J. Lindeberg Concept Store

J. Lindeberg Concept Store

J. Lindeberg is one of Sweden's best known fashion labels and one of my personal favorites. They brilliantly combine fashion and sportswear along with Swedish sensibilities and design. The label contains (besides sportswear separates) shoes, outerwear, jeans, suits, accessories and more. I have always liked their clean lines, high quality, sporty design and great colors.

There are a few J.Lindeberg boutiques in Stockholm, including the flagship store in the fashion district of Bibliotekstan and in the department stores NK and Åhlens City. However, if you are staying at the Hotel Rival, you don't have to go far to shop for J. Lindeberg fashion. We have a J. Lindeberg Concept Store just around the corner from the hotel. Located just next to the pedestrian street Götgatan, it takes about 7-8 minutes to walk there. On Götgatan you also have quite a few stores, so you can easily spend the afternoon doing a round of shopping.

Recently renovated, the store has a beautiful, clean design which shows off the clothes wonderfully. I had a nice chat with Rebin, the boutique manager, who explained how the store focuses on world class service with many modern finesses. Retail meets the future! The store also hosts private and public events. If you see a Swede walking around looking effortlessly fashionable, chances are they are wearing J. Lindeberg. Stop by the Concept Store and soak up some Swedish fashion.

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New Exhibition At Abba The Museum!

New Exhibition At Abba The Museum!

Did you know that there is a museum in Stockholm dedicated to the Swedish pop music legends ABBA? Of course there is! Not only were they extremely successful together as a band, creating some of the most popular and loved pop songs on the planet, they also have had solo careers, produced plays, musicals, movies and more. And, no visit to Stockholm is really complete without a visit to ABBA the Museum. Their tagline is "walk in, dance out" and it is pretty fitting! The museum is lots of fun and very interactive... giving you the opportunity to record songs, make videos and try your hand at creating music. All which you get to keep through your entrance ticket (number on the ticket lets you download items from the website).

I was invited earlier this week to see their new temporary exhibition that just opened: Mamma Mia! Behind the Movie Magic. This is an exhibition looking behind the scenes at the making of the movies Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried and many more. In case you happened to have missed these movies, they are musicals, set on a Greek island, with the songs of ABBA as the soundtrack. The exhibition is located in a room you pass through on your way to the main museum. A nice amuse-bouche to get you in the proper ABBA mood.

Fun movies make for a fun exhibition. I would say that the main focus (at least where your eyes are immediately drawn to) is the outfits/costumes worn by the actors. Most are easily recognizable if you have seen the movies... like Streep's dungarees and the flashy, disco outfits worn by the cast in the last scenes of the movies. But along the walls of the room you will find much more... like props from the movies, the jeep, momentos and clips from interviews and the movies themselves.

I am unsure how long they will be having this temporary exhibition, but at least through the summer I imagine. Djurgård Ferry from nearby Gamla Stan. The ferry departs generally every 15 minutes and it takes just 10 minutes to cross the harbor.

the museum is popular and, especially during the summer high season, there can be lines at the entrance to the museum. You can pre purchase the entrance tickets on their website or, if you are staying at Hotel Rival, you can purchase them from my colleagues or myself. This way you can skip the longer line (to buy tickets) at the museum.

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Swedish Interior Design At Svenskt Tenn

Swedish Interior Design At Svenskt Tenn

One of my very first blog posts back in 2010 (I can't believe I have been writing this blog for 9 years now!) was about the Swedish interior design store Svenskt Tenn. As I stopped by the store the other day to pick up some Easter decorations, I got inspired to write an updated article.

Scandinavian design is world famous and I often get asked by hotel guests about the best Swedish/Scandinavian interior design stores in Stockholm. I would say the top of the list would surely be Svenskt Tenn. It is definitely the most well-known. Ironically, the designs at Svenskt Tenn don't follow the stereotypical Swedish design aesthetics (muted colors and minimalistic style). Instead you will often find many bold and beautiful patterns & colors at Svenskt Tenn.

Svenskt Tenn was founded way back in 1924 and success came quickly. Within just a few years, they were awarded a royal warrant and had their designs shown at a world fair in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Svenkst Tenn has been located at the same address on the beautiful Strandvägen boulevard since 1927. The store entered a new chapter in the 1930's when they started collaborating with the architect and designer Josef Frank. To this day, his beautiful textile designs are one of the staple products at Svenskt Tenn.

You can find just about anything you need for your home at Svenskt Tenn... from furniture to wallpaper to cutlery to lamps. They have even expanded into fashion design and have bags, jewelry and scarves. While this is definitely a store on the higher end of the price scale, it is still affordable. It is also a great store to just browse in and get inspired. If the shopping or browsing gets you hungry, they have a tea room on the second floor where they serve lunch and afternoon tea daily.

In 1975, the owner, Estrid Ericson, sold the company to the Kjell and Märta Beijer Foundation. The foundation still runs Svenskt Tenn today and any surplus generated by the company is used to support Swedish scientific research, providing research grants in the fields of ecology, medicine and the preservation of Swedish interior design traditions. Hopefully, this will make any shopping splurges at the store feel more justified when the credit card bill arrives. The easiest way to get to Svenskt Tenn from the Hotel Rival is by subway... just four stops away on the red line (Östermalmstorg station). Otherwise, it is about a 6-7 minute taxi ride.

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