Smålands Skinnmanufaktur is a furniture and home accessories design studio that’s based in Sweden. Their style is characteristically Scandinavian. Minimal and environmentally-friendly products have put them on the first page of many blogs lately and they clearly deserve that spot.























Emily Laye

Every product from Smålands Skinnmanufaktur is made by hand with leather from the only environmentally certified tanner, Tärnsjö Garveri–in natural gray and chromium-free. They are lasting and classic, a true statement for everyone's home.

Erik Lefvander

If you are a Scandinavian style enthusiast, you have probably already heard of Swedish Interior Design pioneer, Louise Liljencrantz. With a good eye for elegance and style, Louise is able to combine the subdued essence of minimalism with rich materials, full colors and character-filled objects.

So, it’s to no one’s surprise that her private home would be aesthetically pleasing–bordering a piece of art. Remaining true to her style, Louise managed to create a statement with her classic-meets-modern approach: Light grey walls, high ceilings, moldings, beautiful timber floors and an impressive collection of artwork, ranging from paintings to statement pieces of furniture.

Each element in this home seems to play a key role in the play with light and the effortless representation of true decadence and elegance.

I’m particularly in love with her stunning dining room.

Below are some images of Louise’s work... because I simply needed to share.

What do you think of her project?

I don’t know about you... but I’ve been having the hardest time getting into the Holiday mood this time 'round. You can probably tell by the following tweet:

Random lady: "Ah! it smells like Christmas". . . Me: Smiles while thinking, "Really? 'Cause to me it smells a lot like hot, dirty sewage water." #notinthemood

Don’t judge me, it’s stifling down here in my neck of the woods.

The good part is the the internet provides us with an abundance of daily inspiratio –so instead of wallowing in my weather issues or my drops of sweat, I’ve decided to give the spirit a chance and try all (or at least one) of the following things, so me and my little one can move towards some sort of Christmas enjoyment.

If you, like me, are in need of a little... try these:



Maiju Saw

1. No tree, no problem
Instead of racing out the door to get a Christmas tree just so you can get some excitement, try new and more creative avenues. Scavenge some nice branches and make your own tree.





Elisabeth Heier

2. Christmas gifts wrapping theme
Wrapping presents is usually on our list of obligations and there’s very little enjoyment drawn from a chore. Can we agree on that? I personally always pick a theme for my present-wrapping. The fun in this is that there are no rules and you can go the extra mile by personalizing everyone’s present–from wrapping to gift.





Kim Grimshaw & Aimee Twigger

3. Shake things up in the kitchen department
If you’re a regular here, you might have heard about the disaster that I managed to concoct last Christmas while trying to be an overachiever. Clearly, I wasn’t about to repeat my luck this year... so instead, I’ve planned on doing 2-3 things well. By that I mean if I’m going to embark on making, say, Christmas cookies and side dishes, they better knock everyone’s socks off.

Pictured above: Caramelized Shallots with A Chestnut Crumb and Mushroom Shaped Ginger Cookies that will make part of my repertoire. Wild, I know.




4. Make a one-of-a-kind wreath
This is something I have never tried - but earlier this year I got a brass ring and some materials to make my own… and what better way to get into the holiday spirit than with a simple and inexpensive project you can do at home with a ring and some eucalyptus?





Maiju Saw

5. The smell of Christmas in garland shape
A lot of my childhood memories are triggered by smell. Orange and cinnamon are right up there along with pine and mint for my Christmas memories – so yes, it only makes sense to make a garland out of them and hang it right above my bed. I won’t have any excuse to wake up Grinch-ey anymore, will I?

The best part about these projects are not that they will keep you busy or that they will bring you some “holiday feelings”... but that we can do them with our little ones. Extra family time is the goal, because in the end that’s what the Holidays are about.

Do you and your family have any recurrent DIYs for this season? Do share.

Vipp

Vipp is better known for their range of home accessories and minimalist kitchen cabinetry but now they are also a reference in the world of comfort and accommodations. Vipp has been developing a collection of meticulously designed spaces through Denmark, where fans and clients of the brand can experience their products and have a unique experience.

The Vipp Loft is the newest one of all. The apartment was designed by Copenhagen-based architecture firm Studio David Thulstrup, perched at the top of an only printing factory from 1910. The 2-bedroom, 4,000 sf space showcases beautiful exposed beams, natural wood floors–and it’s accented by wonderful pieces of art: Vipp’s products, Tired Man sheepskin armchairs by Flemming Lasson and several pieces by Poul Kjaerholm.












vipp

The place is divided into a mezzanine and a downstairs lounge area. The upstairs is a study and library with a sky bridge that connects to a second secluded bedroom at the peak of the loft space. The space is decorated with Vipp’s first lighting fixtures and furniture, dating back to the 80’s.

Downstairs, we find the living and dining areas, embellished by the kitchen of everyone’s dreams: A Vipp Kitchen. The steel cabinetry collection is showcased in the Vipp Loft by a long, multifunctional island and open shelving system for displaying the company’s classic housewares.

Needless to say, we are all waiting to see what their third (and soon to open) Northern Copenhagen Hotel will look like.

Anna Pirkola

One of the biggest human struggles since the beginning of modern times has been the attempt to achieve a balanced life. We push, pull and try to fit everything in, falsely believing that we can be everywhere and do everything all at once–spreading ourselves thin.

If you were born in the late 80’s like me, you can attest to the revolution of technology. Life as we knew it changed before our eyes . . . suddenly everything went wireless, we no longer needed booth phones to call when away from home, video games were all the rage and all we could hear was that technology was here to make our lives easier.

What started off as something that could ease the pace of our lives, ended up making us feel dissatisfied. It’s made us work harder, longer and feel a constant sense of unfulfillment. It’s like we cannot ever achieve our goals. Technology was supposed to connect us . . . but it’s pulled us away from real life–to the point where we now understand the difference between being “in” and “out of” real life (well, some of us still do).

I used to think that faster was better. Only a year ago I was living my life like a race, doing everything on autopilot and living my entire life logged on, isolated from the real world–incapable of switching off even for the sake of my health or my relationships.



The non-stop mentality is making us sick. In my book 30 Days To Minimal Blogging I explain how my response to anxiety in the past was to do more, to try harder and to never, ever stop hacking at the things that were difficult to deal with. We are tackling our challenges in the wrong way; we are doing more than ever but in that we are getting less and less life out of our days.

Fast living at all times isn’t natural; the bigger, better, stronger philosophy is what brought us fast food–a disconnect with what we put on our plates. It’s made way for big chains, for dehumanizing services, for automating our consumption–without truly making things that once used to be an experience, what they should be.

That’s why after spending my life trapped in the "do-not-stop" and the "boss-everything" mantras, I reached the tipping point and I needed to rewire the way I defined living.

I’ve said this before: that often times the answer to changing a radical point of view is to start with a new radical approach and tweak that. So, my response to my fast-paced life was to make a 180 degree turn and start living slowly. Rethinking my approach to work, to myself, to my family, my relationships and my surroundings. In other words, I started being mindful.

The Slow movement is not just about diminishing the speed at which we do things–it’s about being aware of ourselves and the things outside ourselves, about understanding when the right time is to be slow and when it’s time to be fast–and recognizing the difference at all times.



Certainly, living on the slow side is a challenge in this modern era we live in and it has doubly so been a challenge for me and for my business. We live in times where people feel entitled to a response almost immediately as they send in an email, where everything is urgent and no one can wait. I’ve had to force myself to comply with a daily schedule, to switch off on my weekends, to connect more outside of social media and find gratification in simple things–in cooking a simple meal, in spending 15 minutes in meditation, in having a conversation with my daughter and sitting in the learner’s seat once in a while.

By taking simple actions in our lives, we contribute to everyone’s life–we add significance to the lives of the people we love, we contribute to our communities by buying local, we say no to dehumanizing treatment by making better choices. We re-educate people to wait and at the same time we allow ourselves to be better at what we ourselves do.

It’s imperative for our health and our happiness that we learn to slow down by doing what we can to add more life to our days and we that we collectively start redefining what’s truly good and what it means to be truly stronger.

It is time for all of us to remember that slow can also be a good thing.