awesome art by Jangarh Singh Shyam

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Highly acclaimed Indian artist Jangarh Singh Shyam (1962–2001) of the Gond tribe painted in a tribal or so called folk/primitive style. His works have been shown all over the world, and he is included in a current exhibition at Fondation Cartier in Paris, opening May 15 and running until October 21. I am a big fan of folk art, and I really love these beautiful and expressive animals.

Sotheby’s New York showed his works last fall, and you can read more about him here.
His early works show a rare primitive force, his last works show a fabulous graphic mastery. A feeling of intense vibration is the hallmark of his style, the cohesion of his work in constant metamorphosis, which reveals both the animist culture of the Gonds tribe, where he is originally from, and one of the foundations of Indian thought.

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All paintings are copyrighted to the artist Jangarh Singh Shyam.

japanese perfection

Going to Old Town in Stockholm this weekend with out visiting friend from Durban, I couldn't help myself going into my favorite store Ljunggrens papper. A bit selfish, I know, but in my defence we'd been standing outside waiting for a long while and were completely frozen and just needed to get inside anywhere. Of course I had to pick up a few things that felt very necessary: a handcarved Indian peacock stamp and some red ink for it. I'm gonna make my own wrapping paper, just wait and see. It'll be gorgeous!



I also got some Muji supplies that morning: drawing paper and some nice colourful pens. I really need to pick up my drawing again, and I hope this will get me going.



Ljunggrens papper has got one of the best selections of Japanese washi paper in Stockholm, so I had to get two new sheets. This red with cherry blossoms also has some gold tones in it that you can't really see here. It's so beautiful.



This sheet was the first I decided on though, it's lovely! I wish I had a dress in this pattern, it'd be the prettiest dress ever.



I almost run out of all my paper string wrapping all my christmas gifts, so I got some more of that too.



Close-up on the awesome peacock that I'm gonna do some pretty stuff with. Am trying not to plan anything special for Saturday, and at least spend a few hours playing with all my new creative things. It'll be great!

candid candles

There isn't really that much you can do about the darkness this time of year, just stay inside as much as possible and surround yourself with pretty lights. I have yet to get this electric candlestick from storage, I don't want to be the first in the neighbourhood to get it up. But as soon as someone lights one I'll be sure to follow. The candlestick (not sure about the proper English word for it) is a vintage find from last year. I found it in a charity shop for 200 kronor, which is a good price for a working 60's teak electric candlestick, and I just love the design. I've never wanted one of these before, cos I've never found one that I liked the design of, so I was quite pleased finding this. Next Sunday is the first in Advent, and by then all windows in Sweden will be packed with different kinds of lights.



We went to an Indian christmas market today, at my favorite theatre (Södra teatern). It's a part of the current Indian festival, that I haven't experienced that much from so far. Hosting 5 stalls in total I would say that calling it a market maybe was a bit misleading, and some of the prices were quite shocking. Knowing what lovely punjabis and scarves I can get in Durban, I wasn't gonna spend 1.200 kronor (about the same in rand) on just a punjabi top! I wanted to ask the sales guy if he was joking, but I didn't. We bought some Indian snacks instead, and went back home.

I now need to try on and try to decide on what to wear for an award party I'm going for tomorrow night. It's nothing too fancy really, but always nice to get a bit more dressed up when given the opportunity.

let there be light

During the short precious summer months up north, there's hardly any need of lamps at home since the sun just sets for a few hours when you're usually asleep anyway. Come autumn, it's the complete opposite, and it's important to have comforting lighting around you, in my opinion. I'm a true housecat, in the sense that I love staying at home simply because I really love my home. Or homes, as it happens nowadays. Some might think that's boring, I don't care really. Each to their own. This beautiful 50's lamp has been in my family since the 50's, and was originally in my great grandmother Agnes' home. I love it to bits, and am so glad it's survived time and a lot of moves so well. Also, you can see parts of my dress collection hiding in the dusk behind it ...



As I've mentioned before I'm not a big fan of ceiling lamps, but that doesn't mean I don't hang them up. I just don't turn on the light. This gorgeous turquoise Chinese silk lamp was an investment after I redid my living room. It sort of hovers in the ceiling like a cloud.



A Chinese lantern from India? At least from Indiska. I think it's completely perfect on it's own, so I've never bothered to put a lamp in it. It used to hang over my bed, but I like it more now hanging in the window, where I can see it better.



Another investment when I redid the living room, which was maybe five years ago now. I had a similar flea market find lamp before, that unfortunately broke in a move, so when I found this teak floor lamp in a vintage store I got it. I love the warm light it throws. I got a 60's teak desk at the same time in that place, and since the store was brand new the supernice lady who ran it also gave me a vintage skirt for free because I bought two other things, and delivered everything to my flat for free. My kind of deal.



Many years ago I saw this red beauty in a lamp shop when I walked by with my one of my brothers. I stopped and admired it, and a few weeks later I got it for my birthday. At that time it was one of the first Chinese red things I had, maybe a subconscious beginning of a collection? Anyway, both my grown up brothers are great gift givers, it runs in the family, it's not for nothing I was appointed gift master at one of my best friend's wedding. Not that I wanna brag or anything, I'm just saying.



An actual Indian lamp from Indiska. At least an Indian lamp shade. Last autumn I got a queen size bed, fit for a married couple, and a new bed aquires a new bedside lamp, obviously. Behind it is the official wedding photo of said married couple.



I love Chinese lanterns, did I mention that before? No, I never! This is probably one of my favorite buys ever, I love this line of lanterns so incredibly much! When I found it in the Chinese shop in Copenhagen that I always go to, maybe 5-6 years ago, I almost had a heart attack cos I got so excited. I think the guy in the shop thought I was a bit weird. Walking back to my friend's apartment where I was staying it was very stormy, and I was so scared I'd drop my bag and it would fly off. So I held on to that bag so tight I had to bend my fist open once I got inside. Going back to Stockholm on the train, I carefully kept the bag between my legs the whole trip. It's been decorating my wall ever since, and for very festive occasions I even turn on the fairy lights inside the lanterns, it's the prettiest thing you ever saw.



On the top shelf of my little teak book case resides a tiny crooked uglycute lamp that I got at a flea market for 10 kronor (abt. 10 rands). I couldn't resist it. Just as I can't make myself throw out the basically dead ivys either. Some things are just harder than others, and even dead ivys are ivys.



Next chapter in this exciting series: fairy lights. Until then, me and my Japanese girlfriends bid you adieu and good night.

But first we'd like to remind you all about the current giveaway, open until Sunday night. All you have to do is become a follower and post a comment, and you can get a beautiful necklace made by Daniela Sigurd for that tiny effort. Check out further details here.

more gothenburg goodies

One of the new stores I found during my Gothenburg visit was an Indian one on Kungsgatan, quite close to Järntorget. We just wanted to pop in to check it out, but ended up spending both plenty of time and money there because the shop owner was so friendly and it turned out to be packed with lovely things! If you're at all into Indian interior design items such as pillow cases, curtains, bedspreads, etcetera, this is definitely the place for you. It's more expensive than for example Indiska, but the quailty and selection is way better, and compared to other Indian interior design stores in Stockholm the prices are very reasonable. The nice shop owner very patiently let us try about 10 pairs of earrings each before finally choosing one pair each, and just as I was about to pay for them I spotted this little Ganesh figurine behind the counter. It's made of beautifully handpainted brass, and since Ganesh is me and my husband's special protective god (we were told at our temple wedding), I thought maybe it would be a good thing to get it. My motive wasn't religious though, maybe I should point that out, I just wanted a pretty figurine in our home! But if I by doing that am pleasing the gods, so be it, I guess.



These were the earrings I finally decided to get, very pretty silver ones with turquiose stones. They weren't cheap, 269 kronor, but for real silver and Indian design it's not too bad actually. And I've already used them quite a lot, I really love them! And love is always an investment, right? Or at least a good excuse to shop ...



I did also compensate these slightly more expensive buys, with two ridiculously cheap ones: this lovely little Chinese vase I paid 5 kronor for! Hardly a Ming Dynasty vase or something, but small and pretty and easy to place. And Chinese, of course, which is reason enough for me to spend money on it.



The only problem is that I can't decide which side is the prettiest! So I think I'm gonna have to turn it around once a week, just to get both. Had there been two of them, I probably would have splashed out another 5 kronor to get around that delicate problem.



This was the other big investment: two Hello Kitty plastic toys that I bought from two little girls selling their things at a market. They were a whopping 3 kronor each! Even though I do like Hello Kitty, I'm not a collector and will probably pass these on to someone who will appreciate them more.



A very nice vintage store that we found wandering around Olivedal was Popitop, where I saw some vintage buttons I couldn't resist. Digging around a little box of them I first decided on some, then went back for seconds and thirds and so on, until I decided that I had picked out all the pretty ones. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I do believe I need them for future projects. Like these little red cherry ones!



White ornate cuties and turquiose shiny gems! Not that many of these kinds though, but I'll find the perfect way to use them to show them off the best.



Small red lovely flower buttons! These were the ones I decided on first, and I just love them. Since I bought so many I got a bit of a discount and ended up spending 130 kronor on buttons. Not exactly flea market prices, but good enough vintage ones I guess. I'm happy anyway, and can't wait to use them.

best bargain dress of the summer

This is the amazing antique shop in Ystad I've talked about before, Hemlängtan (Homesickness). I really wanted to take some pictures inside too, but it was pretty crowded when I was there so that didn't go according to plan. I meant to go back at another time, but never got around to it. Oh, well, I'll do it next time. Since it was so busy (which is a good thing for the owners of course!), I didn't really stay that long to check things out either, hence didn't buy anything. I did also feel like I shouldn't buy anymore brooches for a while, at least not until I've used all of the ones I already have, twice. When I have done so, Hemlängtan is definitely the place to go to find some more.



I felt quite excited going down to the Saturday market on one of the town squares in Ystad. It took a bit of an effort to find any potentials, but I quite like the hunt. It's a bit more excruciating though, when it's just regular people selling their old stuff really, and some of them clearly had no idea how to price things (which meant overpricing like crazy). When I say excruciating I mean it can feel a bit embarrassing sometimes, when the things people are selling are just junk, and I just look at the table for 5 seconds. That's why I try to walk up to tables when someone else is going too ... Anyways, I spotted a corner of this lovely fabric on a clothes hanger, and as I pulled it out to find it was a lovely dress my heart started to race!



This elderly very nice lady told me it used to belong to a friend of hers, and that I could get it for 40 kronor. My heart raced even more! I didn't really want to try it on in the middle of the town square, but thought it would fit fairly well, and for that price it didn't really matter that much.



It turned out to fit me perfectly and I couldn't be happier with it, I think it's incredibly pretty! I have no idea when it's from, it's got 40's lines I think, but I doubt elastic waistbands were that common back then (which I could be wrong about too though). It's only got a little tag saying the fabric is polyester and cotton, which would be a giveaway it's maybe 70's, early 80's? Nevermind, it's gorgeous!



From a very talkative and persuasive German woman I also bought an Indian old bracelet at the market. It didn't fit me very well, and I doubt it's real silver, but the parts are really nice and I thought I might take it apart and do something else with them. Not sure what though. Any ideas? I love the elephants and little stars.



What I liked the most with the bracelet was the hamsa hand though, that hangs loose on a little chain. It's got such an intricate design for such a small piece of jewellery. I paid 25 kronor for it, and even if I only make a necklace with the hamsa hand I think it's worth it.



Just before leaving Ystad, I got this lovely piece of red and white gingham fabric from my dad's wife: perfection! Not sure what it'll be enough for, but if nothing else I'll use it as a table cloth, which is plenty. It might make a vest, or short sleeved blouse, maybe using some vintage buttons I got in Gothenburg. Oh, that would be even more perfection!



This iron cast reptile I simply could not resist when I found it, for 69 kronor. So cute! And in all honesty, I didn't get any lizards for quite a long time now, unless I'm mistaking. I've mostly been owl crazy, and I certainly don't want the lizzies to feel left out from my life. That would just be plain rude.

big reveal pt. 2

I didn't plan to put the bed in the middle of the room like this, but after my brother moved it in order to put up the shelves this weekend, I realised it actually looked really good like this. And if I get tired of it later, it's not exactly difficult to put it against the wall instead. The turquoise Indian bedspread is a table cloth from Indiska, that I just got for the bargain price of 69 kronor, cos the teller made a mistake and I didn't notice it until it was too late. Well, sort of anyway ...



Red silk Indian and Chinese rose cushion covers are old ones from Indiska, and wool embroidered cushion cover from my grandmother, probably from the 50's or 60's.



My old rocking chair, that I got at the Salvation army years ago for 600 kronor, doesn't really fit that well in that place, but I'll keep it there for now anyway. Since my cat has used her claws on it quite frequently, I've tried to hid the worst with a black table cloth kind of thing from Åhléns. They're made of felt, and cut out in lace-like patterns, and they seem to be very popular at the moment, cos I've seen them in a lot of stores. They're also quite cheap, and I quite like them.



The teak 60's bar when it's closed. Most things on the shelves are from my grandmother, and it looks a bit too static right now, like it's in a store, so I need to do some rearranging somehow. Or mix it up a bit with books or something. Will show close-ups some other time.



Open bar! It's got a lamp too, very cool indeed. I remember that I used to love this cabinet so much when I was little visiting my grandmother and grandfather, cos in my eyes it was something quite magical about how it opened and revealed so many hidden things inside.



Pretty much everything inside the bar cabinet is also from my grandmother, so many lovely items! I love looking at them. Now I need to start throwing some more serious dinner parties, or maybe ladies tea parties or something, so I can use it all.



The little crystal ice bucket is one of my favorite items, and I really need to have a drink party soon so I can use it. I need to get some tongs first though, and a proper shaker. The Lagavulin is unfortunately finished, it's one of my fave whiskys, but the Laphroigh is not. Very hot summer nights don't really seem like the best backdrop to whisky though, unless I'd learn how to make a chilled mint julep. Mostly just cos I love the name mint julep.



Here's the wonderful surprise with the desk I was hinting about the other day. It's also a vanity chest! As you can see I haven't decided what to put in there yet, it needs some careful consideration I think. And I've got enough of pretty things for sure, now I just need to choose.

kitschy colours will make my day

Today Stockholm reminded me of a lot of things I had forgotten. Mainly how incredibly beautiful parts of it are, and that some of those parts are just a five minute walk from my house. I've got a plan, or a project, not only for my apartment, but also for me this summer. Most of that plan involves long walks along the water, sucking out the essence of the short warm season we've got up here. This morning I took the first long walk, and it was quite inspirational.



I saw a lot of flowers, and trees, and plants. And bumblebees. Very idyllic indeed. The idyll was interrupted on a regular basis though, when people with way too little, or just the wrong clothes were jogging past. Why can't people just get clothes that look normal and fit them, in general, but particularly when they're out running? All the more reason for me to look at the surroundings. Picture above is a detail from a small Indian poster my brother gave me a few years ago. I was on a rose hunt in my apartment earlier, inspired of all the nature I saw outside.



Here's a close-up on a very cute apron from Coctail, one of my all time favorite stores in Stockholm, on Skånegatan. There was a time when it was one of few things that had a real therapeutic effect on me. Just going into the store, being immediately surrounded by fairylights, plastic roses, mexican candy skulls, rubber neon lizards, handpainted enamel plates, and other wonderfully tacky and equally beautiful kitsch in mostly very strong colours, well it just lifted my spirit from whatever hole it had sunk into. We've all got our comfort zones, mine is kitsch heaven. I guess that's why I surround myself with a lot of it in my home, cos they help to keep me in a good mood.



After quite a few years of adding up to a fair amount of colourful kitschy items carefully placed around my place (soon to be our place as soon as my husband gets here of course), I've actually reached a point when enough's enough. A point I don't really see being reached when it comes to my vintage dress collection. Anyway, this is a tote bag a friend of mine got me after having admired hers so much. I just love it!



Especially in the morning it's important to wake up properly, and pretty red and pink plastic placemats can help a little bit. These are from Åhléns. I get new placemats quite regularly, it's such an easy and rather cheap way of giving your kitchen a mini-make-over.



I gave my kitchen a more complete make-over maybe 6 years ago, except that it didn't involve any painting. It started with me buying two extra chairs at IKEA, cos I only had two, and they were turquoise. Back then most of my kitchen was green, and not the kind of green that really went well with turquoise, so I started to exchange most things during a period of time. The two chairs I had from the start, were given to me from a friend of a friend who was moving, and I wanted to change the seats. So once again I went to Coctail and found this lovely Chinese rose and peonese fabric for the chairs.



Some time later Indiska had this supercute pillow case, and needless to say I just had to have it. I've said it before, and I'll repeat myself: I've got a serious thing for the combination of red, pink and turquoise, especially when it involves roses and peoneses.



If I remember correctly, this lovely vintage rose tin was a find from my hometown some summers ago. There's a flea market down in the harbour sometimes, and I found this and an amazing book I need to look for in the basement and share here. It's really quite incredible, you have to believe me until you can see for yourselves.



More Chinese roses and peoneses on a little box that I keep old photographs in. I've been meaning to sort them out for ages now, both picking out the good ones and putting them in albums, and throwing out the bad ones, and there are quite a lot of them. It would also be fun to scan a bunch of them, now that everything must be so digital all the time. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course. But for now the photos will stay safe in the box for a while longer.



Finally another buy from Indiska, a plastic tray that I've mounted on the wall. It's a bit weird that a lot of the Chinese looking things I've got come from Indiska (meaning Indian in Swedish), don't you think? Well I don't mind where they come from really, as long as they make me smile around my house, giving me injections of very much needed colour and kitschy therapy.