out and about :: stockholm

As you know, I jetted off to snowy Sweden for the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February. I am incredibly lucky in that I get to travel all over the world visiting design fairs, but I’m often so focused on my work that I forget to be grateful for that: to look around me and really enjoy the cities I’m in. One of my resolutions this year was to put that right, so I dragged the lovely Zoe Brewer from My Interior Stylist along with me, and here are some of the things we spotted outside of the fair…

From top to bottom left to right:

• We stayed at the fabulous Scandic Grand Hotel, just a hop skip and a jump from the station and with a hipster-esque vibe akin to the Ace Hotels in London and New York. They even have a special bloggers’ room kitted out with laptop, camera, tripod and everything a blogger could desire, but sadly that was already booked. Our room came complete with Swedish liquorice, a record player and a little sofa area to lounge in, so we were quite happy!
• It was great to see fresh produce from herbs and veggies to bright yellow lemons keeping cool outside food shops – little pops of colour in the snowy street.
• DesignTorget is a great spot for reasonably priced design in an otherwise expensive city – only the European plug fittings stopped me from coming out with armfuls of pendant lights!
• Cacti – and in fact all things green – are clearly a big trend in Sweden. This was one of several shop windows and styled corners I snapped.
• Iris Hantverk is the epitome of the “simple things done well” ethos that permeates Swedish design. Famed for their wooden brushes, it was their yellow and grey stacking storage boxes that caught my eye – and an incredible selection of wool rugs. It was only hand luggage restrictions that stopped me coming out with armfuls of these!
• It snowed almost non-stop the whole time we were in Stockholm, so we had to wrap up warm. I couldn’t resist this shot of the airport as we landed – it perhaps helps explains the all-white colour schemes so beloved of Scandinavian interior designers!
• A must-visit shop on any trip to Stockholm is Svenskt Tenn – Sweden’s answer to London’s Liberty. The colours, patterns and fabrics are to die for, and there’s always something interesting going on.
• Brandstationen (the “fire station”), is an antiques and ‘curated objects’ shop in a 100-year-old fire station in Södermalm, one of my favourite districts of Stockholm. (The cacti above were also spotted here.) There was a rich, warm feel to everything inside that was the perfect counterbalance to the cold outside.
• Cinnamon buns are one of the highlights of any trip to Sweden – paired with a big mug of hot chocolate, of course. I almost packed up and moved to Stockholm on the strengths of my first one!
• More greens and leaves in Svenskt Tenn.
• Copper has been a big trend on the design scene for a while, but it has well and truly hit the high street in Stockholm, as this window display in lighting shop Affaren shows.
• Of course I couldn’t resist the floor numbers in the hotel for my ‘#photosofnumbers’ collection!
• And finally this staircase, spotted en route to Sturehof for dinner with the lovely ladies from Tent London, perfectly encapsulated the idea of ‘glowing moments in the shadows’ that defines so much of Scandinavian design.

I had an absolute ball and highly recommend Stockholm to any design geek – there’s lots to see besides the furniture fair.

Further reading for the especially geeky:

• out and about :: twelve at stockholm furniture fair 2015
• out and about :: ambiente frankfurt
• out and about :: greenhouse, sff15
• out and about :: northmodern

The Stockholm Furniture Fair is one of four shows we’re covering for Issue 2 of Fiera Magazine, so keep your eyes peeled for lots more new design talent – preorder your copy of Issue 2 now.