Sue's purchases and travels

Shop was closed for a couple of days due to snow.  Main roads were okay after one day BUT could not get out of my street nor could I find someone to shovel drive at shop.  But we opened Saturday and were happy top help lots of people find Valentine gifts for their loved ones.  I, despite everything, still love snow and will leave you with more photos from my most recent Swedish trip!

Labels: snow, Sweden, Swedish Antiques, swedish art, swedish gifts

 Dorothy and everyone else we are home!

Labels: klaradal swedish antiques, original art, SAS, Swedish Antiques, swedish art

I grew up in a house filled with art.  We lived in North Jersey (Clark to be precise) and my parents would always take us to the Greenwich Village Art Show each year.  (Maybe even twice a year...it might have been held spring and fall)  We would wander the streets checking out each artists works.  We also would usually visit the Museum of Modern Art.  Over the years our walls were filled with work created by the various artists we met at these shows.   My father did not attend college and my mother had just one year at the University of Pennsylvania so their love of art and their "eye" for art was not something learned but rather innate.  I am so happy they shared and nurtured it with me.
My own house is filled with art.  Some I created myself, some are from a wonderful
 artist, Lila Oliver Asher, (now 92) who lived in our old neighborhood of Chevy Chase, and the rest are from my many trips to Sweden.  Original art is in abundance there...especially art from the 30's and 40's.  I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I go there to find stock for the store and a piece or two for myself.

What's Missing from this photo?  Art!

My husband and I are looking for downsize.  All of the new condos boast open floor plans.  Sounds great and roomy and airy but where are the walls for art?  Windows are great but where do you hang art?  I'll go to an older unit before giving up walls and thus my art collection.  How are artists to sell their works if people haven't the space to display them?  Let's hope the tearing down of the walls is a trend that will fade and allow more space for art.

Lila Oliver Asher Print

Labels: klaradal swedish antiques, klaradal swedish gifts, Lila Oliver Asher, open floor plan, swedish art

Original Andy Warhol Absolut Ad

Today we visited another of Stockholm's new sights:  The Spirits Museum.  It was an interesting place that offered the evolution of the Absolut Bottle, an exhibit of the original art created for Absolut Ads, and some quirky stations that allowed you to "whiff" some of the flavors present in Absolut.  The Museum is located on the water in two 18th century naval buildings and has an outdoor restaurant at which we enjoyed a late lunch.  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our younger cousins who live in a fabulous apartment in Ostermalm just off of Strandvagen.  All of this was preceded by yet more packing...and a little buying in anticipation of leaving Stockholm tomorrow. We will be headed to Amsterdam where we will board a cruise to Norway.

Absolut Prototypes

Labels: absolut, klaradal, spirits museum stockholm, Stockholm, Swedish Antiques, swedish art

Peter and I left last evening for Budd Lake New Jersey to participate in the annual ScanFest held at  Vasa Park.  The "Klaragals" did a great job helping us load half the store (no joke) into a 10 foot trunk for our trip to the Garden State.  We left at 4:30 and almost 6 hours later....finally arrived!  This morning (Saturday) we started set up and I was pleased to see that nothing in the truck had moved....so all will be perfect for our ScanFest customers.  If you are anywhere near this location you should come check out this great event which is held every year on Labor Day Sunday.  There are over 40 "craft"vendors, multiple food vendors, folks in Scandinavian and Viking costumes, Viking ships, three stages of performers and so much more ALL in the setting of a the beautiful Vasa Park.  Come by to celebrate your favorite Scandinavian country, investigate your heritage, buy something beautiful or to simply enjoy all that Scandinavia has to offer without venturing far from home.

Labels: abba, ScanFest. Budd Lake NJ, Swedish Antiques, Swedish Antiques Bethesda, swedish art, swedish crafts, Vasa park

A fabulous (and expensive!) collection of mid-century items.

Just a few of my purchases.

Peter helps David map our route to Dalarna.

Tuesday was the last day for the three of us to be together in Stockholm...Peter had to get back to work and had an early flight on Wednesday.  We spent the morning packing up the purchases we still had at the hotel (we used a cage like cart the size of the elevator for our 4 large boxes, multiple bags, suitcases, and small sewing table)  The "boys" dropped me (I barely fit in the car) off at the auction house to collect our winnings while they went to unit to unload our "inventory".  I was pleased to see that we had won a number of great paintings...including one by Karl Abel a well known Swedish artisit.  Peter and David met me with an empty car and we headed to a few more second hand shops before doing one last run to the storage facility. When I looked at the unit after just a few days of shopping I had a flash back to the movie Jaws "I think we'll need a bigger boat!"   We then headed to a hotel near the airport since Peter needed to be at Arlanda by 6 in the morning! 

Labels: Dalarna, karl Abel, klaradal, mid century swedish porcelain, Midcentury swedish pottery, Swedish Antiques, swedish art

Sunday Flea in Hortorget

Peter and David at Lunch in Stortorget.

If it is a Sunday in Stockholm you will find me at Hortorget at my favorite flea market!  This year we are staying at a hotel that is directly on the square...we've never done that before.  The plan was that I would shop while Peter enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.  They have tables near windows that overlook the square and thus Peter could watch me dart (and buy) from table to table.  We thought he would only need to come down when I accumulated enough for him to make a trip to the room.  Well...the word leisurely does not fit in with Sunday Hortorget!  I hit the ground "shopping" and Peter worked up a sweat doing trip after trip back to our room as my purchases piled up!  It was a great Sunday flea with lots of art and porcelain and silver plate and handicrafts...Oh My!  Later that day....as per David's request...we enjoyed lunch in Old Town and later, dinner too!

Labels: gamla stan, Hortorget, klaradal, Old Town Stockholm, stortorget, Swedish Antiques, swedish art, swedish glass, vintage swedish

Our plane landed in Stockholm at 7am Friday and we arrived at our hotel by 9.  We chose a hotel (this time) located near Hortorget the site of my favorite Sunday flea market and above PUB the oldest department store in Stockholm.  We were not able to check into the hotel until 3 in the afternoon so Peter, David and I took our jeg lagged bodies to the streets of Stockholm for great shopping, snacking and sight seeing.  I hit three favorite second hand shops at which I purchased a few great pieces of art, a traditional snaps bottle, a vintage tomte dish and lots more.  The weather was sunny but cool...to the point that David enjoyed a bowl of hot cocoa in the square of Gamlastan before all three of us trudged back to the hotel, checked in, and collapsed for a 3 hour nap.  We awoke, refreshed, and headed to Grodin (red frog)a favorite restaurant located on Grev Turegatan in Ostemalm.  On our way there we passed two musicians who looked like something out of a photo shoot-tanned skin, chiseled features, fabulous golden hair.  I then realized, as we walked and took our seats for outdoor dining, how incredibly handsome the men of Stockholm are!  Thus my inspiration for the photos from Day one.  The buildings, and flowers are pretty nice too...photos of those will follow in Saturdays blog.

Labels: gamla stan, grodin, klaradal, ostermalm, Stockholm, Swedish Antiques, swedish art, tomtes

Ever since I returned from Sweden I've been battling some sort of bug. I was first treated for strep throat and was starting to feel better but then, 2 days after the antibiotics ended I was sick again and back to the doctor. I'm on a stronger antibiotic now but realized, when I attempted to work at the shop yesterday,that I'm still not out of the woods...but rather am back in bed. My best friend now is....The Sun Egg. The glorious juicy orb from California or Florida. Like that old song about Sugar...."OJ in the morning, OJ in the evening, OJ at suppertime." If only it truly were a sun egg and would provide not just vitamin c but also the ability to brighten my days and health! Wishing all a happy and healthy fourth of July weekend! (By the way...we do sell the Sun Egg Book at Klaradal. It's a sweet story and beautifully illustrated as are all of Beskows books)

Labels: Elsa Beskow, klaradal, Swedish Antiques, swedish art, swedish books, swedish gifts, the sun egg

Yes, tomorrow, one week early as is our custom, we celebrate Midsummer at Klaradal. This year, because of my bout with strept throat, I will be doing most of the orchestrations from the side lines. My Klaragals have jumped in to help and are busy baking, covering the store, doing markdowns and buying supplies while I stay nestled in bed, blogging. The one job that always falls to me and which I won't push on anyone this year is the decoration of the midsummer pole. I can offer this photo from a midsummer we attended in Stockholm at Skansen or suggest you buy one of the little wooden midsummer poles we sell in the shop! But not too fear...What we lack in floral poles we make up in a fabulous selection of art and furniture which has been marked down dramatically in an effort to clear things out. (We need to make room for our next container due in July.) We gladly supply the atmosphere you just have to decide which piece of original Swedish art or furniture you MUST have in your home! We'll help things along with music by costumed fiddlers and a glass of our signature cocktail, the Klaradalitan--or Lingonberry Saft or Cucumber water. Whatever gets you in the midsummer mood!

Labels: midsommer, midsummer, SKANSEN, Sweden gifts, Swedish Antiques, swedish art, swedish oil paintiSweden gifts