Västergötland

Happy Friday!

This week has brought road trips, inspiration, the second moose spotting  I’ve ever seen, a night in a little red house, design, gardening, vintage, wall paper and friendship.

come along …. 

Sophia, Hilda’s Hem, organized an inspirational visit to her area of Sweden called, Västergötland, for a group of creatives I know and enjoy. Västergötland is about a 5 hour car ride south of Stockholm heading to Goteborg. I’ve never traveled here before and it was truly a pearl. Sophie made sure of this.

We traveled through the charming town of Grännas and started with coffee, streets lined with sugar coloured houses, sunshine and filled two days to the max.

We visited Boråstapeter, experiencing everything from paint mixing to printing and then ended with some wonderful moments in the design department of this 110 year old Wallpaper Co. The chance to speak with the designers, Ulrica Hurtig och Sissa Sundling, was particularly interesting getting sneak peaks of their gauche work, design process, archives and bringing home samples (like this jewel) 

“Vitsippor” come up daily in conversations this time of the year and it’s no wonder when you see places like a park that we visited, Vitsoppor Parken. They lay in blankets.

“Hilda’s Hem” …  with Sophia.

Before visiting Sophie, I knew I wanted to hear more about her gardening. She grows so much of her food herself and has real magic in her fingertips and imagination.  If I could have a garden like this! I hope a bit rubbed off. I definitely left inspired and with plans!

I’ve long been in love with images she shares of her beautiful green houses and in person, they’re even more beautiful.  Her house is filled with light, an artist touch and a beaming warmth. A night and dinner as her guest is something one remembers. Pushing away from the table, we moved on to our “little red houses” which were nearby along the edge of the forest in a teeny village called Ersta. Two moose greeted us along, with a bike rider, who was a bit weary of the moose and on the look out for the local wild boar which are abundant in this area of Sweden!

I can’t say enough about the hospitably, attention, and breakfast we found at Kaffekoppen i Sollebrunn before heading on a retro travel and almost time travel to Nossebro.

Nossebro , a newly village is known for being a retro road. Here, we found vintage, an electrical store that had been open in 1905 but closed in 1969. Its doors were closed and every single item left behind making it like travels to another time. The lamps were unbelievable! We continued this 60’s walk into an apartment in the town that was also kept intact from the 60’s.  I overheard many there feeling like they had found misplaced items from their childhoods or places they had visited. Incredibly fascinating and bringing Swedish 60’s vintage full circle for me.