I've taken a picture of it in use next to my much beloved copy of D'Aulaire's "Norse Gods and Giants" because the figurine's head reminds me of Freya, the Norse goddess of love and fertility. Here's another picture below. Jonathan Adler (born 1966 in NJ, USA) has something similar on his table in the book "The Iconic Interior: Private Spaces of Leading Artists, Architects and Designers" by Dominic Bradbury.  Turns out he's a trained ceramist and that the pieces which look like two heads on the table (see below) are his design. (I did not know that.)  He does make beautiful things. http://www.jonathanadler.com/. All artists are influenced by others and it seems he was greatly influenced by  mid-century Scandinavian design.  Cool huh?

more mead!

I had such an interesting weekend meeting Medieval swordsmen, checking out studio spaces and houses, and playing "fishy, fishy cross my ocean!"  I definitely have a mile wide curious streak - to me there's nothing better than learning something new, meeting weird people or poking around other people's places.  Hubby and I are researching the housing stock in our local town to see if we can get more space to stretch out.  So fun to see how folks decorate and design their homes!  I also am trying to find a space for my business, Nordic Niche.  There's a range of choices everything from a real retail store to working from home with variations in-between such as consignment space, art gallery with split, studio with small retail space, and even a big old open mill with broads-men in the basement (sword fighting school.)  Oh the Viking in me loved that one!  Speaking of which, turns out they sell mead in Londonderry, NH.  I am intrigued.  Skål!

L at the Viking Village in 2009

fa-fa-fa-fashion

my messy closet

So I, like many women I know, love fashion.  What does that actually mean these days in the time of motherhood, frugality and teaching?  Well it basically means that I love fashion on the inside, but that it doesn't very often show on the outside.  I like looking good but often if I match my socks, and my clothes are clean, I find that I'm doing good.

That said there are some things that I do on a pretty regular basis: cleaning out my closet (helpful link here http://modern-eve.com/life/mindful-consumption/wardrobe-editing/); vintage shopping; and sometimes even sewing.  (tulip skirt tutorial to follow.)  I've been trying to develop a cool style but unfortunately for me my favorite store is in Sweden.   See Lindex where the clothes are cute, fit me well and have nice bi-annual sales.  Come to America please Lindex!

Would I like to have a body that looks good in anything that I throw on?  Yes!  Or  boatload of money so that I could buy fab fashions right off the runway?  Yes!  But for now I try to make do sneaking peeks at style blogs, my fashionable friends, and getting inspired every time I go home to stylish Sweden where the women really make an effort, every day, to look good. Interesting article here: Swedish style.  What about you, what's your style?  And what do you think is fashionable now?