Swedish Design

 

For decades - starting in the 1990s - I have been buying my clothes from the Swedish company Gudrun Sjõdén. Their clothes are all made of natural fibers, often sustainably sourced, many of them in floral patterns and beautiful colors - and they are of very good quality. The designs are created by the woman who gave the company its name, and they are not following any fashion trends. The clothes are bold and need a certain confidence to be worn. Many of them I have had for years.

Most of their stores are actually NOT in Sweden, but in Germany - 11 of them. Compare that to 3 in Sweden, and 1 in Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, London and New York each. During my last trip to Germany, I was very lucky to be in two cities with Gudrun stores - Munich and Freiburg.

Their stores are pure eye candy - it's almost like art. Beside clothes they also sell beautiful homeware like tablecloths and mugs.

Fortunately for me they do most of their business online. Receiving their catalogs is always a bit of a feast because these catalogs are extremely well done. No glossy paper, but beautiful photography.

I regularly use the catalogs for collage papers and inspiration.

I want to paint these beautiful ladies -

Aren't these Scandinavian houses and doors pretty? And what about those notebooks that adorn a corner of a page in the catalog?

There is so much inspiration that I think this deserves a linkup to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date. It's worthwhile to check out all the other posts.

A couple weeks ago my neighbor brought me some plums from her garden. I considered what to do with them and went on a search for a good recipe for a pie. I found this recipe for a plum clafoutis, tried it - and we liked it very much!