Little Scandinavian

Brokiga is a collection of quality products for children, inspired by the characters from the Who?- series. The line consists of clothing and furnishings, bedding and other items for the child’s room.

Stina Wirsen is in collaboration with her mother Carin Wirsen the swedish author of about 40 popular children’s books. The philosophy behind these books is that the small child should be taught skills such as counting and reading in a pleasant way, stimulating the child’s natural curiosity and will to explore. They are expressive and cute without being too cutesy. Happiness, mischievousness, frustration and anger are emotions expressed within this world.

The brand is also very environmental friendly with organic and ecologically sound production. For example the cotton products are made of organic cotton and the prints are produced in Sweden on climate compensated paper.

Brokiga is available online from Sweden at House of Hedda

Photo: Brokiga

This is the toy that served as a model for Theodore´s fine design comprising Leka’s logo. When Evy Westerberg-Lindqvist introduced her product in 1962, the magazine “Family Record” wrote: “The Trojan horse is the model for this fun toy that works both as a stool and the location of blocks and small things.” This is still valid today, but Yngve Eriksson has made sure that the horse received hefty rubber wheels and nice round shapes and made it available in all Leka´s bright colors.
Eriksson designed this little wooden horse with inspiration from his mother-in-law Evy Westerberg Lindqvist’s furniture series for children from the 60’s and 70’s. When Evy passed away Yngve wanted to give new life to the unique products which had once been so popular. The result is this collection which is made almost entirely in Northern Sweden. The collection’s mascot is this Trojan horse.
Perfect for all those bits and bobs, secrets and goodies!

Available online at scandinavianbrandsonline.com Prices from £65

Photo: Malou Barré

The Grow doesn’t compromise practicality or safety to style and looks. We think Brio has taken retro style to a new dimension with this elegant highchair. Engineered by the Swedish design team at Brio, the Grow is the latest product in the Brio range to master the holy trinity of style, practicality and durability at an affordable price. There is details like chrome base to offer stability with padded cushion for comfort. The highchair comes with safety rail and strap to ensure child’s safety, and the safety rail is easily detachable so it’s suitable for children up to 7 years.
There is also food tray available to the Grow.

One review found on MadeforMums

Stylish yet comfy, this highchair has a longer life span than many, lasting up to age 7, and a safety harness to hold mini Houdinis in check!

Brio Grow is available in bright red, black and white. Visit Kidsen for more details.

Photo: Brio

Danish design company Smallstuff make children’s clothing like nightwear, underwear and long sleeved t-shirts. They also make high quality interior, toys and accessories -all for little people.
Smaalstuff have three colour coordinated main lines;

• Classic, soft underwear and nightwear for children aged 0 – 14 years made after the Oeko-Tex Standard 100. With matching accessories.
• Knit and crocheted accessories to the nursery in beautiful colours, that will add that little extra to the bedroom.
• Toys especially made to encourage imaginative play.

Visit their site for inspiration. Soon to be available with English text…



Photo: Smallstuff

Scandinavian furniture doesn’t have to be IKEA or expensive contemporary stuff (even if it’s a lot of that too). SIA Home Fashion are one of the exceptions, that with it’s successful story is worth mentioning. SIA was founded by Sonja Ingegard Andersson in Sweden in 1963. SIA reflects her passion for decoration, her love for nature and her desire to share the pleasure of feeling good at home. She started by making paper flowers and designing printed fabrics that she displayed in her garden for her friends. Since then SIA’s products are sold in more than 45 countries around the world and the collections are very much influenced by European fashion. Though still with a pure and simple Nordic touch.
SIA presents two seasonal collections a year, that are divided into various themes with different styles from classical to modern. The themes are the strength and the originality of SIA and are making SIA very versatile for all types of homes. Beautiful furniture pieces, mirrors and tableware are complimented by quartz glassware, silk flowers and serviettes. And their Kids collection is fantastic. It’s so complex, offering everything from children’s cutlery sets to nursery furniture and accessories. Many pieces making the ideal gift for babies and children.
And even if the Kids collection consist of beautiful painted wooden furniture and high quality toys the prices are still kept at a pleasing level, making SIA affordable compared to many other brands.

All parents (and kind relatives and family friends) will have a lot to choose from when having a little princess or a pirate at home! Have a look at SIA Home Fashion to find a shop near you.



Photo: SIA Home Fashion

This Sunday we decided to go shopping in the afternoon. We went to Marylebone, almost a little village within the central city of London. The high street is filled up with lots of individual shops, with everything from butcher, cheese and fishmonger, delis, to designer shops with children’s clothing, women lingerie and clothing, home and kitchenware and lots more.
We wanted to visit Skandium, a retailer of modern Scandinavian furniture, lighting, kitchenware, and glassware.

If you are into minimal but thoughtful Scandinavian design then you should pay this shop a visit. There is several things on my wish list that would be found in this shop as one thing is for certain, they do have a great selection. A bit pricey, but that’s probably to do with central and spacious location? If you have even a slight crush on the Scandinavian style, you will love Skandium.

I must admit I felt a bit homesick, standing in between shelves filled with gorgeous Nordic design. And as they are having a winter sale on as well with up to 70% off there was lots of temptations in store.

The girls wear happily playing with one of the classic Swedish Stiga Ice Hockey board games when I suddenly discovered the Okidoki Originals a colourful collection with one-off bears and friends.

Okidoki Originals bears are made of hand-dyed high quality wool, which is also used in their clothes and accessories. They are fully or partially jointed, some of them have wire inside arms. All have eyes of glass and are stuffed with wool, sometimes combined with glass pellets so they can stand by themselves. All handmade by the Swedish designer Kajsa Lindstrom. The price suggest that these bears should be kept for the best or probably live a life on the shelf as a collective item. But how cute are they? I do apologise for the poor quality of the pictures taken with my mobile phone, that doesn’t do these guys justice. Because there is something truly special about them. You could really sense their individual personality.

Next time you have the chance to visit Marylebone make sure you have enough time to pop into Skandium to have a look for yourself!

JaBaDaBaDo was founded in Sweden in 1993. Their high quality and contemporary children’s furniture and their exclusive toy range is designed by Eva and Calle based on their own family experiences.

Picture to the lefts shows the Wooden Market Stall By Jabadabado.
With simple bright colours and a strawberry design this eye catching wooden market stall will capture any child imagination. What better way to learn about the food we eat and the value of money whilst developing social skills playing with other children, and last but not least perfect for imaginative play.
Suitable for 3+ years. Available at the Prezzie Place £37.27

For more fun toys and gorgeous children’s furniture visit Jabadabado.se

Photos: Jabadabado

bObles was founded by the two sisters Louise and Bolette Blaedal in Denmark. They emphasise on children’s motor abilities, high quality of the products and that colours and shapes appeals to children’s fantasy and creativity.
bObles designs and manufactures lovely, colorful, useful romping animals in soft and still stable foam plastic. The Tumbling animals are tested especially for children and is free of any toxin or phthalates.
Children can play, sit, surf, roll, swing, lie on it and much more, as there are endless possibilities to create an own world and playground with the bObles animals. And they look great too, as a decorative item for the nursery.
The soft animals are available in several color combinations and have simple geometrical shapes that give a feeling of a specific animal such as an elephant, a fish, a pig or a giraffe.
Picture to the left shows Elna, the Elephant. Elna is lovely, soft, fun, colorful animal furniture but also usable for rolling, jumping, riding, balancing and stacking!
Elna, the Elephant available at Lula Sapphire £80.

Photos: bObles

Amélie started school this September, in reception. And as Beatrice already was at the school and had school dinners we knew it was freshly made on the premises and served warm to the students.
But Amélie can be a bit fuzzy with what she eats. She also needs a lot of time, which they don’t have in school. And then when she always came hungry home from school we decided to send packed lunch with her, just to see if that would suit her better.
In Norway most children would have packed lunch at school. It usually consists of wholemeal or rye bread with cheese, ham or salami. And perhaps a yoghurt as well. The Norwegian schools often provide milk and fruit. Crisps are regarded as “sweets” and is strictly forbidden.
Amélie sometimes feels her packed lunch is a bit boring compared to her lunch buddies who have their lunchboxes filled with croissants, doughnuts etc. So we were thinking it might would help with a bit more fancy lunch box and water bottle.
In Norway there is a company called Blafre Design that makes retro lunchboxes, and they are so cute!
I think Amélie would be more happy with her rye bread with ham and cheese if it came in a box like this


Photo: Blafre Design

When I grew up I had my own Tripp Trapp. In fact almost everybody I knew had one. The Scandinavian Dad too. And since the Tripp Trapp is of such good quality his red Tripp Trapp is still standing by the kitchen table at his parents house. Only now it’s adjusted to fit the girls, whenever we are visiting.
Beatrice got her first Tripp Trapp as a gift when she was born. Then with Amélie came our second Tripp Trapp. Both girls use their Tripp Trapp’s every day, eating breakfast, doing their homework or having a family meal with us. If we have a young visitor it takes us just a few minutes to adjust the chair to our guest height.
And for those stubborn two and three year old that doesn’t want to sit in any baby chair any longer, can simply be shown that this is not only a baby chair, but can easily be adjusted in to a proper grown up chair as well. And that’s the end of that discussion.

Picture above shows Amélie sitting comfortably and very proud in her Tripp Trapp (accessorized with a stripy Tripp Trapp cushion) for the very first time, in 2005. (more…)

Brighten your child’s room with this funky, fun table from Swedish label Micki. It has a storage compartment below and is on wheels for easy moving. Finished with a cute hedgehog print on the top.
Table made from wood with a plastic storage box, complete with four wheels. Diameter 78 cm, height 49 cm. Currently on offer at Igloo for £72
Get a couple of matching chairs so your little ones can have hours of fun with their friends!
Chairs are sold separately, also on offer for £29 each.
Hurry up as there are only a few left.

Photo: Igloo

Born in 2005 and known from a Norwegian TV show “the Creator” in February 2009, Pram Pack has experienced a huge success within Scandinavia, and are now ready to fly in to Europe.
PramPack is a padded bag for prams and pushchairs that provides optimal protection during transportation. PramPack gives travelling parents the possibility to experience the world without having to worry about that the pram would arrive at the airport in one piece -or ten!
PramPack robust and rib reinforced wheeled bag for the protection of prams during air transport. PramPack comes in one size and fits all, from small three wheeler to large duos.
Both Norwegian and Scandinavian Airlines are recognizing PramPack as a hard suitcase. Norwegian would even refund any possibly damage on the pram if the pram is wrapped in a PramPack.
(more…)

As the days get’s shorter and the temperature is sinking it’s nice to make it extra cozy and add some warm colours to your little one’s bedroom. What about this bright rug from danish label Hay?

And if you are fortunate enough to have totally recovered from recession, this classic soapbox cart from Normann Copenhagen might be something to consider

Visit Moleta Munro’s online shop or give them a call!