Scan Magazine | Issue 66 | July 2014

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LARS MIKKELSEN – A PROUDLY DANISH RISING STAR MADE IN SCANDINAVIA – THE BEST OF NORDIC INVENTIONS FINNISH GAMES: FROM ANGRY BIRDS TO THE DUDESONS

PROMOTING BRAND SCANDINAVIA

ISSUE 66

JULY 2014

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Enabling real

achievement Mannaz is an international frontrunner in customised executive and project leadership development. Adopting innovative and efficient learning methods, we empower people development and business success.

With offices in Copenhagen, London and Hong Kong and an international network of over 375 associated facilitators we have global reach.

You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter M Knowledge and learn more at www.mannaz.com/intl

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Scan Magazine | Contents

Contents COVER FEATURE 8

8 50

Lars Mikkelsen – a proudly Danish rising star Lars Mikkelsen was in a cantina when he had an epiphany that led to him leaving university, becoming a street performer, and eventually taking up acting. The Danish rising star talks to Scan Magazine about growing up in a rough Copenhagen suburb, loving British detective dramas, having a successful brother, and starring in Nordic Noir successes The Killing and Borgen.

aplenty, and you will begin to understand the secret behind Norway’s technology and innovation profile. We spoke to the jewellers and branding agencies that carry the reputation forward into the future.

64

Finnish gaming special A small country, Finland lacks any significant domestic gaming market, resulting in an eco system of a tightly-knit developer community of world class. Companies such as Rovio Entertainment and institutions including the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences lead the way in a boundary-breaking, solutions-focused field of fun.

76

Not-to-miss Danish summer experiences No word of a lie: we had so much fun exploring Danish summer highlights for our June issue that we simply had to keep going. Behold another handful of havens of hyggelig relaxation and fun.

91

Nesting, Swedish style Our business columnists Annika Åman-Goodwille and Helena Whitmore share their views on instant success and the complexities of giving for international families, while we meet the founders of Bygga Bo, an east London venture that is all about creating a home.

DESIGN 14

Design collectables In addition to a Midsummer moodboard and an ode to deep marine, this month’s design section presents a Danish jewellery design brand that makes timeless quality pieces to be collected and combined into a personal, one-of-a-kind look.

SPECIAL FEATURES 15

Memories – and brands – that last Between Hotel Korpilampi and Copenhagen Designer Outlet, our features section this month caters to two very different culture vultures: those who love the pure outdoors and those who prefer discounted fashion brands in state-ofthe-art surroundings. Readers about to make a decision about a future path, read instead about Vejle Sports Academy – a playground for life practice.

SPECIAL THEMES 20

Made in Sweden Sweden is a success story with an innovative edge, if you want to believe Minister for Trade, Ewa Björling. From a nostalgic new IKEA collection to quality knitwear and bespoke leather gloves, our Made in Sweden theme gives plenty of evidence to back up her claim.

43

Made in Denmark Between Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen, Denmark offers more than enough design classics not to have to argue its position as a worldleader in innovation and design. We present the modern heirs: from jewellery and furniture designers to a ceramic workshop steeped in history.

66 81 49

Made in Norway Consider the expertise required to survive in extreme weather conditions, add natural resources

BUSINESS

GEARING UP FOR THE SWEDISH ELECTION 94

Ask then vote When the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK invited expats to an election debate at the Church of Sweden in Marylebone, we had to be there. Find out who said what, who disagreed, and what makes the party representatives proud to be Swedish.

99

Cultural spectacle Its circular glass structure visible from every part of Aarhus, now a new iconic landmark of the city’s panorama, the Aarhus Art Museum is the cultural spectacle we simply could not leave out.

Its musical equivalent, which takes quite a few listens but is oh so worth it? Karl Batterbee aka Scandipop has the latest news.

CULTURE

REGULARS & COLUMNS 12 90

We Love This | 13 Fashion Diary | 82 Hotels of the Month | 89 Attraction of the Month Restaurant of the Month | 97 Humour

Issue 66 | July 2014 | 3

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Scan Magazine | Editor’s Note

Dear Reader, Of all the things the Nordic countries are renowned for, design and innovation are surely up there with the cream of the crop.

No wonder that our Made in Scandinavia specials are so popular, showcasing everything from the sleekest of furniture design to traditional handicrafts and ground-breaking technology. This month, we are at it again, among other things exploring the history of the legendary Swedish brand that is IKEA, looking at the very best of Danish jewellery design, and delving into the Norwegian world of branding. As if the current Wallander mania in the UK was not enough: here is a long list of reasons to be a proud Scandinavian.

In Finland, of course, despite the much-respected legacy of Alvar Aalto and the strong reputation of brands such as Marimekko, things tend to get that bit more techy – perhaps simply because they know they do it so well. Combining a tightly-knit developer community with some of the most brilliant educational institutions in the world, the Finnish gaming industry is booming – and taking the world by storm. We caught up with pioneers including Veli-Matti Nurkkala and found out more about those Angry Birds.

nist Annika Åman-Goodwille argues that instant success can take 15 years – a sentiment that echoes throughout the July issue of Scan Magazine. The representatives of the Swedish governing alliance at the election debate last month, which of course we report from, would most certainly agree; as would this month’s Bloggers’ Corner contributor, who shares her top tips for keeping on top of your health and fitness regime throughout the holiday season.

Moreover, did you know that the man behind Nordic Noir characters such as The Killing’s Troels Hartmann and Borgen III’s Søren Ravn left university to go juggling on the streets of Copenhagen, before eventually signing up for drama school? If the reviews of his performance in the up-coming When Animals Dream are anything to go by, you have only seen the beginning of Lars Mikkelsen’s, our cover star’s, success.

Linnea Dunne Editor

In line with this proud celebration of a genuine heritage, be it in regards to knitting or information technology, business colum-

Scan Magazine

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Issue 66 | July 2014

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4 | Issue 66 | July 2014

SCAN M A G A Z I N E Scan Magazine Ltd 15B Bell Yard Mews Bermondsey Street London SE1 3TY United Kingdom Phone +44 (0)870 933 0423 info@scanmagazine.co.uk www.scanmagazine.co.uk © All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of Scan Magazine Ltd. Scan Magazine® is a registered trademark of Scan Magazine Ltd. This magazine contains advertorials/promotional articles

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CBS EXECUTIVE MBA

AIM FOR EXCELLENCE CBS EXECUTIVE MBA At the cutting edge of lifelong learning and leadership development for executives and professionals, Copenhagen Business School offers an Executive MBA programme that touches the pulse of global business.

The ROI is clear from the beginning of the programme as you apply ideas and solutions from your studies directly back to your organisation and build relationships with other executives across various industries and locations.

Programme starts every September and February Attend an info meeting in Copenhagen on 19 August, 2014 Visit www.cbs.dk/emba

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Scan Magazine | Contributors

This month’s featured contributors Joanna Nylund is a Helsinki-based freelance journalist and photographer with a background in English literature and translation. As a member of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, she works in three languages daily and would not have it any other way. All things visual appeal greatly to her and she enjoys her ‘little big’ home town of Helsinki for all it has to offer, taking in design, art and architecture in large quantities.

Joanna has lived in the UK as well as in India and Turkey.

Her ideal world is multicultural and multilingual, and when she is not working on book ideas and drinking too many cardamom lattes, she enjoys working out and reading ancient history.

Joanna began writing for Scan Magazine last year and loves being able to promote beautiful, innovative Finland. For this issue, Joanna learnt a new word – exergaming – and thinks it may be time to get back on that treadmill. Or dance mat, perhaps?

Tuomo Paananen decided to put his master’s place at Goldsmiths University on hold after receiving his BA with Honours in Journalism from Stirling University. After studying journalism for five years – one in Helsinki, four in Scotland – he moved to London to carry on his career as a freelancer, mainly in brand journalism, and work as a co-founder of a Finnish disc golf application, Frigo, which is based in his home country.

Tuomo, an advocate of creativity and entrepreneurship, believes that IT technology can significantly improve one’s life and convey great stories as well. However, he insists that mobile devices can also be used outside in the fresh air – not only at home on the couch.

For the July issue, Tuomo contributes with a piece about Afterlife Entertainment’s story-driven stealth game, Tale of Ninja, for tablets.

Maria Smedstad grew up in Sundsvall, Sweden before moving to the UK at the age of 15. She graduated from Falmouth University in 2001 with a first class degree in illustration and has been working as a freelance cartoonist, illustrator and writer since.

Maria’s largely autobiographical cartoon strip Em has featured in numerous papers and magazines in the UK and Scandinavia, including thelondonpaper and The Sun in the UK, Sweden’s Aftonbladet, and Norway’s Aftenposten. Her first collection of Em cartoons in book form was published in 2013, with volume 2 planned for release next year.

Maria’s column on expat life in Britain has been a monthly feature of Scan Magazine since 2009. It has covered subjects such as ‘Dealing with two taps instead of one’ and ‘Carpets everywhere – why?’

Aija Salovaara is a freelance journalist and scriptwriter based in Helsinki.

She has a Master of Arts degree from the University of Bologna.

In addition to Italy, Aija has lived in Spain, Argentina and Malaysia. She works on tv productions and writes for several magazines and newspapers in Finland, mainly on social and human rights related issues. She is also currently working on her first novel, a cross between fiction and non-fiction.

For this issue of Scan Magazine, Aija has explored Hotel Korpilampi, a true oasis of calm in the deep Finnish forests of Espoo.

6 | Issue 66 | July 2014

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Mark your calendar

WHY IS ONS 2014 THIS YEAR’S MOST IMPORTANT MEETING PLACE FOR THE GLOBAL ENERGY INDUSTRY?

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ALL THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN ONE EXHIBITION

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1250 exhibitors and more than 60,000 visitors. Experience innovative technological solutions and meet new partners and clients.

For everyone working in the oil and gas industry. Listen to, discuss with and be inspired by visionary state leaders, ministers, CEOs and innovators from around the world.

A vibrant city centre. Culinary adventures. Great artists.

Cultural fireworks. At night you can pick and choose from our rich festival menu.

ONS celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014, and has grown to become the leading meeting place for the global energy industry. This year’s theme is changes; the changes that affect technology, innovation, renewable energy and the global resource situation. Welcome to four days and three nights of business-boosting events. www.ons.no

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Photo: Conway van Gelder Grant

Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Lars Mikkelsen

8 | Issue 66 | July 2014

“I would say I was rebellious at one time,” says Mikkelsen, who grew up in the tough Copenhagen working class area of Nørrebro and spent a lot of time devouring British crime and detective stories.

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Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Lars Mikkelsen

Lars Mikkelsen – a proudly Danish rising star Lars Mikkelsen was in a cantina when he had an epiphany that would lead to a long and successful acting career. At the time, the man who would go on to star in classic TV series like The Killing and Sherlock was studying biology at the University of Copenhagen but realised while on a lunch break that hitting the books was not for him.

five times a year in different parts of the world. We use each other whenever in doubt about certain things and we usually talk about the roles we play.”

By Pierre de Villiers | Photos: Arrow Films | Cover photo: Conway van Gelder Grant Ltd

‘I was rebellious’

“I sort of knew when I was half a year into the studying that things weren’t going to work out,” Mikkelsen recalls. “I came down to the cantina one day and there was this guy having his meal and reading a book at the same time. His whole body was just shaped into reading and studying.

I said – that’s it, I’m not going to do this.”

Craving a more easy-going existence, Mikkelsen left university and became a street performer, a bold move that set him on the road to becoming one of Scandinavia’s top actors. Natural science’s loss has certainly been the acting profession’s gain, with the Dane showing a magnetic screen presence to match that of his younger brother, Mads, star of Casino Royale and US TV series Hannibal.

Acclaimed 2014 performance A reminder of just how good Lars Mikkelsen is arrives in cinemas this July

with When Animals Dream, a werewolf coming-of-age story set in a fishing village on Denmark’s remote northern coast.

Newcomer Sonia Suhl stars as a girl who discovers that her family is harbouring a deep, dark secret, while Mikkelsen plays her controlling father.

The actor’s acclaimed performance follows a breakthrough role in British crime series Sherlock, Mikkelsen excelling as villain Charles Augustus Magnussen.

While the show’s popularity (Sherlock routinely pulls in millions of viewers) has helped the actor escape the shadow cast by his brother, he is adamant that there has never been a professional rivalry between the Mikkelsen brothers.

“I don’t think there has ever been competition between me and Mads, no more than with other kids,” he says. “We actually talk and share advice. We catch up maybe four,

The Mikkelsen siblings grew up in Nørrebro, a tough working class area of Copenhagen. Lars remembers it as the sort of place where you could not take a backward step. “We grew up in a part of the city that is equivalent to what I would say is east London,” he says. “You had to stand your ground there. So yeah, I would say I was rebellious at one time. I got into fights and all that.”

When he was not getting into trouble, Mikkelsen was at home devouring British crime stories. “I love old detective series like Inspector Morse and Touch of Frost, because we grew up with them,” he says.

“I think Lord Peter Wimsey [the detective at the heart of Dorothy L Sayers’ crime novels] was one of my first experiences.”

Mikkelsen’s love for UK culture had an unforeseen benefit. After hours of listening to British shows, the Dane now speaks perfect English, something that has no

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prompted people to watch other Scandinavian series, such as Borgen, also starring Mikkelsen, and The Bridge, the latter spawning an American and British remake.

The international success the original series enjoyed despite being subtitled is something that thrills Mikkelsen. “It is very nice to know that the British actually can watch subtitled stuff,” he says. “The fact that The Killing played a part in that is something I’m immensely proud of. The entire cast is.”

Lars Mikkelsen as Søren Ravn alongside his political allies in Borgen III.

doubt helped him land a broader range of roles as an actor. Ask him which TV show was most beneficial in mastering the English language, and he lets fly with a guffaw: “Monty Python, that’s how I learnt English! My brother and I watched Monty Python and listened to all the records and we could do the whole thing by heart when we were 14 years old. It came naturally. I particularly love the argument sketch. It’s my favourite.”

From juggling to acting school Before Mikkelsen could follow in the footsteps of his small screen heroes, he had to get through his basic military service in the Kongelige Livgarde, an infantry regiment of the Danish army. He then enrolled in university but was soon performing all over Europe as a street juggler, a time Mikkelsen looks back on fondly.

“Those were lovely days, because I had all the decisions in my hands,” says the actor.

“It was nice, but everything has got its time and it ultimately led to acting. When you are a street performer you should have a joke every ten seconds or else the audience just scrams. By keeping people interested it sort of showed what was possible and I had the notion that I wanted to do other things, something more.”

10 | Issue 66 | July 2014

The actor’s drive prompted him to enrol at Statens Teaterskole in Copenhagen in 1991, and after five years he landed his first theatre role. Mikkelsen soon became a staple on Danish TV, starring in shows like Edderkoppen before being cast in The Killing, the series that put Danish television on the world map and changed the way we looked at crime dramas. Unlike other cop shows, it focused on just one murder over the course of 20 episodes, exploring how it affects not just investigators, but family members and politicians.

“We didn’t realise that we were making something that would be that big while we were filming it,” says Mikkelsen, who played politician Troels Hartmann. “We had a notion that we were pushing the boundaries of what we could do. I mean, could one murder stretch out over 20 episodes? We had a notion that this was different to what we had done before, and as Danes we had not done loads of crime stories at that point. And then it became this great success.”

Listening to Mikkelsen enthuse about the work he has done in Denmark, it is clear that his heart still very much lies in his homeland. And while his roles in Sherlock and When Animals Dream mean that his star is on the rise, there is little chance that the actor, who is based in Copenhagan with actress wife Anette Stovelbaek and sons Lue and Thor, will relocate to Los Angeles to cash in on his newfound fame.

“I don’t think I could live in an industry town,” Mikkelsen says. “I really need a small community that we have here where the friendships are built over the years. LA is a film industry city and it doesn’t really revolve around anything else. I like meeting other people.”

Mikkelsen as politician Troels Hartmann, starring alongside Sofie Gråbøl as Sarah Lund in Danish super success The Killing.

A proud Dane Globally, The Killing led to a renewed interest in all things Danish, with the Faroese jumper worn by lead character Sarah Lund becoming a must-have fashion item. The show’s success also

When Animals Dream is officially released in Denmark on 31 July, and international releases will follow throughout the year.

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Scan Magazine | Design | We Love This

We love this...

Whether you are heading for the beach or the countryside, or enjoying a staycation this summer, we propose treating yourself to some recreational time. Be inspired by our midsummer moodboard!

By Julie Guldbrandsen | Press photos

Take a little rest in this lovely swinging chair made from rattan, by Sika Design. Hang it from the ceiling or on the balcony and enjoy. Approx. £250 www.sika-design.com

Create a gorgeous summery dinner table with the dot table cloth designed by Baijings & Scholten for Hay. £64 reallywellmade.co.uk

The sculptural vases by Finnsdottir are perfect for creating interesting still lifes and injecting some subtle surprise into your home decor. £200 www.designdelicatessen.com

12 | Issue 66 | July 2014

Make your space arty with poetic prints

by Pernille Folcarelli. Created through graphic processing of plants and items from the Nordic nature, they are handprinted, unique designs from Folcarelli’s own workshop. Price on request. pernillefolcarelli.dk

A beautiful pillow never fails to update and invigorate a look. We love the pastel colour mix on this one by Lucky Boy Sunday. £50 www.alexandalexa.com

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Scan Magazine | Design | Fashion Diary

Fashion Diary...

Scandinavian high summer is upon us, a part of the season that invites a bright but versatile wardrobe equipped for a multitude of happenings. We embrace soft cream and beige shades, accented by a summery classic: the deep marine colour.

By Julie Linden | Press photos

Looking for that perfect statement necklace to add something extra to your summer looks? Bjørg Jewellery has created a true collector’s piece in this gold-plated medal necklet, locking a small amount of volcano sand between two glass plates. A real icebreaker at any summer party!

Statement neckpiece from Bjørg, approx. £145 www.bjorgjewellery.com

A perfect complement to your everyday wardrobe, this two-button blazer made from premium Italian wool will keep you warm during chilly summer evenings.

Tiger of Sweden, £329 www.tigerofsweden.com

The final touch? A dark, midnight blue colour adorning your nails.

Nail varnish in the colour Selvedge Midnight from & Other Stories, £5 www.stories.com

Stine Goya is one of recent years’ stars in the Scandinavian fashion sky. Her designs offer a rare combination of wearability and a notable edge, making each garment a proclamation of individuality.

Anthias dress from Stine Goya, available in stores, approx. £238 www.stinegoya.com

A Swedish brand carrying elegant products crafted by experienced hands in Italy, Little Liffner is truly starting to make a name for itself.

We fell for this combination tote, incorporating both linen and leather elements.

From Little Liffner, approx. £310 www.littleliffner.com

Issue 66 | July 2014 | 13

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Scan Magazine | Design | Marklund Design

While also being sold in high-end fashion stores, Marklund Design has recently chosen to focus on a somewhat untraditional market. “Our success is without doubt based on our concept,” Marklund insists.

“Our designs are sold on consignment in various hotels and airports and we offer a full-package service including installation of displays, stocking and bi-monthly service visits.”

With an uncompromising focus on service at all levels, Marklund Design’s unique concept has secured the brand collaboration with renowned airline Thomas Cook as well as a long-standing business relationship with Hotel Legoland.

Create your very own jewellery collection by combining affordable and adaptable one-of-a-kind pieces by Marklund Design.

Affordable and adaptable Danish jewellery design

Having spent a long time formulating the perfect concept of outstanding service and quality products, Kira Marklund and Marklund Design are now ready for new challenges. With plans to expand into European markets, the brand proudly carries on the legacy of the internationallyacclaimed Scandinavian design tradition.

With customisable jewellery collections and an uncompromising focus on service, Marklund Design has established itself as a high-quality jewellery design brand without the unobtainable price tag. With classic and timeless designs adaptable to personal style and taste, the brand proudly carries on the legacy of Danish design.

By Stine Gjevnoe | Photos: Marklund Design

Founded in 2010, Marklund Design is a Danish jewellery design brand designing exclusive jewellery for women of all ages.

By combining different charms or chains, one can create a personal, adaptable oneof-a-kind piece of jewellery, making it a popular brand for a wide range of women.

The idea to launch Marklund Design came from founder and designer Kira Marklund’s many years of retail experience.

Having owned and managed several clothing stores, she gained invaluable insight into a changing market. “During my time in retail, we saw the entry of many additional items into clothing stores, and I realised one thing was missing: quality jewellery,” Marklund explains.

14 | Issue 66 | July 2014

Marklund Design’s jewellery collections are classic and timeless, very much in line with Scandinavian design and fashion traditions. While the different pieces exude exclusivity, they also remain affordable – an aspect that is very important to the designer. “The idea is for the customer to combine our different pieces and create her own personal style, which is why all our collections are interconnected and very affordable. This way, one’s personal collection is easily adaptable,” says Marklund. Without compromising on quality, Marklund Design has managed to create a collection of jewellery that looks a million dollars, but does not cost it.

Facts about Marklund Design • Founded in 2010 by Kira Marklund • Sold in hotels, airports and on certain airlines • Aims to expand to European markets • Contact: info@marklunddesign.dk

For more information, please visit: www.marklunddesign.com

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Culture Profile | Hotel Korpilampi

Offering golfing and fishing in the summer and one of Scandinavia’s biggest indoor water parks for winter fun, Korpilampi promises that no visitor will ever be bored.

Immersing into the purest Finnish forests Birds are twittering, daylight plays with the waves on the surface of the lake, and the refreshing air of the forest fills your lungs. Later, you close your eyes while the gentle steam of the sauna massages your shoulders. This and much more can be combined with your business or conference trip.

By Aija Salovaara | Photos: Hotel Korpilampi

Just hop on a plane and bring your colleagues to Helsinki. A mere 30-minute bus journey away from the airport, you will find Hotel Korpilampi, hidden in the deep forests of Espoo.

Korpilampi is a 360-degree service venue, especially well-suited to arranging conferences and corporate events. The building contains 16 different meeting spaces and an auditorium with 350 ascending seats as well as all the latest technology. ”You can’t find many conference hotels such as ours that offer all the services in the one place. We have restaurants, meeting spaces and accommodation, all under one roof,” says hotel manager Nina Peltola. ”Our foreign guests often can’t believe their eyes once they reach Korpi-

lampi. It feels like being deep in the wilderness, yet it is such a short drive away from the capital,” Peltola adds. ”As such, we offer what we call an energising business trip. After the day’s tasks, you can take a hiking or fishing trip and play golf or beach volley ball.”

door water park in Scandinavia, as well as both downhill and cross-country skiing opportunities. Or why not challenge yourself to a dip in the frozen lake after a boiling hot sauna, a typical winter sport in Finland, proven to be extremely good for both blood circulation and immune system?

Foreign guests will find an exotic bonus surprise at Hotel Korpilampi: Father Christmas spends his holidays in a cottage by the lake. Just call before your arrival to make sure he is at home to meet you and to take notes for your wish list for next Christmas.

Hotel Korpilampi has a newly renovated night club and a restaurant that can accommodate more than 300 guests, serving Nordic delicacies such as reindeer meat and fresh fish with a seasonal twist.

In the autumn, the chefs create luscious dishes using berries and mushrooms from the surrounding forests.

Even in winter, you will not get bored in Korpilampi, as within a few minutes’ walk from the hotel you will find the biggest in-

For more information, please visit: www.korpilampi.fi

Issue 66 | July 2014 | 15

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Scan Magazine | Culture Profile | Copenhagen Designer Outlet

Copenhagen Designer Outlet is an enclosed shopping centre less than 30 minutes’ drive south-west of Copenhagen.

Scandinavia’s new shopping destination Located within easy reach of most of the Danish population and neighbouring countries, Copenhagen Designer Outlet brings the international phenomenon of quality designer outlet centres to Denmark. With an uncompromising focus on quality and service, Copenhagen Designer Outlet, opening October 9, 2014, aims to become Scandinavia’s new shopping destination.

By Stine Gjevnoe | Photos: Copenhagen Designer Outlet

Designed as the prime outlet for leading brands, Copenhagen Designer Outlet has been created with typical Danish style and quality, to complement the brands it supports. With up to 80 shops and 17,500 square metres of architecturally attractive shopping space, the designer outlet offers visitors an extraordinary shopping experience with the same quality and service as any high-street shop – just a different

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price tag. Copenhagen Designer Outlet is set adjacent to City2, one of the leading and most recognised out-of-town shopping destinations in Denmark, with 3,000 free parking spaces, leisure and entertainment facilities, as well as an array of restaurants and cafes.

“Outlet shopping is a different experience compared to shopping in ‘normal’ retail

units,” centre director Thomas Lüscher explains. “You typically spend more hours shopping, maybe even make it into a day trip, and it’s been very important for us to accommodate this aspect in the design of our centre.” Copenhagen Designer Outlet has been designed by award-winning architects Haskoll, features high ceilings and skylight windows appropriate for the mischievous Danish weather, and complements the quality of the products on offer, as well as the Scandinavian design philosophy. “Previously, outlet stores in Scandinavia have not been associated with quality and a positive shopping experience. With our conceptualised outlet centre we are going to change this,” Lüscher continues.

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Scan Magazine | Culture Profile | Copenhagen Designer Outlet

porate brand identity while capitalising on stock clearance,” Nesheim says. Most brands already have an outlet concept incorporated in their retail strategy, but at Copenhagen Designer Outlet the quality and high standard of service known from brands’ high street stores is maintained alongside, for instance, the warranty and exchange rights customers are used to, offering both brands and customers the safety and security they value and expect.

Easy access for everyone Located conveniently in Taastrup, less than 30 minutes’ drive south-west of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Designer Outlet is within easy reach for the majority of the Danish population, as well as the neighboring Scandinavian countries. With frequent trains and buses from the capital every day, Copenhagen Designer Outlet is also easily accessible for the Danish capital’s many tourists.

Doing business in a controlled environment Danish retail is developing rapidly, and Copenhagen Designer Outlet is welcomed among brands as a challenge to the, for many people, more familiar world of online shopping often used for stock clearance. In an ever-changing and expanding marketplace, the rise of the clearance model has given brand owners an outlet to clear stock and increase profits – without compromising the brand value.

“In the world of online shopping, brands risk losing control of how their products are sold and marketed online,” retail operations manager Christa Nesheim explains. “In some cases, certain platforms can be damaging to a brand, which is why some are starting to alter their retail strategies to protect their brand profile. In a conceptualised outlet centre, brands are given the opportunity to retain their cor-

Internationally known for its design tradition, Denmark attracts quality-conscious buyers from all over the world, and Copenhagen Designer Outlet hopes to become the next big attraction on the map.

Benefitting from the area’s already established and well-known megastores, the outlet hopes to open its doors to approximately 1.8 million customers within the first year, in addition to the already established customer base of City2.

But what is the difference?

In Scandinavia, most people associate outlets with messy, chaotic factory outlets, where service is a foreign concept. But in recent years, the retail industry has seen a rising demand for outlets that match the standard of those seen abroad.

Copenhagen Designer Outlet is an enclosed shopping centre with conceptualised outlet stores and orderly conditions equal to any high street retail store. Effectively, this means that customers are shopping on familiar ground, and can expect the same level of service. Surely there must be a catch, you say? Yes, there are certain rules and regulations every outlet store must play by: all products sold in outlets must be reduced by a minimum of 30 per cent!

The opening of Copenhagen Designer Outlet takes place on 9 October 2014, and the outlet centre will present an array of different branded products and stores, with its main focus on living, sports, clothing, shoes, and accessories. Brands such as Gant and Nike have already been confirmed, but if you are not scared off by the service, quality and huge reductions, then it might be worth checking out the rest for yourself.

For more information, please visit: www.copenhagendesigneroutlet.dk

The opening of Copenhagen Designer Outlet takes place on 9 October 2014, and the outlet centre will present an array of different branded products and stores, with its main focus on living, sports, clothing, shoes, and accessories.

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Scan Magazine | School Profile | Vejle Sports Academy

The courses at Vejle Sports Academy last between 19 and 43 weeks, but the memories last a lifetime.

A playground for life practice If you are looking for physical, social and personal development, a stay at the Danish Folk High School, Vejle Sports Academy, will do you good. Every six months, the school welcomes around 80 Danes and 20 international students. The courses last between 19 and 43 weeks, but the memories of your stay will last forever.

By Nicolai Lisberg | Photos: Vejle Sports Academy

“It is a different kind of study break. Often students come here to spend their gap year after high school either to take a break or to clarify their wishes for the future,” says Ole Damgaard, who is the principal at Vejle Sports Academy.

The school is a traditional Folk High School. This means that there are no academic requirements for admittance and there are no exams, but you will receive a diploma as evidence of your attendance at the end of the course. “We aim to create an atmosphere, where you are not afraid of failing. That is why everything takes place in a safe environment. In ‘the real world’ there are consequences when you don’t pass a test, but here we wish to create a playground for life practice,” says Damgaard.

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An international challenge The students at the school are between 17.5 and 26 years old and come from different countries. One of them is 21-yearold Erika Palmer, born and raised in Boston, USA, to a Danish mother and an American father. Like many of the international students, she does not speak any Danish, but instead she either takes the classes in English or gets the Danish classes translated.

“To begin with I was shy and I got a bit frustrated with the language. But then I just made a conscious decision to be more outgoing and to ask people for translation when I needed it. I found that there was really no reason to be timid, because people will help you.”

The school challenges its students on many levels, because the aim is to push their social and physical limits. “I have definitely learned a lot about myself – and about my strengths and weaknesses. I am a different person now than when I started at the school. It got me out of my comfort zone and made me push myself,” says Palmer.

For more information, please visit: www.vih.dk/english

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Your Shortcut to Scandinavia Bergen

NORWAY

Oslo Stockholm Bromma

SWEDEN Aalborg

Gothenburg

Aarhus

UNITED KINGDOM

DENMARK Billund

Manchester

London City

GERMANY Brussels

D端sseldorf

BELGIUM

SWITZERLAND

Munich

Z端rich

S n a cks

Me als

Drinks

ba.com

Pap ers

Lounges

Smiles

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: ME N E TH EDE L A I SW EC SP DE IN MA

Photo: Hestra

Photo: Pelle P

Photo: HTC Flooring

Sweden: with an innovative edge As Swedish Minister for Trade, I am duty-bound to reiterate the importance of foreign trade and the ability of Swedish companies to trade internationally. Sweden is a living example of how trade, entrepreneurship and open borders have enabled one of the poorest countries on the outskirts of Europe to become one of the wealthiest and most innovative countries in the world.

but the opportunities are endless. The journey starts in Sweden.

Welcome!

By Ewa Bjรถrling, Minister for Trade in Sweden

Let me tell you about the cornerstones of our innovativeness, productive environment and robust economy. Sweden has an easy and open business climate backed up by government policies. International investment is facilitated by simple business procedures, transparency and efficiency.

We are ideally suited to the developing, testing and launching of innovative programmes, quick to adopt new technologies and keen to foster people-driven innovation. The government aims to

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empower innovation, especially in the field of green solutions, life sciences, ICT and other industries with growth potential. We constantly strive to improve our innovative edge. My vision is for Sweden to be a world-leader in research and innovation, an attractive place in which to study, work, invest and do business. This demands an open-minded attitude from citizens, companies, authorities and the government alike.

Sweden can offer all this and more. The global economy poses many challenges,

Ewa Bjรถrling, Minister for Trade in Sweden

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Photo: Tacton Systems

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More about Business Sweden Business Sweden is owned by the Swedish Government and the industry, represented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Foreign Trade Association. The shared ownership provides access to contacts and networks at all levels.

Photo: Envirotainer

Sweden: the promotion of a global and innovative business partner Business Sweden’s stated and important mission is to facilitate and promote the growth of Swedish companies abroad, and to promote investment opportunities for foreign companies in Sweden. With offices in 57 countries and in every region of Sweden, our aim is to strengthen and promote Sweden as an attractive, innovative and competitive business partner.

By Ylva Berg, CEO of Business Sweden

We support Swedish companies in reaching export markets and create business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to grow internationally. Our aim is also to facilitate foreign companies’ investments in Sweden. We connect international companies with business opportunities in Sweden – whether the interest is to gain access to the market or to world-class R&D and innovation clusters.

I am convinced that in order to make Swedish companies grow internationally,

we have to continue to strengthen our support of small and medium-sized businesses. Business Sweden has a special offering to these companies, covering the entire process from information about exports to tangible sales and marketing support, in the local market.

Another way we inspire Swedish small and medium-sized companies and encourage them in their export efforts is our yearly prize, Stora Exportpriset (The Big Export Prize). The award is given to a suc-

cessful Swedish company that has shown a strong development of its exports in several markets as well as gains in employment in the Swedish market.

When Swedish companies are given the opportunity to grow internationally and we expand foreign investments in Sweden, more jobs are created, resulting in greater prosperity in our country. With an improved global economy on the horizon and a more robust export and investment promotion strategy, I am convinced that we will succeed in our mission – to make Sweden grow through exports and foreign investment.

For more information, please visit: www.business-sweden.se

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Nordic nostalgia courtesy of IKEA Last summer, the world-famous flat-pack giant from Sweden turned 70. Its history was scrutinised and its archives inventoried, and the result is a collection of relaunched design gems with roots in the 1950s and -60s. Get ready to queue: IKEA’s ÅRGÅNG collection is here.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: IKEA

The idea of IKEA as a Swedish through and through design pioneer is not altogether truthful. It is accurate that a young, Swedish entrepreneur from Älmhult in southern Sweden used the money given to him by his father as a reward for successful studies to set up what was to become the now flatpack furniture company, but when the first qualified designer, Bengt Ruda, employed in 1957 as head of what was then called the architect office, was to recruit two designers to give him a hand, he turned to Denmark.

Together with the Danish designers Erik Wörts and Preben Fabricius, as well as

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founder Ingvar Kamprad’s close friend Gillis Lundgren, he shaped what was to become the today perhaps equally loved and loathed IKEA of Sweden. No wonder, then, that the collection that harks back to the early days of the design emporium shows clear influences of Danish legends such as Arne Jacobsen and Hans Wegner. ÅRGÅNG: the story of IKEA The idea behind the new ÅRGÅNG collection was to bring back to life 22 old design classics that tell the story of IKEA, and inspiration was found in the exhibition IKEA Through the Ages. Located in the base-

ment of IKEA Tillsammans, the company culture centre right next to IKEA Värdshus, the exhibition shows 20 different room settings with IKEA furniture and objects from the 1940s until the present day, all across 800 square metres of exhibition space.

Among the re-launched designs are the KLÄPPA armchair, originally named BUTTERFLY and expected to sell out within hours of launching; the LÖVBACKEN coffee table, originally called LÖVET, which relaunched with great success in 2013 and is rumoured to have sold at a Parisian flea market for 9000 SEK (approximately £800); and the pure-cotton, retro-coloured KOLVHIRS fabric, originally sold under the name of TURKO and available as readymade curtains as well. Put simply, as long as queuing is not seen as an issue, no retro interiors fanatic will be disappointed.

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Brand new IKEA Museum But excited as we may be about the ÅRGÅNG collection, IKEA takes the celebration of its story to yet another level with a brand new IKEA Museum due to open in 2015 where the old IKEA Älmhult shop was once located. Referred to as “a house of stories”, the museum will exhibit design items while telling the stories of the people, challenges, opportunities, and design decisions that have contributed to what IKEA is today.

Moreover, IKEA fans are encouraged to chip in, as items from your attic or your parents’ shed can make it into the exhibition of old and new IKEA designs. Too keen on your IKEA staples to give them away? Contribute instead with your personal BILLY bookcase or KLIPPAN sofa experience and make it onto the BILLY & KLIPPAN blog.

Retro fans or not, most Swedes and indeed Scandinavians more generally will feel at least a twinge of nostalgia at the thought of those white or birch veneer bookcases, sidetables and TV stands, while the ÅRGÅNG collection is set to not just make another profitable IKEA venture but, in an understated yet beautiful way, tell the story of IKEA of Sweden as well as that elusive, admirable Nordic design heritage.

Top left: The LÖVBACKEN coffee table, originally called LÖVET, which re-launched with great success in 2013 and is rumoured to have sold at a Parisian flea market for 9000 SEK (approximately £800).

Middle left: The hugely popular KLÄPPA armchair, originally named BUTTERFLY. Bottom left: EKENÄSET armchair Below: MATSEDEL kaffekopp Bottom: The KOLVHIRS fabric, originally sold under the name of TURKO.

IKEA: the timeline 1940s IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943, selling among other things fountain pens, cigarette lighters and nylon stockings.

1950s It was during the ’50s that IKEA moved to its home in Älmhult and opened a furniture showroom. The first catalogue saw the light of day, as did the first pieces of mountable IKEA furniture.

1960s IKEA expanded during the 1960s, with furniture production moving abroad and new shops opening throughout Scandinavia. The old teak furniture was replaced by oak pieces, and the range grew. This was when the serveyourself concept launched.

1970s With solid pine furniture came a new era with a new concept of living. IKEA expanded into Europe and the famous BILLY bookcase was introduced.

1980s In the 1980s, IKEA expanded further beyond Europe, and darker furniture, vivid colours, metals and colourful fabrics made up the collection. The customer club IKEA FAMILY was born.

1990s With a light look of white birch and silver, the ’90s saw IKEA’s production grow and a Children’s IKEA being born.

2000s With the millennium came social initiatives and a heavy focus on sustainability. Details and quality were key focal points in the design department, and e-commerce was introduced.

ÅRGÅNG: a historical design collection ÅRGÅNG went on sale on 4 July 2014 at a number of selected IKEA stores across Sweden, including Kungens Kurva, Barkarby, Malmö, Älmhult and Uppsala.

For more information, please visit: www.ikea.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Photo: Magnus Bylund Designunit

Photo: Simon Sjörén

Worn by downhill skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark and recent Ski Cross Olympics medalist Anna Holmlund alike, Sätila’s hats are warm, well-fitted and loved by many.

Hat trick for function, design and quality knitwear Sätila of Sweden has made quality knitwear for almost 120 years. The combination of lifestyle, outdoor and fashion makes their hats and scarves the perfect choice for the active modern – and fashion conscious – customer.

By Ulrika Kuoppa | Photos: Fredrik Schenholm

When downhill skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark took to the slopes in the late 1970s, Sweden paused. All eyes were fixed on the little man at the top of the big, snow-covered hill: the quiet man who ruled the pistes, his brown curly hair covered by the charming hat from Sätila of Sweden.

tainable, the work conditions are good and the quality of the product is of the highest standard,” says brand manager Lotta Persson. “Our customers keep coming back since our high quality artisan hats are so well fitted. Our goal is to be the number one choice for customers and shops when it comes to hats.”

Today Sätila of Sweden’s hats are found in many European countries. They are loved and used by everyone from athletes and outdoors lovers to trend-conscious people wanting to stay warm and dry through all seasons.

The secret of Sätila of Sweden’s success is, indeed, creating modern and functional wear. The exceptional competence, the quality and the Scandinavian design heritage make it one of the leading brands in this line of business.

“All of our products are made from scratch right here in Sätila in Sweden.

This means that the production is sus-

“We’re really excited about our ongoing co-operation with major Swedish outdoors company Naturkompaniet and Glo-

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betrotter in Germany,” says CEO Maria Stockefors. “They are like-minded companies who share our values and outlooks regarding sustainability and the environment, which is of utmost importance to us.”

Sätila of Sweden has provided athletes with sportswear for decades and is currently a partner of the young Swedish Ski Cross team. This is part of the brand’s development, and the young, fresh sport fits perfectly with Sätila of Sweden’s modern feel: “We’ve been partners for years. It is such an exciting sport, and we were so proud when Anna Holmlund won a medal at the Olympic Games. It is great to work with such a devoted team!” says Persson.

More export is on the cards for the future, with expansions planned across the UK, Germany and the rest of Scandinavia.

“Outdoors activities are part of a growing trend where we hope to be the ultimate choice for the conscientious customer,” Persson ends.

For more information, please visit: satila.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Left: The Swedish style chocolate brownie cake, kladdkaka, is a Fria Gluten Free top seller. Middle: Delicious and fresh Swedish gluten-free bread and pastry. Right: Jeanine Holmgren, managing director. Photo: Monika Agorelius

A gluten-free taste of Sweden Ever wanted to experience Swedish bread and pastry, but feel restricted due to a food intolerance? Look no further than to Fria’s award-winning and extensive range and you are sure to find a new favourite.

just like freshly baked when enjoyed. The range includes sliced loaves, rolls, pizza, muffins, cinnamon buns, puff pastry and the Swedish style chocolate brownie cake, kladdkaka. Consumers across Europe seem to share the same sweet tooth as the Swedes, as the kladdkaka is one of Fria’s most popular products.

By Anita Karlsson | Photos: Fria Gluten Free

The Swedish family-owned bakery Fria is the Scandinavian market leader in the gluten-free baked goods category, and has in recent years expanded beyond the Scandinavian borders to countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.

With the Fria products being free from gluten, lactose and milk, they are suitable for vegetarians as well as people with coeliac disease and other food intolerances. Still, Fria's tasty breads and yummy cakes are known to taste as good as regular products, if not better.

“The consumer is very important to us; in fact, that is a reason why the company started out back in 1996,” says Jeanine Holmgren, managing director at Fria.

“Fria recognised the growing consumer demand for gluten-free, high-quality

products early on. Our aim has always been to make a nutritious bread high in fibre, with a nice texture that you cannot tell apart from regular bread.”

This summer, Fria is exhibiting at several shows across the United Kingdom, one being the popular Allergy & Free From Show in London 4-6 July. “Because the consumers’ points of view are so important to us, it is really nice to be able to meet them in person,” says Holmgren.

“The comments we often get are that our products taste really fresh, that they have more fibre than other gluten-free bread, and that it’s appreciated that we have a wide selection of products.”

Fria’s products are frozen directly after being baked and can be found in the frozen aisle in stores, thus making them taste

Fria engages in the raising awareness of coeliac disease by attending seminars and keeping up-to-date on research and informing others. Holmgren concludes: “The knowledge about coeliac disease and the supply of free-from products have grown enormously recently, which is joyous news.”

For more information, please visit: www.fria.se

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

A helping hand since 1936 A world-leader in its field, Hestra has made high-quality gloves ever since 1936, when Martin Magnusson decided to help loggers get through a hard day’s work by providing them with appropriate, durable gloves.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Hestra

“He watched them work in the freezing cold and thought, ‘they need proper gloves’, and then he saw the skiers coming down the local Hestra slopes and thought, ‘they need proper gloves, too!’,” says Niklas Magnusson, Martin’s great-grandson, now carrying on the family business alongside cousin Anton. “And that dedication to making quality products that last has always been our core philosophy.”

control is key. Having collaborated with a handful of factories since the 1970s, built strong relationships with suppliers and manufacturers globally, and eventually started the first of their own factories in China in 1993, a second in China and third in Hungary now also up and running, the Magnussons believe in the value of longstanding relationships, in turn leading to a mutual quest to improve.

Niklas describes being told countless times how other boys used to dream about growing up to become firemen or police officers, while his own aspirations were quite different: “I always said that I’d run the family business.”

“If you are constantly chasing the best deal, you lose this advantage,” says Niklas. “For us, it’s always been about the details. We buy the materials ourselves, we check the thickness of the leather ourselves, and when the products arrive at the warehouse, we check them yet again.”

Niklas and Anton have both learnt the trade from scratch, providing them with a sensitivity to and knowledge of leather beyond the ordinary. “The choice of

All about the details One of the secrets to the brand’s success lies in this perfectionist streak, according to Niklas, as it has led to a process where

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leather is very important to the end product, so we have learnt to feel the leather with our hands to detect a difference in thickness as subtle as 0.1 millimetres,” Niklas explains.

Bespoke gloves While Anton has specialised in production planning and Niklas in brand management, both cousins are still involved with

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Where hands matter That said, the demand for Hestra’s dedication and skill has seen the company work on numerous bespoke ranges in the past, long before individuals were catered to. For example, the Swedish Armed Forces got in touch asking for a glove range specifically tailored to the needs of its staff, and Hestra was delighted to accept the challenge.

“What we do is quite niche: we make gloves, with great attention to fit and feeling. This expertise can be applied to any area, from sports to fashion and professional wear,” says Niklas. In other words, much like when his great-grandfather made that first glove, it is about solving a problem: if you need a glove, Hestra will make one.

the hands-on craftsmanship of actually making gloves, a rewarding and enjoyable part of the job. For example, Hestra’s customers can visit the brand’s shop in Stockholm in the autumn to have bespoke gloves made.

“I suppose we are to gloves what Savile Row is to suits, and we are the only ones who do it,” says the glove cutter, explaining: “It might be someone with thin hands but very long fingers, who simply cannot find a glove that fits well, or it’s perhaps someone who needs a glove for just three

fingers. Making bespoke gloves allows us to accommodate such needs.”

The opening of own-brand Hestra concept stores is not only an extension of the control the brand is so keen on, but also what has enabled the face-to-face service necessary for quality bespoke glove cutting and beneficial to all strands of its work. Of the brand’s two current shops, in Helsinki and Stockholm respectively, only the latter currently offers this service, with a third shop due to open in Oslo this August.

Visit one of Hestra’s three concept stores: Stockholm: Norrlandsgatan 12, 08-678 77 10 Helsinki: Glogatan 1, 040-771 23 01 Oslo: Bogstadveien 19 - opens in August

For more information, please visit: www.hestragloves.se

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Eleiko barbell being used during the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

From strength to strength in the world of weights With a track record of over 1,000 world records and more world-class competitions than you can think of, Eleiko is a pioneering bar and weight equipment designer and manufacturer – and has been since 1957, when it all started in a waffle iron factory.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Patrik Leonardsson

The year was 1963. Stockholm was hosting the World Weightlifting Championships, and you could cut the tension with a knife. The final was underway, the audience baffled with amazement: how could one barbell last an entire competition without as much as bending?

What the Stockholm audience had witnessed was nothing short of a gamechanger in professional weightlifting circles, as the first Eleiko barbell had been

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launched, the secret to its unbelievable success somewhere between the toughtempered chrome nickel steel and the expertise of a factory that had for decades been producing electrical products.

It all began with a waffle iron As CEO Erik Blomberg explains, it all began with a waffle iron: “That’s the famous line,” he says. “The factory had been up and running since the 1920s, producing among other things waffle irons. But it

was in 1957, when factory supervisor and hobby weightlifter Mr. Hellström got permission from the then-CEO, Mrs. Johansson, to produce a barbell prototype, that the story of Eleiko Sports really began.”

Since then, the Eleiko barbell has featured in over 40 World Championships and countless Olympic Games and other continental championship competitions, helping professional lifters to set over 1,000 new world records. Eleiko’s guiding principles today speak of quality, professionalism and customer service, but the knurling of the barbells still carries the waffle pattern as a sign of the company’s heritage.

While Mr. Hellström, its pioneering hero, knew a lot about weightlifting and the trouble of a bar bending or eventually breaking, the collected knowhow of the factory workers meant that a special steel could be found, hard as rock on the out-

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

side but soft on the inside, giving a robust flexibility and a beneficial grip. “The professional lifters using our products are themselves evidence that the formula works – they are world champions,” says Blomberg.

Beneficial for all athletes Respected by champions, the Eleiko Sport equipment has started to win over a range of new fans in the past decade, as the sports and fitness industry more generally has started to realise the benefits of traditional lifting and so-called functional exercise. “A lot of elite sports clubs are heavy users of weightlifting, which is massively beneficial to athletes across the board in a number of different ways,” the CEO explains. “We advocate a focus on the basic movements of the body, and exercise with free weights, barbells and body weight.”

The gym and fitness sector, too, has recently started opening its eyes to this style of exercise, not least in the form of the new popular fitness regime, CrossFit. “Gyms generally are going through big

changes at the moment, moving away from the more traditional view of static exercise using machines and becoming more playful in their approaches,” says Blomberg. “Crossfit, on the other hand, which is pretty much all about becoming as fit as possible in as many different regards as possible, has given weightlifting a massive boost, and here the barbell is central.”

For Eleiko Sport, however, the market is far greater than its wide range of bars and strength equipment. Addressing everyone from personal trainers in Sweden to strength coaches across the globe, Eleiko Education has been up and running for almost 15 years and is now about to expand. The head offices and training centre in Halmstad will move into brand new facilities, and the aim is to create a world-class venue attracting strength and fitness fanatics from all the corners of the globe. “We’re not interested in simply delivering quality equipment,” Blomberg explains. “We want to help teach people how to use it correctly as well.”

Revolutionising weightlifting Having spent years abroad working as an investment banker and business consultant, Blomberg returned to Halmstad two years ago to take over the running of Eleiko Sport from his father, and though he insists that he loved it abroad, he is unmistakably proud to be at the helm of the family business. And indeed, Eleiko takes pride in being at the centre of the advancement of the sport of weightlifting, having designed and distributed the world’s first solid rubber discs in the 1960s and introduced a superior version of rotating sleeves two decades later.

“I am determined and excited to be developing the business and help it grow – and, crucially, I’m passionate about the industry,” says Blomberg. From one passionate man to another, via countless World Championships – revolutionising the world of weightlifting, one barbell at the time.

For more information, please visit: www.eleikosport.se

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Egyptian secrets at the heart of Sweden In Dalarna, at the heart of Sweden, lies the Pyramidbröd bakery where open-hearth ovens still fire up the production. Founder Emad Bayoumy, who was born into an Egyptian family of bakers, started it in 1991 using sourdough that he had brought over from his home country. Today the bakery proudly mixes Swedish farming culture with ancient Egyptian recipes.

By Ulrika Österlund & Linnea Dunne | Photos: Pyramidbageriet AB

“Wood-oven baked temptations are what we are about,” says Bayoumy. “No electricity whatsoever is used during the baking process.”

Spisknäcke and Spelt Dinkel, in two different sizes. Every single piece of bread is inspected by hand before it is packaged into its easily recognisable brown paper packet.

Every step of the production has been carefully planned and constructed by Bayoumy himself. An environmentally-friendly baking process teamed with the goodness of the bread itself makes this product a must-have. Wood-fired ovens do the baking, and the heat they emit is then used to further bake the breadcakes as they are hung to dry. It is this final process that gives the bread its distinctive taste.

Pyramidbröd has won acclaim from the Swedish Gastronomic Academy and the Sandahl Foundation, and as well as the traditional round crispbreads, Pyramidbageriet offers a range called Bayoumy Gourmet, with flavours from Emad Bayoumy’s hometown of Batanun in Egypt.

A Swedish staple The healthy crispbread is a staple in any Swedish home, and Pyramidbröd offers different types, including the traditional

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Any Swede worth their salt has crispbread on the table. For expats and other enthusiasts, Pyramidbröd is available throughout Scandinavia, England and Germany.

Fancy a closer look? Visit the bakery shop in Hulån, Dala-Järna, at the very heart of Sweden.

For more information, please visit: www.pyramidbrod.se

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Superfloor at a Kennel Gotland, Sweden

Twist it – using diamonds Like most successful businesses, HTC Flooring started with a problem. The Thysell couple, Håkan and Gunn, was running a cleaning company, but as they found many floors difficult to clean they decided to focus on polishing floors to a high-gloss, lowmaintenance condition. Unfortunately, not even this appeared easy, as most polishing equipment was old-fashioned and inefficient. The couple decided to provide a solution.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: HTC Flooring

Today, HTC Flooring is seen as the founder of the entire floor polishing industry, an innovator making the cleaning quick and cost-effective through a holistic approach to solutions and tools. Among its all-round best-sellers is the HTC Twister: a polishing pad impregnated with different-size diamonds for different purposes, used for everything from the occasional upgrade to daily chemical-free cleaning with dramatically higher-gloss floors as result.

In addition to being cost-effective, the HTC Twister is user- and environmentallyfriendly, as all you need to add is water.

“Imagine the look on people’s faces as we tell them that they don’t need chemicals anymore. Most of them don’t believe it!” says Lars Landin, CEO of the HTC Group.

With clean floors being a competitive ad-

vantage in everything from shopping centres to office complexes, the Twister is used to clean a whopping 15 million square metres of floors every day globally.

The innovator – not the imitator Back when it all started, Håkan Thysell researched the global market before developing his own machine, and the fact that most current competitors are old distributors is a sign of HTC’s success. “Lots of companies are trying to copy us, but we’re still very much the market leader,” says Landin: “A HTC customer should never risk losing a contract to a competitor using a different brand.”

The holistic concept with a tool for every situation is key to this success. While cleaning systems may not usually cause

excitement, HTC Flooring provides enough innovative solutions for some serious geekery: the HTC Superfloor, a dry-process polishing invention; remotely-controlled grinders, increasing the efficiency by 50 per cent; and rideable industrial grinders with a grinding width of 1.5-2.5 metres – and that is just a small selection.

The innovation never stops: plenty of news is about to be rolled out in the hardware polishing department, the Twister is about to see a new incarnation specifically targeting polish-coated floors, and a brand new set of diamond tools, the SMHX series, has just been launched. “We are also looking for other areas where our technology can be used, for example in infrastructure, where the HTC method is used for the renovation of bridges,” Landin enthuses.

As the HTC slogan goes: diamonds – it’s brilliant!

HTC Twister cleaning and polishing pads

For more information, please visit: htc-floorsystems.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Tacton Systems is one of the fastest-growing companies in Sweden, as listed by the national business paper Dagens Industri in 2012 and 2013.

The company works with clients such as Siemens, ABB and FL Smidth.

The software giant from Sweden

benefit is a shorter process where everything is correct.

found choice, but also a risk since it was very early days. But the team was great and everyone who works here has contributed tremendously,” he says. “It is not a coincidence that we are where we are today,” Wallberg adds, praising hardworking founders and colleagues along the way.

Born in the ’80s

Growth and expansion

It all started with a research project at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science in 1987. The project got more hands-on in the early ’90s with the task to develop sales configuration based on artificial intelligence programming. In 1996 the Swedish telecom company Ericsson tried out the research configurator and the team grew from two to seven staff until 1998, when the actual company was launched. Wallberg came on board in 2001, a consultant at first, but with his eyes set on becoming the CEO – and his choice of company was by no means random.

Tacton Systems has been listed as one of the fastest-growing companies in Sweden for two years in a row by business paper Dagens Industri, and everything points towards a third year. The company was also one of five nominees for the Ex-

Tacton Systems was founded in the 1980s and is today a world-leader in advanced sales and product configuration. Moreover, it is currently one of the fastest-growing companies in Sweden.

By Ellinor Thunberg | Photos: Tacton Systems

Producing advanced quotes for manufacturing companies in transportation, packaging or the telecom industry can be complicated and time-consuming for sales personnel. Tacton Systems has created software solutions to make it all easier, faster and more secure. The company works with medium-sized to large multinational companies, among them big names like Siemens and ABB. Christer Wallberg, CEO at Tacton Systems, uses a truck as an example of how sales personnel would only have to ask a client about usage and needs. “The system calculates what the customer’s perfect truck will look like and generates a complete quote. This gives the customer a better buying experience,” he says.

It is like a bank of knowledge, matching products with clients. The main customer

32 | Issue 66 | July 2014

“I looked at 30 other companies around the same time. I met with 15 of them and decided to go for Tacton. It was a pro-

Christer Wallberg, CEO of Tacton Systems.

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Tacton Systems at the event SolidWorks World.

port Company of the Year Award 2014, appointed by the Swedish Trade & Investment Council.

Walberg assigns the success to the fact that the company solves problems of great value. He also believes that good customer references are vital, but there is a lot of hard work leading up to that achievement. “We must create credibility to make customers want to invest. There are no shortcuts; we have worked systematically during a ten-year period to create strong customer references from major clients,” he says.

Swedish innovation and room to thrive Sweden has placed itself on the map as an innovative and creative country, and Wallberg believes it has to do the non-

Tacton Systems has 135 employees representing 15 nationalities.

hierarchical work structure. “Many young talents dare to try and they are not pushed back into a hierarchical structure. We are creative and innovative. It is in our culture.

We see possibilities and bring out solutions,” he says.

The CEO emphasises that young talents are not afraid to try new things and that it is all about giving them space to thrive.

“They are not sitting around waiting for someone to tell them what to do,” he says and adds that the junior engineers and computer scientists at Tacton Systems are really good at stepping up and managing situations, even when meeting with clients twice their age.

This mind-set applies to the whole of society and is strongly linked to the current entrepreneurial trend.

“If you look back 30 years, being an entrepreneur was something ugly, but that has changed completely.

Today, an entrepreneur is really sought-after.

And that means people choose to go that way, which is very positive,” Wallberg says.

Multicultural headquarters Tacton Systems is headquartered in Stockholm. The company operates with the whole world as its working-field and the 135 employees represent more than 15 nationalities. Wallberg insists that the organisation simply picks the best talents, in Sweden and beyond, stressing the importance of creating a company where young talents want to work – and stay for a long time. Many of the current employees have been in the company since 2000.

Bright future ahead The CEO feels positively about the future and says that their field, Configure Price Quote (CPQ), is one of the hottest in industrial software today and has gained both attention and investors lately.

“Our vision is to grow faster than the industry. During the next six months we will be getting many new large clients that can really change the map for us. Our ambition is to become a really, really good export company,” he says.

For more information please visit: www.tacton.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Stiga celebrates its 80th birthday with four anniversary models, but the company is not all about grass and gardening: the snow thrower is another popular product.

Where the grass is always greener The premium lawn mower and garden machinery brand Stiga has a proud Swedish heritage and celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.

By Ellinor Thunberg | Photos: Stiga

It all started in the Swedish small town of Tranås in 1934, when Stig Hjelmquist set up a company called Fabriksprodukter. He imported and sold table tennis products early on, and in 1954 the company started selling lawn mowers – the most wellknown products of all.

A Swedish success story “The recipe for Stiga as a successful brand is the Swedish tradition and historic entrepreneurship of Stig Hjelmquist who ran the company until the ’80s, in combination with being a modern marketoriented brand,” says Thomas Olsson, deputy managing director.

If you mention Stiga to someone who grew up in the late ’50s or ’60s, however, they might also think of the classic table hockey game – a childhood favourite for many Swedes. At that time, all players in the game, about one million per year, were hand-painted by housewives in Tranås.

Stiga is the premium brand of the GGP family and Olsson explains that it is still very much associated with user-friendliness, high quality, function and Swedishness. In time for the 80th anniversary, it launched four anniversary models.

Stiga is now owned by Global Garden Products (GGP), one of the largest manufacturers of lawn mowers and garden machinery in Europe. The company is headquartered in Italy, and production takes place there as well as in Slovakia and China.

“We are a garden company specialising in lawn mowers, and we work exclusively with gardening,” he says and explains that the part of the company called Stiga Games is today its own company, separate from GGP.

34 | Issue 66 | July 2014

The future of gardening GGP recently dubbed 2014 the year of robotic mowers, and Olsson agrees: “Robotic mowers are becoming increasingly popular,” he says, insisting that it is very much a case of a lifestyle product which customers are willing to spend more money on to make sure that the grass is always freshly cut, instead of settling for an ordinary lawn mower.

“The whole industry is going through a phase that will change the way you manage your garden and what tools you use.

The trend is moving towards more batteries and electrically-driven products, instead of gasoline. It is mainly a green way of thinking,” he says.

For more information, please visit: www.stiga.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Envirotainer provides solutions for shipping temperature-sensitive cargo around the world. Top right: The company has labelled its containers with a photo of Dora, to help ensure safe delivery to the end users. Middle: Envirotainer’s CEO, Simon Angeldorff.

Keeping cool for patients around the world “What most passengers travelling by air are probably not aware of is the important goods carried underneath the cabins on the planes,” says Simon Angeldorff, CEO at Envirotainer.

By Malin Norman | Photos: Envirotainer

This Swedish company is the leading solutions provider for shipping temperaturesensitive cargo for the life science industry, ensuring safe transportation of medications such as insulin, vaccines and other biologically sensitive products. Each container holds precious cargo for a value of around one million dollars, however its value extends far beyond the price and technology.

There are patients depending on the safe delivery of medication, and the transportation process must be carefully qualitycontrolled to ensure the products are not damaged or spoiled. Therefore, Envirotainer has labelled its containers with a photo of a child named Dora, alongside the message, “Dora is 8 and has diabetes. Please handle this container with extra care. It contains the insulin that she needs.”

Impressive awards Envirotainer has been recognised for its global solutions and recently awarded the

36 | Issue 66 | July 2014

Swedish Trade and Invest Council’s Grand Export Prize for successful export companies, presented by King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The prize is a recognition for all employees that their help creates value for customers each and every day.

The company also received the Export Hermes Award, presented by Crown Princess Victoria, for remarkable initiatives within Swedish export. The Posten Logistics Award, too, has been given to Envirotainer to acknowledge and reward its strong logistics solutions. “Envirotainer is not the type of company that normally gets a great deal of attention, so we are deeply honoured to have received these three prestigious awards,” says Angeldorff.

Industry pioneer Being the market leader and the benchmark for global cold-chain cargo, management and logistics solutions, Envirotainer continues to innovate and is

currently implementing SENTRY FlightSafe devices for its active containers. With this state-of-the-art technology, customers have access to containers along with productive monitoring of time- and temperature-sensitive products critical to the life science community.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, Envirotainer remains focused on continuously developing its products and solutions and plans to unveil more updates to its portfolio at the 12th Annual Cold Chain GDP & Temperature Management Logistics Global Forum from 29 September to 3 October in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Envirotainer

Founded: 1985 Head office: Upplands Väsby, Sweden Manufacturing, R&D, lab facilities: Rosersberg, Sweden International offices: Frankfurt, Singapore, Irwing Sales staff: in 20 countries worldwide Airports: serves 200 airports worldwide

For more information, please visit: www.envirotainer.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

An honest kind of warmth

individual garment, staying warm has never felt better.

Established in 1969 in Sweden’s Östersund, Woolpower works with a clear and honest vision: to generate warmth for 100 years. But far from settling for delivering warmth in the traditional sense of the word, through its high-quality thermal wear in the brand’s own fabric, Ullfrotté Original, Woolpower strives for warmth that goes deeper: through the company’s soul and out to every partner and employee.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Woolpower

“If the owner just wanted to maximise profit, the production simply wouldn’t remain here,” says marketing manager Karin Sundström of the decision to keep all production local, allowing the seamstresses to take pride in their work, with sole responsibility for every seam and every loop of the garments they make. “The seamstress is responsible for the garment she sews and will sew her name tag into the finished garment as a stamp of her personal approval.”

The idea is that a sense of responsibility is hugely rewarding, but the rewards are reaped by workers far beyond Sweden’s borders.

Sourcing its wool from Patagonia in South America, Woolpower insists on supporting a sustainable trade that allows the sheep to

graze in a way that is good for them – and for the local environment. From the farmers to the eco system, everyone is a winner.

The secret behind the globally popular thermal garments sees this insistence on honest responsibility marry genuine expertise. “Wool is fantastic in that it keeps you dry at all times and prevents smell,” says Sundström. “But the key to proper insulation is in the way we use the wool to knit our very own Ullfrotté Original, including synthetics for durability and using loose, wide loops to create air channels that support your body’s natural heat regulation.”

There is no bad weather – only bad clothes, goes an old Swedish proverb. With a genuine warmth that extends from the business objectives to the name tags on each

For more information, please visit: www.woolpower.se

Watch Swedish TV worldwide SVT World is the only tv-channel that offers Sweden’s most popular shows outside Sweden.The channel is accessible worldwide through satellite or internet connection. Programming includes Scandinavia’s number-one talk show Skavlan, drama series such as The Bridge and the latest news on the upcoming general election.

Read more at svt.se/svtworld and follow us on facebook.com/svtworld Subscribe at www.connova.se or call +46 (0) 141-20 39 10

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Readly is perfect for your holidays or the commute to work, or for leisure reading on the sofa.

Discover new books and magazines on your holiday Readly, often described as ‘Spotify for magazines’, is quickly becoming an everyday tool for anyone wanting to consume magazines and books without hassle.

By Sara Mangsbo | Photos: Readly

Hopefully by the time this article reaches you, your sought-after holiday is close and you are planning what to pack. This year, do yourself a favour and bring Readly. Not only will you save money and space in your suitcase, but you will also guarantee entertainment for the whole family throughout the trip.

app that is easily downloaded to any preferred mobile device, customers get the instant choice of reading thousands of magazines and books. Often compared to Spotify and Netflix, Readly is operating an ‘all you can eat’ subscription model where you get unlimited content access in exchange for a fixed monthly fee.

The idea behind Readly is to make reading more accessible for consumers and provide a central platform for publishers to upload their digital assets. Through an

Launching internationally

38 | Issue 66 | July 2014

The service, which was launched by Swede Joel Wikell in March 2013, has already gained a strong reputation globally.

As evidence of this, Readly expanded from Swedish titles exclusively to also including American titles in late 2013, followed by a launch in the UK a few months later.

“There is a lot of interest in our app from across international markets, and we have ambitious plans to roll out the service across Europe and a number of other territories over the next year,” says Annika Ismarker, Readly’s Nordic marketing manager. “We can see that consumers all over the world are now so used to getting what they want whenever they want it, and the business model of paying a fixed monthly fee has proved to be very successful. With this in mind and the increasing use of tablets we believe Readly

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

is the way to read magazines and books moving forward.”

Offering invaluable insights for publishers Not only is this a convenient service for consumers; there are many benefits for publishing companies as well. To upload a magazine to Readly is free of charge, and how much the publisher gets paid depends on the number of readers and the number of pages read. “Sharing magazines or books on our digital platform will allow the publishers to reach a broader, international market without having to care about production and delivery costs,” says Ismarker.

More important is the number of insights to be found in digital publishing. The publishers can easily log on to Readly to find information about page views, ad clicks, time spent reading and much more.

Pioneers in illustrated books Readly’s book service will launch internationally by the end of this year, but the lucky Swedes can already feast on the wide variety offered in the app. Kåre Halldén, CEO of Readly Books, explains that e-books used to be associated with fiction, but Readly is now a pioneer in everything illustrated. This has proved to be very popular among its customers, above everything in regards to children’s books.

“More than half of all kids over five years old in Sweden have access to a tablet, and letting them consume books through Readly is very convenient for any parent,” says Halldén. Cookbooks and fitness books are other examples being looked into at the moment. “The illustrated books allow us to cover a leisure type of reading which has barely existed within the digital market before.”

There is always time for Readly If you picked up this article after your holiday, you are probably regretting not knowing about Readly earlier. But look at it from the bright side: you can instead use your free two-week access on your commute to school, for your kid’s school start or simply for lazy Sunday afternoons on the sofa. “We are constantly adding issues and books to the app, so there is always something new and interesting to read at Readly,” promises Halldén.

Left: The subscription service gives you unlimited access to Readly’s magazines and books.

Two weeks of unlimited magazines for free Register on readly.com and try out two weeks of Readly for free You will get unlimited access to thousands of magazine issues and books After two weeks, you can choose to sign up to Readly for £9.99 a month

For more information, please visit: readly.com

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Sweden

Left: Snickers Workwear is a pioneer in the workwear market and present in more than 20 countries. Right: Wibe Ladders is the leading manufacturer of tradesman’s ladders, trestle steps and scaffolding.

Hultafors Group – with the craftsman in mind Hultafors Group’s proud craftsmanship focused on the end user began in 1883, when engineer Karl-Hilmer Johansson Kollén invented a measuring device that would facilitate Sweden’s conversion to the metric system – namely the folding rule, which can still today be found in almost every craftsman’s toolbox.

By Malin Norman | Photos: Hultafors Group

This focus on outstanding quality and innovation has constituted the backbone of the Hultafors Group for generations, while broadening the portfolio of products further and gaining ground internationally.

40 | Issue 66 | July 2014

Still with its base and production in Sweden, Hultafors Group is the parent company of Hultafors Tools, Wibe Ladders and Snickers Workwear, all renowned premium brands for distributors and crafts-

men to rely on, and represented in 37 countries with over 11,000 points of sales worldwide.

The main purpose of the business is to keep craftsmen at the forefront of their trade in terms of high-quality, functional and safe products. Keeping with the tradition of the end user in mind when developing new products for its brands, Hultafors Group does a thorough analysis of how the craftsmen work and their on-

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the-job challenges, and strives to provide tools that meet their requirements and make their working day safer, easier and more productive.

Three entrepreneurial pillars It all started with the Hultafors Tools part of the business and the aforementioned folding The well-known folding rule, invented in 1883. Hultafors Tools offers traditional measuring rule. The product range Gloves by Snickers Workwear have been recognised tools as well as axes, hammers, sledgehammers with the prestigious Red Dot Design Award. was originally characand pry bars. terised by traditional As part of its further expansion plans, prestigious design competitions, and a measuring tools made of wood, and later Hultafors Group recently acquired symbol of innovation, functionality and grew to include new tools such as Specma Tools AB. With this addition to its quality. squares, measuring tapes, folding rules portfolio of more traditional tools, the made of plastic and aluminium, axes, company can now offer distribution of Most recently, Hultafors Group was recoghammers, sledgehammers and pry bars.

FEIN, a leading brand of power tools and nised with the Red Dot Design Award for The expansion continued with acquisitions pneumatic tools for the construction and the excellent design and function of its of Dansk Stålindustri, German folding rule automotive industry. gloves Specialized Tool, Specialized Immanufacturer Präsident, and Fisco Tools pact and Power Grip, all under the Snickin England.

No doubt, more exciting plans and innoers Workwear brand. “We are very proud vative products for the quality-conscious of and happy about the prize. There is a lot The next addition to Hultafors Group was trade professional will be unveiled in the of hard work behind this,” says Joakim Wibe Ladders, Scandinavia’s leading mancontinuously successful story of the Hedelin, director of new business. ufacturer of tradesman’s ladders, trestle Hultafors Group. steps and scaffolding for trade profesThese workwear gloves are a recent addisionals. The company was founded in tion to the product portfolio and constitute 1929, its first revolutionary steel ladder History highlights of Hultafors a new concept called Left & Right Gloves, developed by inventor Anders Wikstrand.

Group another example of product development The principle of this innovation driven busi2005 Hultafors Tools acquires Wibe with the end user’s requirements in mind. ness, which is true still today, was putting Ladders AB. The gloves are sold one by one as they are quality and safety first in every step.

2006 Hultafors Tools acquires worn-out in different ways, and the new Snickers Workwear. concept also addresses the various work The third part of the successful puzzle is 2006 Hultafors Group is created as tasks of the craftsmen with special deSnickers Workwear, its roots dating back an umbrella group for Hultafors mands on left and right hand gloves reto 1975 when electrician Matti Viio deTools, Wibe Ladders and spectively. cided to design his own workwear as Snickers Workwear. nothing on the market was good enough 2008 Hultafors Group acquires Expanding with high-quality powertools for his needs. The company has since then Fisco Tools Ltd. “What started with a simple folding rule, been leading the way with pioneering 2011 Hultafors Group AB is created now present in almost every craftsman’s workwear, and is now present in more and becomes the parent toolbox, has over the years grown into than 20 markets with over 1,000 orders company owning Hultafors workwear, tool carriers, ladders and scafevery day to around 7,000 dealers across Tools, Wibe Ladders and Snickers Workwear. folding, and other products for trade proEurope. fessionals. We will extend our product 2014 Hultafors Group AB acquires Prestigious awards for innovation Specma AB. portfolio further, keeping true to the heritage of craftsmanship and entrepreneurThe group has won several international ship in the business, always with the end awards for its innovative products such user in mind,” says Jerker Funnemark, dias tool carriers, chisels and hammers, For more information, please visit: rector of business unit tools and group including numerous Red Dot Design www.hultaforsgroup.com marketing.

Awards. This is one of the world’s most

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collections work well for countless activities and the clothes are often seen at, for example, the golf course too.

Close to the sea The head office with its 18 employees is located just outside Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast, and the sea is so close by that lunch-hour sailing is possible. “We are located only five minutes from a harbour with boats, so we can easily test the garments. We are very close to life at sea and the staff spend a lot of time outdoors,” Petterson says.

The Swedish brand Pelle P offers the perfect fit for active people, including sailors and skiers.

Swedish design for active people Pelle P is the perfect fit for active people. The Swedish clothing brand is focused around sailing and skiing, but its leisurewear works for every outdoor occasion. Scan Magazine spoke to founder and CEO Cecilia Petterson.

By Ellinor Thunberg | Photos: Pelle P

The name refers to Cecilia Petterson’s father, the legendary sailor and designer Pelle Petterson. As a young girl, Cecilia spent her summers at sea and winters on the skiing slope, and her passion for fashion and design also came at an early age.

“I was interested in sewing and the construction of clothes already when I was very young, and I used to play imagining how clothes could look and function,” she says.

laugh, adding that the brand is aimed at quality-conscious and active people, not necessarily only sailors and skiers. The

New designs, fittings, adjustments and accessories are all made here and Petterson kickstarts the process herself. “I like to sit down alone at first, to start sketching and put down the foundation of the collection. After that, I discuss with colleagues and get feedback from them.”

Pelle P also collaborates with professional sailors and skiers to really put the clothes to the test through a concept called True Experience. As an example, the brand supplied clothes for the Swedish Challenge Artemis Racing in the last America’s Cup. “We worked closely with the sailing crew to develop clothing that really works on the extremely challenging catamarans,” says the designer.

For more information, please visit: www.pellepetterson.se

Passion turned into business Today Petterson has developed her firsthand experience and hobby into a business. And if she ever needs feedback on new collections, her father is happy to help. “He is involved in trying out the clothes and always comments quite a lot on how he feels about the depth of pockets, things like that,” she says with a

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Above right: Cecilia Petterson’s father, the legendary sailor Pelle Petterson, in action.

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S MA PECI DE AL IN TH DE EM NM E: AR K

Denmark – putting the D in design Visit a well-regarded hotel in any part of Scandinavia, and you can be sure to find at least one of Arne Jacobsen’s famous Egg Chairs. Go to a Michelin-starred restaurant in the city, and do not be surprised if it boasts a whole row of Poul Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamps. Minimalist cafes, on the other hand, are likely to opt for Jacobsen’s Ant Chairs, while no modern kitchen is complete without a stack of Margrethe Bowls

by Bernadotte & Bjørn. Danish design is everywhere.

ages citizens to get on the bike. Add leading names in the children’s wear sector, much-coveted jewellery brands and highend women’s fashion, and you will begin to see that the ‘Made in Denmark’ label says much more about an item than just where it is from.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: VisitDenmark

In addition to the above design legends, Denmark has produced a whole host of much-loved creatives, including Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner, and the iconic Danish 1950s and ’60s style of soft corners and sleek teak has been imitated to the point of madness and adored by high-end design collectors and Shoreditch hipsters alike.

It has been said of modern design that it is part of the national identity of all Danes, and it is no coincidence that BBC shows exploring the secret behind the latest Scandimania go to Copenhagen to find out more about the Danish way of life, the architecture of new, eco-friendly villages, and the landscape design that encour-

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Henning Kern and Gitte Dyrberg immediately saw sparks when they met at the Danish Design School in 1985, and though they are no longer privately a couple, their joint jewellery design venture sure sparkles.

Expanding the limits of jewellery design Nearly three decades ago, two design students got together and began transforming bags of flea market finds into colourful fashion jewellery. Today, their company, Dyrberg/Kern, produces approximately 1,000 jewellery designs every year, sold in more than 30 countries.

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Dyrberg Kern

When Henning Kern and Gitte Dyrberg met at the Danish Design School in 1985, their chemistry was immediately evident.

The two students soon initiated a creative collaboration, as well as a private relationship. While the designers split as a private couple six years later, their special professional, creative and emotional connection is still the cornerstone in Dyrberg/Kern’s world-spanning success. “I’m driven and determined, and I never give up. Henning is the same. He’s a powerful, positive force. He always looks up – never down,” explains co-founder and design director Dyrberg.

While still in school, the couple began designing and producing clothing, which they accessorised with home-made jewellery

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Henning Kern and Gitte Dyrberg

when presenting it to retailers. To the designers’ surprise, however, what most potential buyers paid attention to was the new style of jewellery, and soon the duo embarked on what was to turn into one of Denmark’s most successful design ven-

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Special Theme | Made in Denmark

tures. “Quite soon after founding our business, we had the idea of merging jewellery with fashion to create an up-to-the-minute collection of creative, affordable and greatlooking jewellery,” explains co-founder and administrative director Henning Kern, adding: “The collections and products change every season, but the main idea is actually the same: we want to make women look even more beautiful than they already are – to make women sparkle.”

Breaking with traditions Ever since Dyrberg and Kern’s first baby steps within jewellery design, the duo has been challenging and expanding the conventional conception of beauty with their unorthodox use of materials and sculptural shapes. In the late ’80s, the designers were among the first to break away from the traditional use of gold and silver and incorporate materials from the fashion world, such as feather, leather and silk, in their jewellery collections. The couple trawled flea markets and foreign production sites for suitable materials and inspiration. “Our intention was to have the look be expensive, but not the price,” says Dyrberg and adds: “So it’s not about being rich enough, just creative enough.”

While the philosophy behind Dyrberg/Kern’s designs remains unaltered, the collections keep changing, mirroring new sources of inspiration, new materials and international trends. In the late eighties, one of the company’s first commercial successes was a collection of colourful Plexiglas chandelier earrings. Today, colourful beads, brass, leather, shells, precious and semi-precious stones, crystals and sterling silver all make up the mix of dazzling glamour and minimalistic elegance that distinguish Dyrberg/Kern’s sparkling droplet earrings, sleek gold-plated bracelets, voluminous necklaces and stylish watches. The materials undergo various processes such as casting, polishing and plating of the metals, hand-braiding of the leather and cutting and inserting of the stones and crystals by hand.

and exploring new ways in their two yearly collections. Among recent additions are a Sterling silver collection and a time-telling jewellery collection. In total, Dyrberg and her four designers today design approximately 1,000 pieces of jewellery every year.

Though the collections are all distinguished by a sublimely simple modern Danish style, inspiration comes from everywhere and everything.

“We are open to happenstance. Everything is potentially interesting and can become the creative point of departure for a theme or a collection. All colours and materials have an innate beauty. We try to take our collections to a new place in our customers’ hearts and minds each season,” explains Kern, who attributes some of the duo’s success to their impatience, resulting in an energy and attitude that has often made Dyrberg/Kern first movers on the market: “Fashion is fast. It’s now. You don’t have all the answers to a question before you find an answer.”

Dyrberg/Kern’s 30th anniversary will be celebrated with a special collection called Trilliance, pre-released in October 2014.

The name is a combination of Triangle and Alliance, symbolising the three decades of a love for jewellery and the creative partnership between Henning Kern and Gitte Dyrberg.

For more information, please visit: www.dyrbergkern.dk

Dyrberg/Kern was founded in 1987 by Gitte Dyrberg and Henning Kern.

The company’s headquarter is located in Østerbro in Copenhagen, where all jewellery designs are created.

Dyrberg/Kern is marketed in more than 30 countries and has concept stores in Denmark, Holland, Dubai, Sweden, Greece, Canada, Russia and China.

Dyrberg/Kern suppliers and manufacturers have to sign a code of conduct and are regularly inspected to make sure that they abide by the company’s social and environmental standards.

Still exploring new ways Even though it is nearly three decades since Dyrberg/Kern started out, the design duo still keeps reinventing, expanding

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Everything at Holmegaard, from the most innovative of new products to recreations of old favourites, is done with respect for the history of the brand.

Denmark’s oldest glass brand is still burning hot For almost two centuries, Holmegaard’s hand-blown glassware has been famed for its elegance and uncompromising quality. Embodying the Danish tradition for style and design, the company continues to reinvent and expand its large portfolio of glass products and artefacts.

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Holmegaard

Founded by the Countess Henriette Danneskiold-Samsøe in 1825, Holmegaard started out as a few small glassworks in a peat bog manufacturing green bottles and clear glass tumblers. During the following centuries, the company grew to a large modern establishment, and today Holmegaard sells approximately two million hand- and machine-blown glass vases, glasses, bowls, candlesticks, plates and carafes every year.

In 2008, Holmegaard’s brand was included in Rosendahl Design Group, a family-owned multi-brand design company renowned for its success in revitalising Danish design classics. Aspiring to reinvent the then somewhat dusty brand,

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the company launched a series of recreations, line extensions and innovations in line with the brand’s original values.

“When we recreate, we take designs from the old archives and put them into production again. We have a lot of respect for, and pride in, the original products,” explains Charlotte Fly Andersen, Rosendahl Design Group’s vice president and head of global sales and marketing, and continues: “Line extension is when we develop new products to existing portfolios; the real innovation is what happens when we allow ourselves and our designers a completely open mind and draw on ideas and inspiration from everywhere.”

One of Holmegaard’s most popular new products is the beautiful Design with Light Lantern, designed by the young designer Maria Berntsen. The lantern is one of the only products in Holmegaard’s collections to combine glass with another material: full-grain leather. The result, a distinctive mobile light source that embodies the Scandinavian tradition for warmth and elegance, effortlessly conveys the history and tradition of Holmegaard as well as the success of its newest innovations. “Even when we develop new products, we always try to do it with respect for the traditions of the name. We would never produce something of a bad quality, even if it meant that the price would be lower,” Andersen says and rounds off: “We innovate with respect for the history of Holmegaard.”

For more information, please visit: www.holmegaard.com

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An oasis of art in the heart of Aalborg First-time visitors usually get quite a surprise when they enter the cobbled courtyard of Lange Kunsthåndværk (Lange Handicrafts), a ceramic workshop and gallery housed in an old farm from the 1700s. Although it is just a short stroll from one of Aalborg’s vibrant shopping districts, the courtyard is a peaceful spot where the noise of the city is barely audible.

By Lene Bech | Photos: Lange Kunsthåndværk

After a visit to the gallery, many visitors end up seating themselves in the garden, which is decorated with artwork by the Lange artisans and is a venue for popular weekly concerts throughout the summer.

“Once people have made their way down here, it often takes them a good while to leave,” says Louise Lange, a third-generation ceramic artist in the family business that is Lange Kunsthåndværk. She creates and exhibits her artwork side by side with that of her parents, Lisbeth and Peter Lange, who took over the family business in 1982 and developed the craft from traditional pottery to ceramic art.

The three artisans have a close working relationship with lots of room for creativity and a dedication to hard work, says Louise: “It’s not unlike life at the family farms in the old days – when it was time to harvest, everybody did their part.”

Every year, a new exhibition opens at the Langes’ gallery, which has been at the heart of Aalborg’s cultural life for decades. The artisans often give talks about their craft, either around town or at their workshop, which can also be booked for private events.

For more information, please visit: www.langekeramik.dk

Modern, timeless design From the office in Aarhus, Denmark, frier&frier is combining architecture and timeless design in its new range of furniture, a combination that changes the embodied experience of the room. The two sisters, Line and Marie Frier, explore the unique sensuous quality of the functionalistic tradition that they find essential to bring forth in the development of future Danish design.

By Josefine Older Steffensen | Photo: frier&frier

Marie says that they “look at architecture like it is a piece of furniture,” and it is from this point of view that the sisters are creating new pieces of furniture, which set out to challenge the original conventions of what furniture can be. Their new range of tables, called Antilope, is asym-

metrical to change the way people sit around the table and make it a completely new experience, designed for the senses and to help us feel comfortable within the room. The tables are also not static, hence the name; they are there to be moved around the house, making new spaces

The old farm from the 18th century in central Aalborg has been home to three generations of ceramic artists.

and informal relationships. The tables also create movement in their participants, as the asymmetric shapes mean that you can move a bit closer to the person you fancy, without it being obvious.

The entire production process is kept local, from the first drawings to the final piece – it all happens in Aarhus. The products are designed to last and are all handcrafted by the carpenter MoreWood, creating artisanal pieces. The pieces that the Frier sisters design are here to stay and become family heirlooms. With mirrors and dining tables as their next projects, it sure will be exciting to see how this company develops.

The sisters behind frier&frier: Line and Marie Frier.

For more information, please visit: www.frieraarhus.dk The Antilope series.

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FRIIS Co. designs accessories for young women who want to exude girl power and style.

A bagful of girl power

with a distinctive design profile at a price for which you would otherwise mostly get knock-off designs,” explains Larsen.

Combining functional and trendy designs with lots of girl power attitude, FRIIS Co., an experienced Danish fashion company, is going new ways. Authenticity, creativity and quality now saturate the company’s four annual collections of shoes and bags, which are set to make their debut in UK stores.

For the Autumn ’14 collection, FRIIS Co. is presenting a range of trendy, contemporary designs that accommodate everything you need for travel, party and a fashionable everyday life. A raw and minimalistic style is key in this collection reflected by cool, grunge-inspired items and smooth, sexy materials wrapped together in the dark, heavy colours of black, green, bordeaux and grey melange.

By Signe Hansen | Photos: FRIIS Co.

Founded 17 years ago, FRIIS Co. received a fresh injection of life last year in the form of a new headquarter, a new company set-up and a new design philosophy.

In an old factory in the raw northwest of Copenhagen, a team of 20 enthusiastic fashionistas, headed by designer Christina Marie Ulvedahl Franck, has since uncovered a brand that exudes girl power, sexiness, and most importantly creativity.

“It’s all in the team. We all work together to stay on top of the current trends and build a strong design profile; that’s one of the advantages of being a relatively small team,” says CEO Simon Larsen.

The brand continuously maintains the key elements of its original design philosophy, mixing girly and edgy street elements, but this is now combined with a fresh and cool new look based on quality materials and finishes.

While still competitive on prices, the brand’s authentic universe and distinctive Danish design quality have earned it an international customer base. Already exported to markets across Europe and Asia, FRIIS Co. now looks set to become a name on the British market. “What we can deliver, compared to other brands, is high quality on a range of functional products

The collection includes a wide all-around selection of bags in form of shoppers, small crossover bags, gym bags and stylish clutches, all beautifully crafted in real leather, pony hair or man-made materials.

The shoes section is just as diverse with a selection of trendy designs ranging from sexy stilettos to quirky animal print sneakers.

For more information, please visit: www.friis-co.dk FRIIS Co. presents a wide selection of sleek and sexy party stilettos as well as trendy everyday boots and quirky sneakers.

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Photo: RaschFoto

Photo: Oleana

Photo: Cloud Nine

SP MA ECIA DE L T IN HE NO ME RW : AY

Photo: Knut Neerland

A quality trade mark With its sacred natural resources and economic prosperity, Norway has developed sectors that aim to be world-leading knowledge hubs. Unparalleled expertise derived from Norwegian conditions has pushed companies to become pioneers across the globe within research and creative design. ‘Made in Norway’ has become a quality trademark, not necessarily aiming for low-cost production but value-creation and excellence across the entire supply chain.

By Kathrine Friis Schjetne, Nortrade

In a global market with increased competition, Norwegian companies are becoming more innovation-driven and sophisticated. International players now look to Norway to find the latest in technology, skills and knowledge. Our natural resources have always been at the core of our development, thus making us leading within sectors such as maritime, energy and marine industries. However, collaboration across sectors is becoming more and more important, fostering new industries with a competitive edge.

Norway is leading by example Sustainability and innovation are important key drivers for economic growth in Norway, and design is emerging as a major component to gain international visibility. Doing a search at www.nortrade.com, it becomes evident that Norwegian design is prominent across a wide range of global sectors, from award-winning ship design within the maritime sector to Norwegian branded seafood packaging, offshore turbine design, and high-quality interior design.

Giving insight into the Norwegian market and its leading companies, Norway Exports and Nortrade continue to push forward to promote Norwegian companies internationally, ensuring global presence and visibility for competencies ‘made in Norway’ at major exhibitions worldwide.

Keeping updated information on more than 8,000 Norwegian companies, Nortrade gives a complete overview of Norwegian export and import companies. The publication series Norway Exports gives you an overview of Norwegian trends, innovations and cutting-edge companies.

For more information, please visit: www.nortrade.com

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Made fair in Norway The textile brand Oleana has for the last 22 years proved that it is possible to produce textiles of superb quality in a high-cost country like Norway.

By Ingvild Vetrhus | Photos: Oleana

Recently, many retailers have been under criticism for providing consumers with products that have been produced under bad conditions in factories located in countries with cheap labour. The focus on ethical clothing is the inspiration behind Oleana’s slogan, ‘fair made’, as it is becoming more important for customers to buy clothing that has been produced in an environment with good working conditions. “We can no longer accept the humiliating circumstances that many women and children work under in order to produce inexpensive textile products.

‘Fair made’ is a slogan we believe we can take pride in using,” says manager Gerda Sørhus Fuglerud.

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Founded in 1992, Oleana’s intention was to create new jobs in Norway’s textile industry. At that time, most of western Europe’s clothing production had moved to other countries. Today, Oleana is the only Norwegian textile supplier left that has its entire post-spinning production within the country.

Inside Norway’s largest textile mill The business settled in at an old historical textile mill located on Norway’s scenic west coast in 2012. The textile mill was established in 1846 by the fjord in Ytre Arna, a borough near the charming city of Bergen. The textile industry is the oldest industry in the world and the factory,

called Arne Fabrikker, played a key role in Norway’s textile industry. After the factory was founded, it soon became the largest textile mill in the country and was also the first mechanised cotton mill on the west coast of Norway. It is said that western Norway’s textile industrialisation started inside this very building, but the doors were closed in 1978.

Oleana brought new life to the historical building and operates today with an “open factory,” where visitors are welcome to experience Oleana’s production process as a means to provide transparency and openness on how the factory is run on a day to day basis. A visit to the factory takes guests through the traditions of Norwegian textile production and a peek inside the museum and factory shop is a must.

“We want to be honest about what we make. We also want the public to see what

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it looks like when one of the oldest textile mills in Norway hosts the location of the youngest textile factory in the country,” says Fuglerud.

Quality, design and flexibility are three of Oleana’s key values and the business makes sure to keep up high standards by hiring staff that are skilled and experienced in knitting on ultra-modern hi-tech machines as well as doing the sewing and handwork. “By having our entire production in Norway, we are able to keep in control of our production to ensure high quality. We can then also preserve Norwegian knitting traditions and competence,” Fuglerud explains.

“Part of Oleana’s identity and status come from it being at the cutting edge between industry and fine craft. Oleana’s ambition is to make exquisite clothes. We want to create a garment with beauty and quality that people will love to wear,” she continues.

designer Solveig Hisdal. She is the sole designer of all Oleana’s creations and has received many design prizes for her work.

In the year 2000, she was awarded the highly coveted Jacob Prize, Norway’s most prestigious award for design, crafts and architecture. Oleana has also received the Award for Design Excellence a number of times from the Norwegian Design Council.

Celebrated design innovation

“We want to create a good atmosphere for our employees as well as being flexible for our customers. We put lot of work, care and love into every piece of clothing we make,” says Fuglerud.

Fuglerud also explains that the business wants to bring innovation into the clothes with one-of-a-kind designs and environmentally friendly fabrics. The person behind Oleana’s beautiful flower ornaments and colour combinations is Norwegian

In a world where we are increasingly becoming more aware of the products we purchase, Oleana invites us to reflect on the choices we make as consumers.

Clothes made from natural fibres, such as

wool and silk, are good environmental choices. Oleana only uses organic natural fibres such as merino wool, silk and alpaca. The textile supplier’s combination of fabrics found in the Norwegian culture and raw materials from around the world illustrates how international the textile industry really is.

Oleana’s products can be found in shops around the globe, including various locations in Germany as well as the US, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. You can also visit Oleana’s shops in Bergen, Stavanger, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Zug.

For more information, please visit: www.oleana.no

Oleana is based in one of Norway’s oldest textile mills, and it is sometimes said that western Norway’s textile industrialisation started inside this very building.

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Porcelain inspired by nature Inspired by the Norwegian flora, English-born ceramicist Sarah Reed has spent 15 years creating beautiful porcelain at her studio in Bergen. Having developed her own method of embedding organic leaves into porcelain, she sells her products all over Norway, as well as overseas.

With sets of bowls, cups and plates in porcelain, she has also made a name for herself in England. Her online store is currently in the making, so times are certainly busy in her little studio. However, Reed enjoys working on her own. “In order to be creative I need my freedom. This certainly isn’t a 9-to-5 job, but I absolutely love it,” Reed finishes.

By Kjersti Westeng | Photos: Sarah Reed

Born in England, Sarah Reed moved to Norway when she was only four years old. Coming from a family of creative craftsmen, she was constantly encouraged to pursue a career within arts and crafts. Reed moved to London to study ceramic design at Central St. Martins, but travelled back to Norway as soon as she finished. “I love western Norway, and to be honest with you I missed it.

When my friend told me she had found a studio for me, I knew I had to go back,” says Reed.

Upon returning to Norway, she started out working on the side of her crafting, but it did not take long before she became a full-time ceramicist. The embedding of organic leaves into porcelain quickly became her signature, and soon her products were found in a number of shops across the country. “My technique is originally inspired

by Chinese porcelain, but I have developed it into my own. It takes a little while to find your own style,” says Reed.

Work in progress. Removing dry flowers from porcelain cup.

Porcelain bowls with embedded organic leaves.

For more information, please visit: www.sarah-reed.com

From traditional jewellery to wearable art In a world where mass production and cost efficiency often are key words in a design process, designer, photographer and jewellery-maker Siri Berrefjord has taken a step back. Inspired by traditional Norwegian jewellery, she crafts individual, brightlycoloured pieces – each item a fusion of history and newness.

By Hannah Gillow Kloster | Photo: Siri Berrefjord

In her 20 years as a photographer and artist, Berrefjord has encountered countless examples of traditional Norwegian craft, be it embroidery, painting, or the stunningly intricate

jewellery that accompanies the Norwegian national costume, the ‘bunad’. “What really struck me about all these pieces,” explains Berrefjord, “was the sheer time that went into making

them. I was so motivated by the imperfect perfection, the individual life of every single piece.”

Inspired by the craft and beauty stemming from the Norwegian farmer’s culture, Berrefjord handcrafts pieces strongly reminiscent of the ‘bunad’ jewellery, but in brightly-coloured plastic. The national costume tradition still stands strong in the Norwegian mindset, and Berrefjord says that she has “elicited many reactions to what some call cultural appropriation, messing with traditional designs that according to some belong on a bunad and nowhere else.”

It is precisely this ‘messing with tradition’ that makes Berrefjord’s pieces so special, yet so recognisable. Her work is strongly traditional both visually and in the way each item is individually crafted over a long time, but can at the same time immediately be identified as something out of the 21st century in sharp hues of pink, blue, and yellow. Jewellery, yes – but also pure art.

A part of Designerkollektivet in Oslo, Berrefjord sells her designs at their store at Glasmagasinet, as well as online at www.fredenshavn.no.

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Timeless jewellery – for the little ones Arne Nordlie AS is a goldsmith, manufacturer and wholesaler specialising in enamel jewellery as well as silver and gold. It all started with Arne Nordlie himself, a creative artist pursuing a range of projects, including a perpetual motion machine, but instead becoming a goldsmith with his own company.

make people discover the unique quality within the pieces: a sort of timelessness, like the colour of the enamel that never fades.

By Linda K. Gaarder | Photos: Arne Nordlie AS

“It is demanding to work with enamel, which is a type of glass. However, my grandfather connected the labour with his interest in details and structures – which resulted in exclusive jewellery,” explains Nordlie’s granddaughter, Anne Marthe G. Pihl. Almost 70 years later, through generations of craftsmanship, the art of enamelling has become a great tradition for the company, alongside a neverceasing emphasis on good quality.

What makes Arne Nordlie stand out from other goldsmiths is the brand Pia&Per, says Pihl. Pia&Per represents jewellery for children, and the collection has a traditional Norwegian look in silver and glass enamel. The different motives include the original 1950s silver heart, and today the Pia&Per collection is present in almost every jewellery shop in Norway. Moreover, it represented almost 60 per cent of the Arne Nordlie turnover last year.

Experience shows that the Pia&Per products are durable. “It often begins as a traditional gift for a baptism or birthday, but the pieces remain used throughout life,” says Pihl. Likewise, the jewellery references the beautiful, eternal and real – symbols of love for the loved ones in our lives. Many keep these products as a treasure from childhood and older people might want to share them with the younger generations. “I just heard from a seller in a shop in northern Norway that a 96-year-old woman over the years has bought 48 pieces of our hand-painted, enamelled heart with a child’s prayer engraved at the back – one for each of her great-grandchildren.”

The moment has arrived for the Pia&Per collection to conquer the world outside Scandinavia. Earlier this year the company participated in a jewellery exhibition in Hong Kong. The aim of Pia&Per is to

Arne Nordlie AS was founded in 1946.

All pieces are designed in Norway and produced abroad. Every year the company sells approximately 80,000 pieces of jewellery for children.

For more information, please visit: www.arnenordlie.no www.pia-per.com

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inspiration she needed to start planning her jewellery design label. Eighteen months later, her unstoppable creativity and drive have manifested themselves as Farmhousedesign – a jewellery design company that delivers to over 70 dealers in Norway and a handful of stores in Sweden and Germany, and runs its own online shop. This summer, Øhrling will be launching her very own boutique – LOVE – in Oslo.

Childhood treasures Øhrling’s childhood was filled with vibrant stories from the seven seas and the beautiful objects these men brought home to their wives from exotic-sounding places like Bombay, Rio de Janiero, Cape Town and Sydney. “The women who stayed at home were independent and strong; many of them had their own shops. My background gave me a sturdy foundation for believing that anything is possible,” Øhrling says.

“I grew up during the ’70s in a small town near the coast, not far from Oslo. My grandmother owned a treasure chest in her bedroom. It was a big jewellery box full of rings and earrings in colourful stones, enamel and pearl necklaces. The box was covered with mint green silk on the outside and had a little ballerina on the inside that twirled around to the sound of Für Elise,” Øhrling recalls. “I used to love dressing up in her silk dresses and high-heeled Mary Janes.”

With fond memories of rooting through her grandmother’s old treasure chest and skills within everything from architecture to fine art, Lise Camilla Øhrling left her job to pursue jewellery making.

From fauna to finery Inspired by Norwegian nature, oriental colours and antique craftsmanship, each piece of designer Lise Camilla Øhrling’s jewellery tells a unique story.

By Maya Acharya | Photos: Farmhousedesign

Lise Camilla Øhrling already had grownup children of her own when she decided to quit her job at an architectural firm in Oslo to pursue jewellery making. Together

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with her husband and her dog, she moved to her family’s small farm near Lillehammer. Here, surrounded by mountains and dense forests she found the peace and

These fond memories of rooting through treasure chests filled with precious stones give an apt backdrop for what was to become Øhrling’s passion for design, aesthetics and adornment. Øhrling would later study graphic design, digital art and fine art before uncovering her talents for jewellery making.

Design from the heart Øhrling says that her jewellery is designed from the heart. She is not too concerned about fashion or trends, but this has not dented her success. If anything, it seems that her markedly delicate style has helped to place Farmhousedesign firmly on the map of innovative Norwe-

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gian jewellery design. Farmhousedesign jewellery has been embraced by women of all ages and has a price tag that is within reach for most.

Her pieces immediately evoke an unmistakably Norwegian character, inspired by nature. Her jewellery displays forms derived from Norwegian flora and fauna but with unconventional material combinations and oriental colours. The style is feminine and classic but often with a twist.

Farmhousedesign’s collections are produced with different materials such as gold-plated brass, silver, stainless steel, semi-precious stones, Swarovski, natural pearls, glass, natural cotton, leather and silk. Sometimes vintage and recycled materials are used. When the initial idea-

sketch is finished, a draft is drawn and measured before being passed onto the production stage. Prototypes are tested at length to ensure that the quality is satisfactory before the models are released for sale. All of the jewellery is hand-made – from casting to polishing.

Communicating beauty “Each piece of jewellery is like a little story born out of the sort of atmosphere I want to create,” Øhrling says. “It is important for me to be true to my own ideas and create my own signature style. In a design process over time you experience different states of mind that are communicated in different models – from simple, classic everyday pieces to more extroverted party jewellery.”

Ultimately, the result is something with genuine character, designed by a person with a true interest in the beauty of expression and individual personality. “I have always been fascinated by a strong personality – it is what makes people so interesting as objects of exposure. Jewellery is so much more than just hanging decorations on yourself to enhance your appearance,” Øhrling explains. “It’s a tool to express your identity and visually reflects a little of what is on the inside.”

For more information, please visit: www.farmhousedesign.no

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Made with passion In a world of increasingly mass-produced, short-lived jewellery, Su Misura is out to make a difference. With every piece handmade in Norway by two passionate entrepreneurs, Su Misura jewellery is fun, beautiful – and different.

By Hannah Gillow Kloster | Photos: Su Misura

When Anne-Grethe Amundsen and Hanne Sophie Blauw started up nine years ago, the choice of business name was no coincidence.

As Amundsen explains, “Su misura is Italian for tailor-made,” and perfectly reflected their business idea: something handmade, one-of-akind, and local.

From their workshop at Frogner in Oslo, the two jewellers soon needed to expand their tailor-made concept to meet the demands of

customers, bloggers, and stylists. Today, they have two main branches of jewellery. The quirky, elegant jewellery available online and in stores is handmade in Oslo using raw materials which Amundsen and Blauw collect from all over the globe. Their line of vintage redesign is different, reflecting Amundsen’s strong passion for what she calls “the ‘unika’ thought – the idea of something no one else has.”

Delivering handmade pieces to more than

A playful streak As a graphic design and illustration company, Smaapigerne is perhaps a tad untraditional. Rather than limit themselves to a single expression, the aptly named duo works within every genre of graphic design and illustration. Their trademark? A particularly playful streak.

25 outlets in Norway, as well as selling jewellery online, may seem a daunting prospect for only two jewellers. “It is passion,” Amundsen explains. “We are so passionate about this – we love getting up every morning and creating jewellery.” This passion keeps them going, and is clearly reflected in their fun and wearable pieces.

Though Su Misura is in increasing demand, some things will not change. As Amundsen says, “Our focus is on design handmade in Norway, and we intend to keep it that way. Our goal? Simply to make beautiful things that people want!”

For more information, please visit: www.sumisura.no

create enthusiasm and emphasise the message,” say the two designers, explaining that their expression has “worked well for larger, serious clients, making somewhat heavier source material more accessible, softer if you will.”

Smaapigerne’s joyful streak is also a strong contributing factor to their breadth of experience. As they explain, “this pure joy of creating, inventing, and reinventing comes particularly handy when we design everything from children’s toys to posters and annual reports.” Inspired by the fact that no two jobs are the same, Smaapigerne keep pushing the envelope on traditional design and illustration, creating fluid, seamless solutions in every medium.

By Hannah Gillow Kloster | Photos/Illustrations: Smaapigerne

Graphic designers/illustrators Kaja Ødegaard and Sissel Ringstad are behind Smaapigerne, which has been providing design solutions to the Norwegian market and beyond since 1999.

Though their work spans from the smallest to the largest projects, and from designing games to illustrating official state documents, there is still a recognisable touch throughout. As they

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explain, “our work can be simple and pure when the customer wants it, but we naturally veer towards a more colourful and playful expression. We create with charm, warmth and humor, whether we are designing for corporates or for children.”

Their trademark colour and playfulness is not just visually pleasing, however. “We want to

For more information, please visit: www.smaapigerne.no

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Above left: From the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize exhibition: Combating Chemical Weapons. Top right: Melkeveien has designed the font for Avinor as part of its new visual identity. Above right: The agency also designed the famous TINE logo.

Creating a unique brand identity Having delivered visual identities to some of Norway’s most famous brands, Melkeveien has extensive experience within the graphic design industry. Specialising in typography, the Oslo based agency has a very impressive client list, featuring names such as Statoil, Avinor, TINE and Telenor.

file. I designed the font for both Telenor and Statoil, and consumers now immediately associate those companies with that particular font,” says Rakeng.

By Kjersti Westeng | Photos: Melkeveien

Due to its expertise in the field of typography, Melkeveien is often asked to create fonts as part of larger corporate profiles created by other design agencies.

Recently, Snøhetta Design asked Melkeveien to design the font for Norwegian airport operator Avinor, as a part of its new visual identity. “It will always take time to establish a new brand identity, but I’ve seen the font being used on screens and signs at various airports, making Avinor a stronger and more visible brand throughout,” finishes Rakeng.

Melkeveien was launched in 2001 by Birgitte Reff Kolbeinsen, Stian Berger and Magnus Rakeng. The designer trio had worked side by side at a large design company for years and felt it was time to take the next step. 13 years later, the small company of six has achieved great success. “Being small certainly has its advantages. For starters, we are always in direct communication with our clients.

They appreciate being able to talk to us directly, without a project manager standing between us,” says partner and graphic designer Magnus Rakeng.

Melkeveien’s impressive portfolio features a variety of visual profiles, logos, typefaces and illustrations delivered to clients from across the country, as well as a few

international ones. For the last five years, Melkeveien has worked closely with the Nobel Peace Center and special designer Christine Lohre, designing the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition and other exhibitions throughout the year.

Designing fonts Rakeng specialises in typography and has designed fonts and logos for a number of famous brands, including the London based Eye Magazine, one of the world’s leading design magazines. Although the larger companies tend to be the ones investing money into the creation of their own font, Rakeng insists that it is money very well spent, regardless of the size of the company. “The font is a very important element when designing a corporate pro-

For more information, please visit: www.melkeveien.no

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Ole-Petter, June and Sofie Now an enamel jewellery designer, June Rasch-Olsen remembers running around her father’s workshop as a child with her sister – and, she insists, not a lot has changed since then.

Enamel is back From the heart of Oslo, family-run Enamelfashion by Opro Produkter AS is bringing enamel back into fashion with fresh designs, contagious enthusiasm and age-old knowhow.

By Maya Acharya | Photos: RaschFoto

Norway has long been known as one of the masters when it comes to the art of enamel jewellery, which might explain why this time-honoured craft has often been associated with traditional, archetypal designs. However, this is changing.

Opro Produkter AS specialises in handmade enamel jewellery and is on a mission to introduce people to the endless possibilities of this lesser-known material and the refined craftsmanship it involves.

“I have definitely grown up with enamel.

We used to run around the workshop as children – dad even changed our nappies here!” professes June Rasch-Olsen. “Jewelling is something that I absolutely love.

Making enamel jewellery is a complicated process – depending on what you’re making there can be 18 steps from start to finish, but when I sit down at the work bench, I’m sitting down to relax. I’m in my element.”

A house with history

Not a lot has changed in the workshop since June and Trine were children; they say even the smell is the same. Around the workshop, you can see hand-written instructions written in felt-tip on the walls by June’s father, explaining how to use the machines.

“We haven’t replaced much of our machinery – we often find the older hand-made machines work better,” explains June.

Ole Petter Rasch-Olsen started Opro Produkter AS in 1976. Today it is owned and run by his daughter, June Rasch-Olsen.

Ole Petter still works for the company, doing jobs that no one knows how to do nowadays, while June’s sister Trine Rasch-Willumsen is responsible for the marketing side of things.

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A new epoch for enamel One thing that is changing is the exposure Opro Produkter AS is generating. The company is focusing on innovative and bold designs and new photographic campaigns and is showcasing exclusive designs at Oslo Trend fashion week.

Another novelty is its children’s collection, enhanced by a design by June’s 7year-old daughter Sofie. “She brought home a drawing of a koala bear, ‘Rufsa’, from school one day and we thought ‘hm, this would make a great logo’. We have now also launched the Rufsa necklace collection,” says June.

“I think a lot of people don’t realise how versatile enamel can be with its countless colours – it’s a beautiful art form,” she asserts. “We hope that more people will get to know us, our enamel jewellery and this fine old craftsmanship.”

For more information, please visit: www.emaljesmykker.no

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“I’ve always been creative, always enjoyed arts and crafts,” says Vinje when asked where the interest in jewellery design came from. “I think it came very naturally to me.

I became a goldsmith and continued on to study design in London,” she says. Vinje studied jewellery at London Guildhall University, before getting her BA in Jewellery Design at Central St. Martins College of Art & Design. Soon after, she was designing and producing her own jewellery in Oslo. To begin with she mainly worked on request, but as of 2002 Vinje was selling her jewellery through a number of jewellery shops across the country. In 2012 she gave up her 9-to-5 sales job in order to focus on her own designs full-time.

Less is more

The plexiglass bracelet design is Vinje’s signature design, sold all over Norway.

The beauty of simplicity Jewellery designer Nina Vinje has designed and produced her own jewellery since 1998. However, it was not until 2012 that she decided to make it her full-time profession. With her jewellery available in a number of shops across Norway and an online store in the making, the future is looking bright for Nina Vinje.

By Kjersti Westeng | Photos: Steffen Rikenberg

Inspired by the city’s impulses, colours and energy, Vinje loves living in Oslo. However, the simplicity of her designs suggests she is also inspired by her weekends spent at the cabin by the sea. Proving that less is in fact more, Vinje’s designs are easily recognised as clean and simple, yet beautiful and lively.

Using a lot of circular and oval shapes, she sticks to two main materials: silver and plexiglass. The plexiglass bracelets in different colours seem to have become Vinje’s signature item. “I’ve been making it for 10 years now and it is one of my personal favourites. It was the first product that I felt was my own; in a way I feel like these bracelets were the beginning of my collection,” says Vinje.

At the moment, Vinje’s jewellery collection can be bought in a number of jewellery shops across Norway, most famously Norway Designs, located in Oslo and Trondheim, as well as the Oslo-based Sugar Shop. As of this autumn, she will also have an online shop up and running.

Additionally, Vinje sometimes exhibits her designs at events and fairs throughout the year, including design event Oslo Trend from 11 to 17 August.

For more information, please visit: www.ninavinje.no Using oval and circular shapes, Vinje sticks to two main materials: silver and plexiglass.

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The idea to develop a smart and slim wallet, flexible irrespective of the number of cards and notes inside, originated already in 1999.

A Norwegian design success: functionality meets fashion Pure quality and delightful design has seen Exentri’s wallet expand as a concept from Norway to a worldwide phenomenon as the two Norwegian founders’ meticulous work has seen design meet practicality.

By Didrik Ottesen | Photos: Exentri

Made from genuine leather and with a lock of stainless steel, Exentri’s wallet has practical compartments on each side, allowing its owner to simply push the two most frequently used cards out using the thumb, without even opening it.

“The product is thoroughly developed and adapted to the modern man as it is of classy and clever design and, despite being smaller than the traditional wallet, it can still hold several cards, notes and receipts,” says Jon Richard Skjelvand, cofounder of Exentri.

Founded in 1996 by childhood friends Skjelvand and Marius Schiøll, the company established the increasing numbers and usage of debit and credit cards

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around the millennium and subsequently the need for a wallet to support them, eventually launched in 2006.

“The main focus at the start was to establish the product in Norway, and that happened relatively quickly. We have now expanded to over 15 countries and are looking for expansion to both USA and Asia,” says Skjelvand. “There are over 20 models, designed for both men and women, all of which have the same practicality, functionality and quality that we have worked very hard to develop and maintain. In fact, of the first 100,000 wallets we personally checked every single one of them to make sure they were all of satisfactory quality.”

The idea to develop a smart and slim wallet originated already in 1999, with the goal to design a wallet as flexible as possible, whether containing many or fewer cards and notes. 15 years later, the Exentri wallet is ready for launching into the American market.

“The process of reaching the American market is well established and we’re looking to launch there within a few months if everything goes according to plan, with Asia hopefully next in 2015,” Skjelvand explains. “It is all very exciting as we are also continuing the development of the existing products.”

For more information, please visit: exentri.com

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Heavenly design Award-winning design company Cloud Nine always considers the consumer’s experience first. The team knows when to be playful and when to be serious and always has a strong Nordic focus on functionality and innovation.

By Maya Acharya | Photos: Cloud Nine

Cloud Nine specialises in the design of outerwear, mid-layers and next-to-skinlayers in fashion, active sports and profiling. The brand is the design child of Rita Schaffer and Jorunn Heggdal, who met at clothing company Bik Bok after being employed on the same day. After an exceptional 15-year partnership, Schaffer took over in 2007. Throughout its history, Cloud Nine has worked with a variety of clients, big and small, and has won prizes such as The Award of Excellence by the Norwegian Design Council twice.

Design that makes a difference Looking at Cloud Nine’s merit list, its versatility certainly stands out. Among their clients, you can find clothing brands such as Devold of Norway, Sätila of Sweden and Lille Lam. Among them, Schaffer admits that a special project for her was the

development of clothing for LinusCare, a company that offers unique carrier systems for children in need of feed tubing.

“The goal was to allow them to get the nutrition they needed by integrating the solution into their clothing. Being able to create design that made a difference to these children’s lives by allowing them to be active was really big for me. It’s a project that is very close to my heart,” says Schaffer.

line’ designers, because we are constantly balancing on a fine red line between functionality, innovation and commercialism.

We want to make good design that works but that, at the same time, people want to buy!” Schaffer asserts.

One of the ways in which Cloud Nine makes this a reality is by focusing on the consumer and the finished product above all else. “We basically start at the other end and work our way backwards,” explains Schaffer. “We like to be playful in the design process, and make little ‘worlds’ for our clients where we map the whole setting before creating the product. We’re a bit childish at Cloud Nine, but we have a lot of fun!”

Functional fun Cloud Nine specialises in technical fabrications with new production technology and special fabric development. This focus on technical expertise and innovation is very important to the company’s ethos. “I always say that anyone can make good design, but to make something functional is something else. I say that we are ‘red

For more information, please visit: www.cloud-nine.no

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Above left: On-location photo shoot with bathroom ready to be photographed. Right: Photograph from photo shoot utilised as main photo in a branding campaign, used both as advert and for promotional materials.

Branding through imagery Blå Design is a Norwegian design studio, formed in 2001. Today, it has seven employees with experience in visual communication and branding. “We want to apply insight, knowledge and playfulness in order to develop strong ideas and unparalleled expressions, which stand out and become effective tools for our customers,” explains senior designer Aimee Thomassen, who has been with Blå Design for five years.

By Stian Sangvig | Photos: Knut Neerland

Thomassen continues to suggest that any value-adding design process should commence with an overall strategy and a basic understanding between agency and client of achieving the goal together as strategic partners. “Our job consists of brand identity, packaging, publications and digital design,” she says.

One of the agency’s most challenging projects so far this year was a photo shoot for a leading Norwegian provider of bathrooms. In order to communicate properly, appropriate images are necessary – and the client was well aware of this. In fact, this was the fourth year in a row that Blå Design took on this kind of project for said client. The task was to do eight bathrooms in four weeks. This included set-up, instal-

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lation of bathroom products, photo shoot and disassembly. “We needed a month when we renovated our bathroom at home,” says Thomassen to give perspective. There was, as such, no time to lose.

Being responsible for project management and art direction during the photo shoots gives Blå Design full control over the process, from strategy via concept development to the finished marketing material.

After the strategy, target market, desired image and objectives have been defined in the introduction meetings with the client, everyone at the company gets to work.

“In this case, we found a building with 800 square metres and 20 metres in ceiling height to play with,” says Thomassen. The

expectations of photographers, stylists, builders, plumbers and painters had to be managed, in order to ensure a smooth and efficient process. The photos were utilised for the internet, brochures, marketing campaigns and advertisements according to the original strategy and objectives.

This case shows how essential visual product presentation is for the client to send the right signals to the market.

“Suitable and unique images will strengthen the brand and can be an essential key to success,” concludes Thomassen.

Project manager discusses drawings and plans with technical specialist. Photo: Blå Design.

For more information, please visit: www.blaadesign.no

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Packing made perfect A frequent flyer with a love for design and order, Anne Gunnœs is the brain behind PicPac – a packing concept designed to make travelling a little easier.

By Maya Acharya | Photos: PicPac

The idea for PicPac first occurred to Gunnœs when she was living and working in Brussels, a European hub of travellers. “I was out and about travelling a lot and felt a real need for some structure in my luggage. In the end I decided that I should take matters into my own hands, and collaborated with design company WORK to develop PicPac.” PicPac is an ongoing collection consisting of ShuPac – a travel pouch that separates your shoes from your clothes; and ZipPac– a pouch that keeps your clothes and accessories or-

ganised and compressed while travelling. The ‘pacs’ come in grey or the more popular ‘spicy orange’. Gunnœs says that the stylish design is inspired by Nordic minimalism and natural colours. This August will also see the anticipated launch of ShirtPac. Since Gunnœs launched her products a year ago, she has been moving ahead nicely with her business and happy customers. In addition to its online shop, PicPac also delivers to Norwegian design shop Pur Norsk AS in Oslo.

“Companies and other organisations have

chosen PicPac as a gift for their employees or business partners,” says Gunnœs. “The great thing about PicPac is that it’s an international product for an international market – a product that appeals to both men and women and is perfect for both business and pleasure.”

For more information, please visit: www.picpac.com

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: ME G E H N L T AMI A I EC H G SP NIS FIN

A small country, Finland lacks any significant domestic gaming market, resulting in an eco system of a tightly-knit developer community of world class. Left: PlayStation 4 session at an IGDA Finland event. Photo: Mikko Karsisto / IGDA Finland. Right and above: The Finnish Game Industry Gala. Photo: Mikko Karsisto / Neogames.

The success of the Finnish game industry:

Something in the water The Finnish game industry has been growing dramatically during the past few years.

In 2013, the total turnover of the industry was estimated at 900 million, with a whopping 260 per cent growth from the previous year. That magic limit of one billion euros is getting closer.

By Suvi Latva, Neogames Finland

The success has also convinced international investors. Between 2011 and 2014, private, mostly overseas investments in Finland equalled 1.73 billion USD, enabling great opportunities to create new success stories.

At the moment, the most well-known Finnish game companies are Supercell with Clash of Clans and Rovio with Angry Birds, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Along with top-grossing mobile game companies, there are very strong console developers, including Remedy, the developer of Alan Wake, and Housemarque with its award-winning Play Station 4 launch title, Resogun.

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So why has Finland become one of the world’s top game developer countries?

Finland is a small country. Only 5.5 million people live here. Consequently, there is no significant domestic market for games, meaning that Finnish studios do not see each other as direct competitors. On the contrary, for them, the success of a studio in the local eco system is likely to improve their own chances as well.

The country’s small size has led to a tightly-knit and a well-organised professional developer community, where game development is still nurtured as an industry of passion. This is not surprising, as the community has its roots in the strong

hobbyist culture built around the local demo scene. However, a professional community was built by IGDA Finland and other key actors, organising local developer meetings all over the country and reaching up to 300-400 participants.

There is also great support from the public authorities. Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, had already started to support the local game industry in 1998.

This public support can be used, for example, to leverage private investments and share the risk.

Last but not least: thanks to Nokia, Finns have been familiar with mobile game development for quite some time. And, of course, there is just something in the water.

For more information, please visit: www.neogames.fi

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billion views after only one year. The channel’s main shows are Angry Birds Toons and Piggy Tales, two hilarious animated series about the beloved birds and cheeky pigs. The channel also has tonnes of other great content from Rovio’s partners.

Rovio’s animation studio, the largest in the Nordic countries, is currently developing new series, one of which is Stella and friends’ very own show.

Stella and her friends will inspire and entertain

Rovio Entertainment – innovative storyteller Rovio Entertainment is the company behind Angry Birds, a casual mobile game that became a global phenomenon within a few months of its release. Today Angry Birds is an entertainment brand, which reaches out into publishing, licensing, animation, books and more. This year, Rovio is launching Angry Birds Stella, a new and inspiring brand with colourful characters.

Text & photos: Rovio Entertainment

Headquartered in Finland but with offices around the world, Rovio currently employs over 800 highly talented people from all corners of the entertainment industry.

Rovio is renowned for launching entertaining family brands, as well as continuously innovating with its existing offering.

“We are always trying to cater to our fans’

needs and offer them fun and surprising experiences that can’t be found anywhere else,” says Blanca Juti, Rovio’s CMO. A good example of this is ToonsTV, a video distribution channel available across most Rovio games and online. Launched in March 2013, the channel attracted over 2

Earlier this year, Rovio announced Angry Birds Stella, a new brand that introduces a flock of six fun and feisty birds who share a common love for fun and adventure. Sometimes their strong and quirky personalities clash, but they remain best friends forever – at least most of the time!

Stella and her flock will star in their own games, animation series, books and other high-quality consumer products.

Angry Birds Stella and friends is inclusive, and sets out to entertain and inspire everyone. One of its main themes is to celebrate important issues such as friendship, female heroism and daring to be yourself. The world will first meet this colourful flock in September when the first Angry Birds Stella game is launched and the first books are published in selected markets. In November this fearless flock’s own weekly animated series will air on ToonsTV, broadcast TV channels and other places too. “Stella and her fierce friends have a lot up their sleeve and we can’t wait for the world to meet them!” says Juti.

For more information on Rovio, please visit: rovio.com For more information on Angry Birds Stella, please visit: stella.angrybirds.com angrybirds.com pinterest.com/stellafriends Watch Angry Birds Toons and Piggy Tales here: toons.tv

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Athene Exergaming: Finnish innovators bring the excitement of gaming into gyms Gone are the days when ‘gaming’ conjured up images of pale youngsters sitting in front of a computer with a pizza, too absorbed in virtual reality to care for exercise. Now the stunning computer graphics of the gaming world are put to work at the gym. Exergaming makes it possible to run, bike, row and do a variety of sports while enjoying the best of outdoor scenery – indoors. The world may be virtual, but the sweat is real. Finnish university venture Athene Exergaming is a forerunner in the field.

By Joanna Nylund | Photos: Athene Exergaming

Athene Exergaming saw the light of day at the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences just two years ago, and is a business venture made up of experts in gaming, programming, graphic design and engineering. The seeds for creating a product family in exergaming were planted at the Kajaani branch of the University of Oulu,

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where a group of employees first developed driving simulators. An idea slowly started taking form: what if the driving simulator was replaced with something else, like a treadmill, the technology built up around that? The team and its exergaming products are now making their first forays into Europe and beyond.

Project manager and former professional athlete Veli-Matti Nurkkala is at the helm of the exergaming venture, which is currently under the umbrella of Kajaani University of Applied Sciences and the CEMIS Development Programme, and soon under his own company CSE Entertainment, also in exergaming.

Mountain today, beach tomorrow Designed to fit a variety of equipment, for example treadmills, bikes and rowing machines, exergaming is primarily designed for use in gyms. Fancy a run on the beach, or do you prefer the challenge of a hillside? There are different themes to explore, including a tranquil Finnish forest

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and a city trail. The orienteering programme comes with the ever-changing terrain you would expect, but Nurkkala is quick to point out that bumps and hills are carefully designed so as to avoid stumbling.

Different kinds of games, for instance collecting a number of clues in a set time, will be incorporated to a greater degree in the future. As Nurkkala jokes, “Before long we’ll be able to add a bear or two at the foot of the hill, just to up the excitement a little…”

Three sizes fit all Athene’s exergaming environment currently comes in three models: Basic, Advanced and Premium. Suitable for spaces of different size, the experience gets more intense the bigger the platform is.

The Basic model features a large screen placed right in front of the person exercising, much like a TV. Advanced provides three screens on a slight angle, which

Exergaming is primarily designed for use in gyms, designed to fit a variety of equipment such as treadmills, bikes and rowing machines, and transporting the user to different environments including beaches and forests.

means that the virtual landscape can also be seen in your peripheral vision. Premium is built like a cave, with three walls on which the virtual environment is projected. It is also possible to complete the structure with a stylish roof. “It’s fun seeing people’s faces when they try it for the first time,” smiles Nurkkala. “They are completely blown away by how real it looks!”

The immersive gaming view and advanced motion control allow the user to interact with the scene that is played out on the

screens. It is also possible to project the landscape onto the floor. As Nurkkala explains: “If you are running on the treadmill, you will see the ground below you just like you would outdoors. And if you are using, say, a rowing machine, you’d be looking at the water of the lake beneath you.”

A forest road to rehabilitation Exergaming is also used in fitness testing and, most recently, rehabilitation. Both are currently being piloted. The fitness testing platform is a large treadmill with

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Exergaming can also be used for rehabilitation, and the team behind Athene Exergaming is currently running a groundbreaking pilot project for the rehabilitation of stroke patients.

an incline that shifts based on changes in the virtual landscape. The team behind Athene Exergaming is currently running a groundbreaking pilot project for the rehabilitation of stroke patients. “We have a team of experts including nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists working with us to create suitable exercises. We adapt the platforms to suit different needs, including handwheels,” explains Nurkkala. This is because many rehabilitation clients may be too weak to sit on a bike or use the treadmill.

Another future focus area of exergaming is the ageing population. The University of Sendai in Japan is one of the company’s backers, and the two countries share a

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common concern: how to activate the growing number of elderly people and keep them healthy. This is an urgent issue for a number of developed countries.

The virtual future is here Fans of sci-fi series Star Trek have probably at some point wistfully longed for something like its holodeck: a computergenerated world based on the real one.

Now that virtual future is literally upon us.

“We’ve already had success with modelling an environment based on the city centre of Kajaani – it’s an exact copy, and was in fact the first virtual environment we did,” says Nurkkala proudly. This opens the door to untold opportunities in the fu-

ture. “Just imagine it – being able to visit a place virtually before you go there, to look it up, learn to find your way and locate some favourite spots. Or for those of us who are unable to travel ourselves, that tropical island or the slopes of Mount Fuji could still be accessible. There are many places in the world that are too dangerous to visit – or too hot or polluted, or simply so urban that nature is nowhere to be found. This virtual modelling brings us an unparalleled experience that is true to life, but accessible without any of the hassle.”

Innovation town That Athene Exergaming should be born in Kajaani, a town in the middle of Finland with just under 40,000 inhabitants, is no coincidence. The university here was the

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Funded by the EU and Tekes, and taking place at the Kajaani University in collaboration with numerous companies and other university institutions, the work of the Athene team has seen the creation of many virtual environments, including these representations of Kajaani, Vuokatti, and a mountain landscape.

first to offer a degree programme in gaming, and that has led to a concentration of talent covering all aspects of the gaming world: programming, visual design and game technology. The venture is currently run by the university in the shape of several different projects.

The first task that the Athene team undertook was to create an orienteering environment in time for the World Championships in Sotkamo in 2013. Nurkkala recalls that hectic first period. “It was nerve-wracking, really. We were brand new, we had six months to create the first product, and against all odds, we finished on time!”

Their treadmill environment was tested by those hardest to impress: the athletes themselves. “We had pushed so hard to get everything ready for the Championships, and the feedback we got was overwhelming. It really brought home to us that we had something here, something unique, and that it was worth all the effort and long hours the team had put in,” smiles Nurkkala.

Fair for Fitness, Wellness and Health, FIBO. Considering it was the only university team to make it to the finals, not to mention on the first try, the accolade was above and beyond expectation. Athene Exergaming was nominated in the category Interior and Design. FIBO is held yearly in Cologne, Germany, attracting an impressive 116,000 visitors and 700 exhibitors.

“We had only been in existence for 16 months at the time, and had set our hopes on just making the finals. Coming in second was a huge achievement, and a great confidence boost for us,” enthuses Nurkkala.

The success at FIBO gave the company the push it needed to seek to enter the global gym market, and some much-appreciated contacts and interest worldwide.

The team behind Athene Exergaming is looking to launch the products on a wider scale this autumn, starting out with environments for use with bikes, treadmills and a real bike (where the back wheel has been replaced with a computer device), soon to be followed by the rowing machine.

And after that? It is onwards and upwards for this innovative gaming gang, set to conquer the worlds just waiting to be mapped and virtualised.

For more information, please visit: athene-exergaming.com

He is quick to add that it would not have been possible without the faith of the project’s financial backers. The development is done within the University’s CEMIS development programme, in co-operation with numerous companies as well as the Finnish universities of Jyväskylä and Oulu and the University of Sendai in Japan. The R&D is funded by the EU and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.

Athletic accolades In 2013, newcomer Athene Exergaming was awarded the prize for second best innovation in the worldwide Leading Trade

Last year, as the only university team to make it to the finals, Athene Exergaming was awarded the prize for second best innovation at the worldwide FIBO fair.

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Dudesons Race represents the next generation in 5D gaming The Dudesons Race game for activity parks is a hit with kids. Exergaming keeps evolving and the future is looking bright for new gaming company CSE Entertainment.

By Joanna Nylund | Photos: CSE Entertainment

Veli-Matti Nurkkala is a busy man. In addition to his current role as project manager for Athene Exergaming, he runs his own gaming company, CSE Entertainment, in synergy with Athene. CSE is focused on creating games for activity devices, PCs and mobiles. The first project was making an exergaming device for activity and amusement parks as well as smaller venues.

5D and special effects “We wanted to create something that could be featured in an activity park, but would also be small and convenient enough to fit in lots of places where people spend time, like amusement parks,

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petrol stations and restaurants,” Nurkkala explains. Without any customer orders or knowing whether the idea would take off, the company went ahead with designing and building a gaming platform. “After eight months of product development, we were approached by Vuokatti SuperPark, who suggested creating a game for them about the Dudesons.”

CSE Entertainment was the first company to create a game platform based on that firm favourite, the dance pad. It has rarely been used in this type of game, and that is not the only innovative feature. “We drew our inspiration from these 5D movie theatres that you often find in amusement

parks, where the movies show feature special effects,” Nurkkala explains. For Dudesons Race, this meant adding a trembling floor as well as wind effects.

When the Dudesons were approached about creating a theme park game together with the company, they quickly warmed to the idea and went in for it with their trademark enthusiasm. “We had a blast creating the game together! They were very involved, not just in the theme but also in coming up with pranks to use in the game, and providing a lot of voice material for us to use,” says Nurkkala.

Dudesons Race features a lot of the shout-outs and catch phrases the group is famous for, in their own voices.

An instant hit Nurkkala’s team of young and skilled gamers set about creating Dudesons

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Race, and test-drove it at SuperPark Oulu.

When the feedback came in from over 230 youngsters (and some older ones too), it was extremely positive. The game had been tested by an almost equal number of boys and girls, and 90 per cent of respondents said they would love to play Dudesons Race again. Nurkkala smilingly credits “luck and hard work” for the game’s instant success.

Dudesons Race will now be sold to other parks and venues, but as far as CSE Entertainment is concerned this is simply the beginning. If the enthusiasm of the founder is anything to go by, there will be many more activity park games, and new special effects, in the future. “This was just the first game of many. The great reception the Dudeson game was met with means we have succeeded in our aim to create something new and different, a fun experience for kids of all ages. We have lots of ideas for new games, and welcome new collaborations,” he says.

Perfect for the activity park, yet small and convenient enough to fit in more limited contexts, the Dudesons Race game was an instant hit with the 230 youngsters who got the honour of test-driving it prior to launch.

Exergaming explained

and our games are primarily for fun and directed at a young audience.” But as with all exergaming, jumping, dancing and running as part of the game means fitness is a clear benefit here, too.

Nurkkala, who is also heavily involved in the Athene Exergaming venture based at the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, explains the two sides of exergaming.

“The platforms designed at Athene are focused mainly on utility, namely fitness,

“We have created the next generation of devices for amusement and activity parks,” says Nurkkala, who is confident that the future will mean constant development – and many new innovative ideas.

The development of Dudesons Race was mainly funded by Vuokatti Superpark as part of their development project supported by the Kainuu Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.

For more information and demos, please visit: cse-entertainment.com

Heard of the Dudesons?

This Finnish ‘band of brothers’ (actually childhood friends) first rose to fame in the early 2000s with their breakneck mix of daring stunts and comedy, all done in the spirit of “you only live once, so you might as well have fun!” The four-man stunt group and their TV series quickly became a phenomenon in their home country.

In 2010, the group and their pet pig, Britney, set their sights on conquering America with a little help from the creators of similarly-themed Jackass. The result was the TV series The Dudesons in America for MTV, which has since been seen in 60 countries. The group was closely involved with the creation of the activity park game Dudesons Race.

Veli-Matti Nurkkala (above left) and The Dudesons (right) playing Dudesons Race.

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Left: The brightly-coloured animated characters are bridging the gap between hardcore and casual players. Photo: Nina Suokko. Top middle: Seppänen’s son testing Tale of Ninja. Photo: Nina Suokko. Middle: The company consists of graphic artist Matti Kemppainen (left), programmer Tomi Hietala (middle) and CEO and designer Antti Seppänen (right). Photo: Reijo Haukia / Kouta Design. Right: Climbing the roofs and listening to the discussions of guards can bring depth to the story. Photo: Matti Kemppainen / Afterlife Entertainment.

Bringing the stealth genre to tablets with compelling narrative A year ago, three former Supercell employees decided make a stealth game for tablets. Not only has the genre been difficult to adapt to touch screens before, but Afterlife Entertainment also wanted to swim against the tide of free-to-play games by developing a story-driven premium game.

By Tuomo Paananen | Photos: Afterlife Entertainment

Tale of Ninja is different. It is a game with a story in the sense that it has a beginning and an end – much like in the good old days when one could not just buy a new level when getting stuck, according to CEO Antti Seppänen. “We wanted to create an alternative to free-to-play games that don’t really have stories. We were keen to bring our exciting narrative experience to tablets.”

The game is located in feudal Japan. The protagonist seeks revenge on a Jester Demon that murdered his family, but in order to slay the demon the ninja has to find a fabled sword called Demonbane. This journey is divided into 20 atmospheric levels of action and exploration.

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“Tale of Ninja is a niche game meant for hardcore gamers, but a vast majority of players on mobile just play casually. To bridge the gap between these two groups, our game has anthropomorphic characters and a bright colour scheme,” Seppänen explains.

Triple the challenge Story is a challenge in itself, but according to Seppänen, stealth and action games have been difficult to adapt to mobile devices even without it, mainly because they have so many functions and the player does not have any extra buttons available.

“With time, we have achieved an innovative one-touch control scheme for all the actions – no buttons are needed.”

An additional, third challenge was funds.

The three members of Afterlife Entertainment, all former employees of Supercell, decided to establish their own independent company straight after graduating from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences in 2013.

“We started with zero budget but worked our way through. We are soon in a position where we can proudly present our premium game with an excellent story to publishers.

I think we handled the challenge of starting up quite well. Now it’s time to grow.”

Seppänen has been booked to give a lecture on video game narratives at this year’s Northern Game Summit, where he spoke on the topic last year as well. “The last time, I gave a lecture in a small theatre.

There were more people interested than there were seats, so this year I’ll have a bigger venue,” says a happy Seppänen.

For more information, please visit: www.afterlifegames.com

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Challenging, educational kids’ apps Pintxo Creative is a Helsinki-based company that is currently developing Spell Bandit, an educational iPad and iPhone game for children.

By Ndéla Faye | Photos: Pintxo Creative

The games industry is evolving fast and Scandinavian countries are at the top of games development. Last year, Pintxo Creative received a much sought-after prize for funding from Nordic Game, the most notable games conference in Europe.

Spell Bandit is aimed at children aged between 6 and 11 and tells the story of Ollie, a boy on a quest to find stolen words through various puzzles. “Our aim is to offer a high-quality children’s game with a compelling story; children’s apps can often be quite simple and at times bland. We want to give kids more credit. We believe that creating a meaningful yet fun experience contributes to improving the overall quality of these games,” says Ilari Niitamo, co-founder of Pintxo Creative.

Sana-na-rama, the Finnish version of the game, will be launched first, with the English, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian versions fol-

lowing soon after. The different language versions will be tailored to each country separately.

“Simple localisation is not enough – we are even including voice acting for each language. By tailoring the game content to each country individually, we are able to make the game relevant to a much larger group,” Niitamo explains.

“In the future, we plan to develop even more additional language versions of Spell Bandit. We believe that using strong visuals and an interesting storyline helps us create a welcome change within the children’s app market.”

Spell Bandit will be available to download from the Apple App Store this autumn.

Right: Co-founders Olli Hassinen (left) and Ilari Niitamo (right).

For more information, please visit: www.spellbandit.com

The magic of musical puzzle Would you like to learn to play your favorite song in just a few minutes? Mubik Musical Puzzle helps people of all ages do just that. The new, innovative game gives you the tools to discover your inner artist.

By Mia Halonen | Photos: Mubik Entertainment Ltd.

For many years, the CEO of Mubik Entertainment Ltd., Ilkka Räsänen, worked for some of the biggest ICT companies in the world. He learned the trade, but his heart was always in music. Now he has a chance to spread the joy of music with a new mobile game: Mubik Musical Puzzle.

“This is currently like a digital musical box – in the future it will be like musical lego,” says Räsänen. “Mubik helps you dive into the world of music by first solving the riddle of the hidden song and then playing it in a simple manner with a special Mubik instrument within the game.” Mubik helps everyone from preschoolers to pensioners to step up from a listener to an artist with a patented, easyto-use method.

Räsänen is fascinated with that very special moment when you recognise the song. “That’s when something magical happens in the brain. It is so satisfying and pleasurable. And learning to play the song feels very empowering.” No wonder Mubik is endorsed by music and brain scientists, as well as education specialists.

You can find all of the free-to-play Mubik games in the AppStore, and if you want to know how, just check out the Mubik YouTube channel.

For more information, please visit: www.mubik.net

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Are you one of the many singers made to feel self-conscious as a result of talent shows with ruthless judges? With SingOn, you can enjoy all the health benefits of singing, with or without voice filters and autotune, and have lots of fun while doing it.

Sing, sing, sing!

Do you love singing along with the latest tunes? Great news: you no longer need to wait forever to get them to your game console. SingOn from Finland brings you the hit songs of today, well… today!

By Mia Halonen | Photos: SingOn

At the Oulu Airport in northern Finland, there is a queue forming in front of a colourful little hut. In the hut, a young girl and a boy are holding microphones in their hands and singing the latest hit song – with strange robot voices. Or perhaps they are laughing more than singing? Either way, they seem to be having great fun. The hut turns out to be a place to try out the new singing game, SingOn, developed by a local start-up. “We wanted to modernise the singing games,” says Mikko Logrén, social media manager of

SingOn Ltd. “You could say that this is the Netflix of singing games: there are thousands of songs available already and every week about a dozen new songs are added to the SingOn list, ranging from the golden oldies of the ’60s to the current songs straight from the international hit lists.

SingOn is always fresh.”

This is something no karaoke DVD can provide. “Very often you buy a DVD for certain songs and never use the rest, because they either don’t suit your voice or you

simply don’t like them. But with SingOn, you can sing the songs you like,” Logrén explains. “And you don’t even need to buy any DVDs, since you can download the game from PlayStation® Store to your PlayStation®3.” The people at SingOn are music lovers with a dream. “There are shows on TV where singers are being criticised and so many people get selfconscious about their voices. But we think everybody has a right to enjoy singing,” says Logrén and points out the health benefits brought about by singing. “For shy singers, there are filters to change your voice, and with autotune everyone can sing in tune.” That way, singing becomes a fun game as much as it is a performance. “And thanks to the Queue feature, you can add tracks while someone else is singing. The party never stops!” SingOn is currently available in the UK and Finland, but the company has big plans for the future. Who knows, maybe in the near future SingOn will come to a SmartTV near you?

For more information, please visit: www.singon.com

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Shaping the global citizens of tomorrow With Petra’s Planet for Schools, a virtual learning environment for 5- to 12-year-olds, pupils learn to think critically about their online behaviour and develop their communication skills in a safe environment. By interacting with classrooms across the world, they are set on the way to becoming global citizens.

In our increasingly digitised society, children grow up surrounded by the internet and social media. Petra’s Planet for Schools provides a safe online environment in which children can interact under the supervision of their teachers. Pupils hone their communication skills through a variety of media – blogging, posting pictures, chatting and emailing – while at the same time learning to consider the implications of what they share.

A cross-curricular tool “Petra’s Planet for Schools focuses on twentyfirst century skills – communication, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, media literacy and global awareness – which are now included in curriculums in many countries,” explains

Maria Lindqvist, marketing manager at Dramaforum, a media company specialising in children’s products.

The ‘twin classes’ feature enables pupils to connect with another classroom anywhere in the world.

“With this feature, they really start developing their global understanding and cultural awareness,” says Lindqvist. “We live in such a global environment nowadays, so it’s best if children are prepared for that.”

Gaming specialists have been working in close cooperation with teachers to develop Petra’s Planet for Schools. This combination of Fin-

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land’s expertise in the gaming industry and the excellent Finnish school system has produced a pioneering learning tool, destined for classrooms across the globe.

By Stephanie Lovell | Photos: Dramaforum Oy

For more information, please visit: petrasplanetforschools.com dramaforum.fi

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C IEN R : E ME EXP E R H L T MME A I SU EC SP NISH DA ISS

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Photo: VisitDenmark / Østdansk Turisme

Photo: VisitDenmark / Maria Nielsen

A hyggelig holiday in Denmark The tourism industry represents six per cent of Denmark’s GDP and employs 11.3 per cent of the workforce. 28.2 million overnight stays were made at collective accommodation establishments in 2011, and the North Sea Region alone, which is Denmark’s biggest contributor to coastal tourism, generates an annual turnover of 15 billion DKK. Time to spend a summer in Denmark?

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: VisitDenmark

Think about summertime Denmark, and whether you have ever been or not, you are likely to think of a more or less balanced mix of images of people on bikes, pristine sandy beaches, and a table or two of healthy- yet strangely delicious-looking smørrebrød – Danish open sandwiches.

But while all of those things are indeed good reasons to visit Denmark, surely all those tourists must be doing more than just cycling and strolling down beaches eating sandwiches?

A holiday in Denmark is about relaxation and fun in equal measure, with a total of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites and top attractions ranging from Tivoli Gardens and LEGOLAND to Copenhagen Zoo and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

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Scan Magazine set out to find some hidden gems and discovered an old ferry inn with themed stays for schnaps lovers and golf fans alike as well as a modern version of an old traditional beach hotel, providing a peaceful getaway from the city.

Photo: VisitDenmark / Visit Aarhus

A hunger for history led to two museums offering the opportunity to learn how to cure fish and weave textiles the oldfashioned way, but then we got nostalgic – and could not help but popping by one of the Danes’ old favourites: the franchisefree, family-friendly amusement park, known as the world’s oldest, Bakken.

Here is your Danish summer holiday, complete with cultural heritage, natural beauty and a good dose of that hyggelig Danish service.

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Time travel without the jetlag Start off your summer holiday with a visit to Frilandsmuseet (the Open-Air Danish Heritage Museum) and Brede Værk (the Brede Works), both part of The National Museum of Denmark, appropriate for any age or nationality. Travel back in time through the daily activities of Danes from 100 to 350 years ago at two unforgettable museums just north of Copenhagen.

By Kathleen Newlove | Photos: Anker Tiedemann / Nationalmuseet

Guided by experts, learn how to cure fish or weave textiles the old-fashioned way. Engage in Denmark’s period of industrialisation with a little friendly competition against other guests to see who can put together products the quickest on early conveyer-belt assembly lines. Or enjoy the cooking demonstrations in the ancient kitchens and the sampling of baked goods.

Navigate the lush forests and gardens by foot or horse-drawn carriage in order to take in all the thatched-roof buildings, windmills and farmyards with rare breeds of Danish livestock roaming around.

Hungry? There are numerous restaurants featuring

traditional Danish fare, unless you opt for relaxing on the lawn with a picnic and a nap in the sun.

Some Royal Theatre actors are at hand for original performances. “Even if you don’t speak Danish, these shows are laugh-out-loud funny with slapstick antics portraying the ups and

Modern gourmet food in historic and beautiful surroundings Whether you go for the five-course gourmet menu or the local fried flounder, you are guaranteed a great food experience at the old ferry inn Hvalpsund in northern Denmark.

By Tina Lukmann Andersen | Photo: Hvalpsund Færgekro

Peder Chr. Holm Pedersen is the fifth generation of innkeepers at Hvalpsund Færgekro. His great-grandparents offered food and shelter to passersby from 1913, but the inn has existed since the 1500s. At that time, the inn was connected to the ferry crossing the inlet Limfjorden, which still today keeps it busy. However, it is now possible to come for a stay even if you do not come by ferry.

Pedersen tries to respect and celebrate the history of the inn, combining it with a very innovative, modern approach. The 28 rooms have just been renovated following the latest trends – preferably with a local touch. The innkeeper emphasises how “good service, good food and a good experience” are crucial to him and insists that the inn wants “to have a say in the continuous development of the inn business as a whole.”

downs of a typical Dane’s life,” says Anja Jørgensen, curator of The National Museum of Denmark.

In true Scandinavian style, there are plenty of amenities even for the wee ones and their parents. Join the child minders who teach the rules of playground games from hundreds of years ago. And by the way, the museums provide handcarts and wheelchairs – so do not forget to bring granny.For more information, please visit:

For more information, please visit: natmus.dk/en/frilandsmuseet natmus.dk/en/brede-works

Hvalpsund Færgekro is surrounded by stunning scenery with the inlet and its waves on one side and the woods and meadows with lots of wildlife on the other. This is the perfect spot for relaxing and just enjoying the silence and the fact that you do not even have to lock your car for fear of thieves. The inn offers different kinds of stays, including golf and jazz themes as well as the chance to take part in the ‘snaps route’ or ‘gourmet route’, both of which will bring guests to local attractions and museums, providing the opportunity to taste locally produced snaps and delicacies.

For more information, please visit: www.hvalpsund-faergekro.dk

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With Bakken’s newest attraction, the SkyRoller, guests can spin their own airplane 18 metres above the ground – or just enjoy the views.

The world’s oldest amusement park – but it can still make you squeal In Denmark, everyone knows Bakken, the world’s oldest amusement park. But despite being located just ten minutes outside Copenhagen, the park, which is tucked away in the beautiful woods of Dyrehaven, is still unknown to most foreign visitors.

And that is a shame, because the park not only offers free admission but a nostalgic historic ambiance, authentic Danish charm, and an array of amusements and thrill rides, too.

Because of its historic value and unique location, no franchises are allowed to set up stands at Bakken and neon signs are banned. Instead, a jumble of colourful wooden structures, small independent shop owners and quirky stalls meets visitors.

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Dyrehavsbakken

For the kid (in all of us) Founded in 1583, Bakken, or Dyrehavsbakken as it is officially named, has been a firm favorite with the people of Copenhagen for centuries. During summertime families, young couples and seniors alike flock to the amusement park and the surrounding woodland to indulge in a day of fun. “We have a unique position because we are located in the middle of one of Denmark’s most beautiful woods, and

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that’s highly valued by a lot of Danes – it is like encountering a surprise in the middle of the greenery,” explains the head of marketing, Stine Walsh, and adds: “Besides, the park offers a perfect blend of children’s amusements, restaurants, pubs and bars with entertainment and live music. It’s not just a small children’s amusement park but a place of leisure for the whole family.”

Many Danish families have been coming back to Bakken for generations. Bakken’s longest standing visitor is, however, Pjerrot. The well-known white-faced clown, who visits Bakken every day, has been a hit with the amusement park’s youngest guests for more than 200 years. Santa Claus, children’s TV hosts, and Bakken’s friendly animals are among many other of Bakken’s popular entertainers.

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Bakken’s wooden rollercoaster is 82 years old but still makes visitors squeal with joy – and fear.

Still, the main attraction for most is the park’s many fun rides, including an 82year-old wooden rollercoaster. “Our most popular attraction is definitely the old rollercoaster, but this year we’ve added another new very popular attraction, called the SkyRoller. Its airplanes circle 18 metres above the ground so you get an amazing view, but you can also control your own airplane and make it rotate for a more action-packed ride,” explains Walsh.

In total, the park presents a choice of 33 rides for all ages and levels of thrill seekers as well as 78 other attractions such as shooting stalls, gaming arcades and much more.

satirical review of the year combining comedy, music and dance. For those less confident in the Danish language (or sense of humour), Bakken also presents a string of dance and music shows at its many quirky venues. Among the park’s most famous show venues is Bakkens Hvile, which has presented a traditional cabaret show for more than 135 years. Many of the smaller bars also provide live music and dance floors as well as originally themed settings. “One of our bars is located inside a double-decker bus that someone brought back from London and turned into a traditional English pub. Another, Hulen, is set in a small, cosy cave, and Ølgod, our German style beer hall, has become a bit of an institution in Denmark,” Walsh says.

Grown-up fun For many Danes, Bakken has been closely associated with the yearly Cirkusrevy, a

Just as with the bars and pubs, the restaurants at Bakken represent a wide

range of categories. Though the popular, traditional Danish kitchen is still richly represented, newer additions include Spanish tapas, fish and chips, noodles, and much more. To finish off, guests can indulge in a sugary paradise of ice creams, colourful drinks and everything else needed to make a Danish summer day complete – come rain or shine.

Facts: Bakken is located ten minutes north of Copenhagen.

The park is located approximately 1 mile from Klampenborg Station, which is serviced by line C on Copenhagen’s overground trains.

Bakken is open from the end of March to the end of August.

The park is visited by approximately 2.5 million visitors (mainly Danes and Swedes) every year.

Prices and tickets: Admission is free!

Wristband (ticket to all attractions): 249 DKK Wristband for smaller children: 179 DKK Discounted wristbands can be bought for 229 DKK or 199 DKK (seven days in advance) online through BakkenPlus (free loyalty club – everyone can sign up).

Neon signs and big franchises are banned at Bakken where guests will instead meet an array of small independent shop owners and, of course, Pjerrot.

For opening times, information on live entertainment and more, please visit: www.bakken.dk

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Danish Summer Experiences

The hotel is located right by the waterfront of the scenic Dyvig Bay.

Modern luxury at the pace of the past In the north of Als, an island of southern Denmark, sits a hotel that looks like a relic from a simpler time before mobile phones and email. But while the atmosphere at this idyllic getaway may be of another time, the level of comfort is thoroughly modern.

By Lene Bech | Photos: Dyvig Badehotel

A wooden house kept in red and white colours, Dyvig Badehotel (‘Dyvig Beach Hotel’) resembles the traditional beach hotels that were built in idyllic natural surroundings around the bays and beaches of Denmark in the 1920s and 1930s. Then, like now, the beach hotels provided peaceful getaways from city life and Dyvig Badehotel looks like it could well have started out as a favoured retreat for fatigued flappers a long time ago.

But in fact, the hotel that sits right by the bay opened just four years ago and offers every modern commodity its guests might desire in aesthetic surroundings, where every detail counts.

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One recent morning, John Bech Amstrup, who is the manager of Dyvig Badehotel and lives on its first floor, woke up to the sound of voices. “I heard some of the hotel’s guests walking around outside and someone saying: ‘Look over there!’,” Bech Amstrup says and explains that the guests had just noticed the colour coordination of the hotel’s façade and the roses growing in front of its entrances. Where the woodwork is painted red, white roses grow, and where it is white, the roses are red.

This is just one example of how the hotel’s aesthetics make a lasting impression on its guests, explains Bech Amstrup, who

calls the close attention to quality and detail “that extra, finishing touch.” In keeping with the traditions of the old Danish beach hotels, every room from the reception to the 20 guest rooms is painted a different colour or decorated with its own wall paper, and furnished with antiques that have been picked up at auctions around the world. So has the hotel’s collection of Flora Danica, the famous Danish porcelain dinnerware, which is one of the biggest collections in the country.

Time stands still, the service does not The staff at Dyvig Badehotel has been busy catering to the increasing number of guests from both Denmark and abroad since the hotel opened. “We have gone from nothing to being one of the most desirable places in southern Jutland,” says Bech Amstrup, explaining that the atmosphere of the hotel and its surroundings are among the main reasons

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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Danish Summer Experiences

why people come here for a stress-free getaway. ”People arrive here either by ferry or by crossing a bridge and I think there’s a psychological element to that – it’s as if they leave their worries and everyday life on the mainland and completely relax when they arrive here. You can tell just by looking at them,” says the hotel manager and continues, “It’s a bit like time stands still. Many of our visitors have lots of plans to go sightseeing when they first arrive but then end up abandoning them for a day on the sunny terrace with a newspaper and a view of the sea.”

Not only the guests, but also the staff at the hotel, follow a philosophy of focusing on the present, says Bech Amstrup: “We focus on the guests who are here today rather than those who’ll arrive tomorrow.”

All of these things combined mean that the majority of guests at Dyvig Badehotel are now familiar, returning faces. This intimate atmosphere is perhaps most poignantly embodied by Bech Amstrup’s three-year-old cocker spaniel, Konrad, who has become something of a mascot for the hotel and jokingly been nicknamed Sir Konrad von Dyvig. “He has almost become the essence of Dyvig and a

Good, local ingredients are the main focus at the hotel’s two restaurants.

bit of a highlight to our guests. When people return we hear comments like ‘Look at how much he’s grown!’,” says Bech Amstrup.

The ingredients are key No getaway is complete without good food, and Dyvig Badehotel runs two restaurants, each with a different focus, to offer something for every taste. The gourmet restaurant Vigen offers two- to sevencourse menus, while restaurant Skipperstuen is a brasserie that serves up Danish and French classics, from lobster to Wiener Schnitzel.

Both restaurants are based on the same premise: “Our focus is to let the ingredients speak for themselves. We use simple, seasonal ingredients that change

monthly and as much as possible are sourced from the local area,” says the hotel manager. He adds that the choice to run both a gourmet restaurant and a brasserie is consistent with the overall ambition of Dyvig Badehotel: “We’re open to everyone, both locals and visitors, and want our guests to have options while they’re here.”

While the hotel has become popular with far-away guests, it stays embedded in local traditions, and among its recurrent events is the popular South Jutlandic cake table.

For more information, please visit: www.dyvigbadehotel.dk

Left: Manager and experienced chef John Bech Amstrup is on-site year-round to ensure the high standards of quality at the hotel. Middle and right: The atmospheric boutique hotel has been decorated with careful attention to style and detail.

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Iceland

Reykjavik Lights is a design concept hotel inspired by the ever-changing light in Iceland.

Hotel of the Month, Iceland

A design concept hotel Whatever time of year you visit Iceland, light is always going to be a prominent feature of your trip in one way or another. At the height of summer you will experience the wonder of the midnight sun, while in the middle of winter you could witness the splendour of the northern lights. Enhance your understanding of the interaction between light and the seasons even further by staying at Reykjavik Lights, a design concept hotel perfectly located in the world’s northernmost capital.

By Stephanie Lovell | Photos: Reykjavik Lights

In Iceland, the light rarely stays the same for very long, and this has a profound influence on the everyday lives of the island’s inhabitants. They must come to terms with the onset of darkness during the winter months when the sun that can shine so brightly in the summer barely glimmers on the horizon. It was this ever-

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changing nature of light that inspired the design concept for Reykjavik Lights.

An ancient visual feast As guests enter the lobby, they are presented with a spectacular visual calendar based on the ancient Icelandic calendar. The colour scheme throughout the

hotel reflects the year-round daylight conditions in Iceland. Each room is linked to a particular day in the old calendar, ensuring every guest has a unique experience and gets to learn a little about Icelandic culture. Building on the ancient theme, everything is written in a specially designed font inspired by old Icelandic runes.

“Guests can read about what’s special about each day on the walls in their rooms,” says Ester Björnsdóttir, sales and marketing manager at Keahotels.

“There’s Bóndadagur [‘man-of-the-house day’], which kicks off the Þorrablót festival in the month of Þorri at the beginning

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Iceland

The hotel layout is based on the ancient Icelandic calendar. Each of the corridors represents a different month, while each room is linked to a specific day.

of the year, and then you have Sauðburður when the lambs are born during spring.

You can also find out when the 13 Icelandic Yule Lads come to visit in the run up to Christmas.”

A little piece of nature in the heart of the city Overlooking the wholesome Laugardalur valley, a kind of recreational park in the middle of Reykjavik, the hotel hosts a myriad of activities practically on its doorstep.

Laugardalslaug, Reykjavik’s biggest and best outdoor spa and swimming pool, is just down the road, where you can notch up lengths in an Olympic-size pool, soak in one of the many hot tubs, sweat it out in the steam rooms or plunge down a swirling slide. Around the corner you will find a state-of-the-art gym and spa – perfect for relaxing in after an intense workout or a big night out. Children will love seeing the animals and going on all the rides at Húsdýragarðurinn, a zoo and theme park, while parents might prefer to sit back and indulge in a deliciously gluttonous meringue cake at the cafe in the botanical gardens.

Distinctive modern rooms Reykjavik Lights comprises 105 fully equipped rooms, some of which offer stunning mountain views across the sea and harbour. There are great facilities for those travelling in larger groups, including several triple rooms and one group room for 10-12 people. For those in town for a conference at the recently opened Harpa concert hall and conference centre, a stay at Reykjavik Lights will ensure that you have no problem getting to your meetings on time.

There is no shortage of food options in the surrounding area of the hotel. On the ground floor you will find Eldsmiðjan, where you can tuck into freshly-made wood-oven baked pizzas, as well as Krúska health food restaurant, which cannot fail to satisfy the more virtuous among

us. Both restaurants offer special rates for hotel guests. On your way down, make sure to pop into the hotel bar for a predinner drink – just the thing to take the edge off a long day of sightseeing.

In recent years, Reykjavik has become an increasingly popular holiday destination, attracting all kinds of people, from lovers of nature who come to admire the incredible scenery to party animals after a wild night on the city’s notorious bar and club scene. Close enough to the city centre without having to put up with the rowdy weekend crowds, Reykjavik Lights is in the perfect location, whatever you plan to do during your stay.

For more information, please visit: www.keahotels.is/Reykjavik-Lights

Reykjavik Lights is happy to assist guests who want to venture out of town. “We can arrange trips, so once you arrive, have a look at what takes your fancy and we’ll gladly book everything for you,” says Björnsdóttir. “There are all kinds of jeep tours, whale watching trips and horse riding excursions available all year round.

And of course, there is the ever-popular Golden Circle that takes you to Þingvellir national park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall, as well as the Northern Lights tours during winter.”

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Haaheim is situated in a beautiful area of Tysnes, and the garden surrounding the hotel boasts over 1,500 roses.

Hotel of the Month, Norway

Creating magical moments As much as we love to travel, there really is some truth to the famous saying “there is no place like home”. To some people, a posh five-star hotel simply cannot compete with the comfort of their own home. But Haaheim hotel in Norway is the exception to that rule. They have managed to create a homely yet magical atmosphere in which everyone feels welcome and at ease – and most importantly, at home.

By Kjersti Westeng | Photos: Haaheim Hotel

Haaheim has only been a hotel for four years; before that it was an old, desolate but beautiful farm with a fascinating history. Haaheim is situated at the foot of Mount Tysnessåta in Tysnes, an area that consists of a group of islands and has for a long time been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the southwest of Norway. The name Haaheim means “town of those who serve the Gods” or “the town up high”, but in the 10th and 11th century, Haaheim was actually sit-

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uated a bit further down and was used for the poaching of deer. After the Black Death left the area deserted, the farm was moved to where it lies today. The Haaheim family bought the farm in 1770 and owned it until Torstein Hatlevik bought it in 2000 – without electricity or water. Hatlevik redecorated it and decided to open up a small hotel in 2009.

Hatlevik says: “I thought Haaheim was such a lovely place to live, so I wanted to share it with others. It started out as a

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Norway

Visitors often come to Haaheim to visit the restaurant and the garden café. The chefs change the menu on a daily basis and are well known for their creativity and passion for food. Hatlevik explains: “We use a lot of local produce in our cooking as well as our own vegetables and herbs. The menu is based on the products we have at the time, which is why it varies from day to day.” Although the menu changes daily, Haaheim restaurant is best known for its soups, which are made from fresh herbs and vegetables from its very own garden. The famous soups are served in the garden café as well, in addition to delicious cakes and other small meals. Those who want to learn how to cook like the chefs at Haaheim can join one of the cooking classes available at the hotel.

The menu at Haaheim changes every day.

Something for everyone

hobby, but the hotel quickly became very popular.”

Where magic happens Hatlevik wants everyone to leave Haaheim having experienced something they could only describe as magic. And from the outside, Haaheim certainly looks like a place where magic can happen. The garden surrounding the hotel has more than 1,500 roses and is the perfect place for a romantic stroll before sitting down for a coffee in the beautiful garden café. Haaheim's own gardener ensures that the garden looks beautiful, as well as harvesting vegetables, fruit and herbs to use in the kitchen.

The hotel is just as impressive on the inside. With only five rooms, each room has its own look and feel and draws inspiration from various historic events connected to the farm and surrounding area; in effect, each room tells its own unique story.

The stunning scenery makes Tysnes a popular destination for hikers, cyclists and kayakers. Visitors can rent both kayaks and bicycles from Haaheim, and the staff are always happy to offer advice on what routes to take. For those who want to explore Tysnes by foot there are plenty of marked paths starting at Haaheim, making for a great way to experience the area.

A lot of people also go fishing in the river or play golf at the Dalen golf course just 700 metres away from the hotel. For those feeling slightly lazier there are lots of relaxing options to choose from at Haaheim, such as aroma therapy and massages by Haaheim's very own aroma therapist.

Haaheim also has its own library where visitors can borrow books to read in the garden or in front of the fireplace.

In the evenings, Haaheim opens its doors to its very own concert hall, where Hatlevik, who is a former musician, sometimes performs. The staff at Haaheim also arrange opera nights, theme weekends, readings and ghost walks, so even the evenings are full of fun activities. “We make sure we have something for everyone here at Haaheim. People want to be seen and experience something out of the ordinary; we make sure they get that,” Hatlevik adds.

Haaheim hotel is the perfect destination for a romantic getaway.

Visitors enjoying a glass of wine.

For more information, please visit: www.haaheimgaard.no

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Denmark

The hotel’s romantic setting makes it a popular destination for wedding parties, but conferences and other meeting groups are also among regular visitors.

Hotel of the Month, Denmark

Enjoy a lunch, weekend or week by Dragør’s charming waterfront History, tradition and Danish seaside charm make for a special experience at Dragør Strandhotel, a family-owned hotel and restaurant located in an old fishing harbour 30 minutes from central Copenhagen.

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Dragør Strandhotel

Dating back to the 13th century, Dragør Strandhotel is among the oldest public houses in Denmark. Today, the yellow building houses a renowned restaurant as well as eight holiday flats, a popular café and function rooms, most with amazing views of the old harbour. The owner, Philip Helgstrand, who took over from his parents in 2006, is the third generation of the Helgstrand family running the place.

“The atmosphere here is quite special: most people working here know each other and have been here for many years,

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just as many of our regular guests have been coming back since my dad’s time,” says Helgstrand, who started working for his dad at the hotel’s restaurant straight out of school and has been at the hotel ever since.

Traditional food and sea views Renowned for its stunning views, settings and location, Dragør Strandhotel’s Restaurant has become a popular destination for Copenhageners looking to unwind and enjoy a tasty brunch, lunch or

dinner. Seated on the restaurant’s covered outdoor terrace, guests are in the centre of the picturesque old harbour, which is like taken out of an H.C. Andersen fairy tale. “We get a lot of guests from the nearby Hilton Airport Hotel, who come out here to get an authentic, warm Danish experience. The atmosphere is very relaxed; our staff chat a lot with the guests, explain what they can see in the old harbour and so on,” says Helgstrand.

As it has done for decades, Dragør Strandhotel’s Restaurant serves a broad selection of traditional Danish dishes such as smørrebrød (open rye bread sandwiches), but also, in the evening, a range of fresh Danish seafood and dishes from the French kitchen. The hotel’s café, Café

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Denmark

Strand, also offers outdoor seating during the summer, and the sea view has made it a popular venue to enjoy a cold beer and a light café lunch in the sun.

Dragør Strandhotel also comprises a number of function rooms in different sizes, suitable for parties of up to 150 people. “Our romantic settings make us very popular for weddings, but we also cater for many other family celebrations as well as conferences and meetings of all kinds,” says Helgstrand.

old town of Dragør and enjoy the atmosphere,” Helgstrand explains.

The hotel part of the business is still run

by Helgstrand’s father, Per Helgstrand, and guests are also likely to run into his mother, who helps him set up the café for breakfast in the morning. Meanwhile, when she is not busy looking after the couple’s four kids, Helgstrand’s wife Susanne Karsbek Helgstrand heads up the popular Café Strand. Guests might even

run into the third generation, as Helgstrand’s eight-year-old daughter, Helena, is also often seen helping out at the hotel.

She is, hopes the owner, set to carry on the traditions of Dragør Strandhotel.

For more information, please visit: Restaurant: www.dragørstrandhotel.dk Hotel: www.dragorstrandhotel.dk

Taking a weekend away If you are really looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city, expanding the dinner with a couple of days or more in one of Dragør Strandhotel’s comfortable holiday apartments might be an idea. The hotel houses eight newly refurbished apartments, fully equipped with dishwasher, kitchen and washing machine.

“Most of our overnight guests come here just to relax, take a couple of walks by the water or through the small streets of the

Facts: Dragør Strandhotel is located 12 kilometres from the centre of Copenhagen and 7 kilometres from Copenhagen Airport.

The hotel is located in the centre of the old fishing harbour of Dragør on Amager (island part of Copenhagen).

The hotel comprises eight two- and fourbed holiday apartments available on short- and long-term basis.

Attractions in the nearby area include the popular The Blue Planet (Den Blå Planet), Northern Europe’s largest aquarium, which is located just 7 kilometres from the hotel.

Café Strand and Dragør Strandhotel Restaurant are open from March until the end of December.

The hotel is open all year round.

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Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Finland

Hotel of the Month, Finland

Great place, great ideas The Finnish word ‘onnela’ means a place of happiness and bliss. Scan Magazine’s Finnish Hotel of the Month, Onnela Inn, is very appropriately named: the natural beauty around Lake Tuusulanjärvi is truly calming. Located only 15 minutes from Helsinki Airport, Onnela Inn offers a peaceful setting for a conference within easy reach.

By Mia Halonen | Photos: Onnela Inn

“Small groups, big ideas. We believe that all groups, no matter the size, should have an inspiring place to meet,” says chairman Ture Tähtinen. “At Onnela Inn, groups from 5 to 200 can have a meeting with breathtaking lake views.”

The scenery around Onnela Inn has certainly inspired people over time. The main building has stood here since 1888 and has long served as a boarding house. At the turn of the century, the height of the National Romantic era, many of the most notable Finnish artists lived and worked around Lake Tuusulanjärvi. Tähtinen knows countless anecdotes: “There is a lot of Finnish history all around.”

Now all of the Onnela buildings have been renovated, taking into account the visually impaired and disabled visitors; both of the main buildings are wheelchair accessible. The large conference room is packed with high-tech equipment, including an induction loop for the hard of hearing.

Food, naturally, is one of the most important ways of creating a memorable experience.

Onnela serves delicious home-cooked food made of fresh, seasonal ingredients, and the breakfast buffet is fully organic.

Onnela Inn certainly makes the most of its lakeside location. If you have never tried a traditional Finnish sauna before, here is

your chance. There are several saunas to choose from, the newest addition being the Jannen sauna, named after the composer Jean Sibelius, one of the famous neighbours. Here you can enjoy the soft heat of a traditional wood-burning stove and take a dip in the lake afterwards.

It is hard to believe that Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport is just 15 minutes away. You cannot hear the traffic, just the natural sounds of birds singing and small waves rolling towards the shore. “And the fresh scents! You could easily think you are 400 kilometres further north,” says Tähtinen. “International guests can’t believe that there can be a peaceful place like this so close to the capital city.” But Tähtinen’s promise comes with a warning: “Once you’ve been here, you will want to come back.”

For more information, please visit: www.onnela.com

With organic food, wheelchair-friendly conferencing facilities, beautiful lake views and an abundance of natural scents and sounds, Onnela Inn will make you want to return over and over again.

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Scan Magazine | Attraction of the Month | Denmark

‘All life is created from the port,’ goes a saying in the local area of Frederikshavn.

Attraction of the Month, Denmark

A growing gateway to Europe The Port of Frederikshavn is one of Denmark’s busiest ports and a main link between Scandinavia and the European continent. And it is getting even bigger.

By Thomas Bech Hansen | Photos: Port of Frederikshavn

Look up Frederikshavn on a map, and you will notice a distinct feature about this Danish town near the northernmost tip of Jutland. Punctuated lines indicating ferry routes form an almost artistic pattern as they weave and stretch from the port and into the Kattegat. North, south, east. Long, medium, short.

made in line with the port’s strong ties to the local community. “There is a saying in Frederikshavn that all life is created from the port. And cheap ferry tickets are not enough. So along with the town’s tourism council we are developing new activities and new areas around the port for travellers to enjoy,” says Sørensen.

Motorway starts here

Businesses are also set to benefit. “By 2016 we will have a significantly increased capacity. This is a must because more companies want to locate their business here, and existing ones require deeper waters for larger ships. Put simply, we want to offer the best facilities and worldcalibre maritime services now and in the future.”

“Once you set foot in Frederikshavn, you are right in the heart of destination North Jutland. And, being located in the centre of Scandinavia, we are a strategic hub for traffic to and from the Baltic States and the rest of the world,” says Mikkel Seedorff Sørensen, the port’s CEO. In fact, the port provides direct access to the European motorway grid, as the E45 starts at the gates of the port. As the principal port for ferry routes to Norway, Sweden and the Danish island of Læsø, Frederikshavn is a hub for road transportation between Scandinavia and Europe.

Port enlargement Increasing demands have led to an ambitious investment plan, which includes a wider expansion project. This is a strategy

Quay figures: 4,550 ships arrive each year.

Port of the future: By 2016, the Port of Frederikshavn will have: • • • • • •

deepened harbour basins to 11 metres deepened the fairway to 12 metres widened the entrance to 200 metres doubled the port area added basins and wharf facilities enlarged hinterland areas

3,910 ships are ferries carrying 1.76 million passengers, 356,785 passenger cars, 168,206 lorry units, 2,482 coaches and cargo totalling 2.45 million tonnes.

For more information, please visit: www.frederikshavnhavn.dk

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Skovshoved Hotel has received numerous awards, including Tripadvisor’s Best Service and Best Hotel Restaurant in Europe 2014.

Restaurant of the Month, Denmark

Big enough to serve you, small enough to know you Just seven kilometres North of Copenhagen lies Skovshoved Hotel Restaurant, a small and intimate hotel serving delicious food and always happily offering you your regular table, without you even having to ask for it.

By Tina Lukmann Andersen | Photos: Skovshoved Hotel

Since 1660, it has been possible to rent a room with a fantastic ocean view at Skovshoved Hotel, and though the hotel values its historic roots it still keeps up with the changing gastronomic trends and demands in Denmark.

Ralf Kristensen, the general manager of the food and beverage at the hotel’s restaurant, explains that it is very important for the hotel to give its guests not only a top-level service but a personal experience at that. With only 22 rooms, the hotel aims to provide that little extra touch to attract guests. By creating a familiar atmosphere where the guests are addressed by their first name and with an interior where you can put your feet up, the hotel attempts to make you feel at home.

“The vision is to offer a sanctuary with in-

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timacy, attention to detail, homely atmosphere and personal service,” says Kristensen.

This visionary approach has led to the hotel receiving plenty of recognition and awards. To mention a few, Skovshoved has been awarded Best Service by Tripadvisor, and guests have named this one of the ‘Historical Hotels’ the Best Hotel Restaurant in Europe 2014. A lot of the hotel’s visitors are food enthusiasts who combine their gastronomic experience with an authentic, relaxed and potentially romantic stay.

eral Michelin-starred restaurants and makes sure that there are always 20 different courses on the menu. All courses are served in the size of starters, allowing you to try four or five different dishes at every meal. The philosophy combines passion, enthusiasm and respect for whatever produce is in season.

Whether you are a local stopping by to get your picnic basket for a day on the beach or you are having your wedding at the hotel, the restaurant offers not necessarily artistic food but most definitely dishes rich in flavour and taste. Moreover, the restaurant’s manager was voted this year’s best sommelier, so he will no doubt make sure to take good care of you in the wine bar before you eventually decide to call it a night and make the short way to your comfortable, inviting room.

Michelin chefs The restaurant changes its menu according to the seasons. Its current chef, Philippe Houdet, has experience from sev-

For more information, please visit: www.skovshovedhotel.com

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Scan Magazine | Business | Key Note

Scan Business Key Note 91 | Business Feature: Bygga Bo 92 | Swedish election debate in London 94 | Tax Column 96

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94

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Instant success can take 15 years!

I am surprised nowadays when I hear young people talking about getting funding for their new business ventures. They seem to think that they are going to be overnight millionaires if only they can get the funding. Well, self-belief is one thing, but does everything have to be instant to be successful? Do we really do our young entrepreneurs a favour by giving them big investments at the start-up stage?

By Annika Åman-Goodwille, executive chairman of Goodwille Limited

We all know that ‘overnight successes’ are mostly mythical. The years of preparation and the trials, errors and refinements that go on beforehand, unseen, are usually the foundations of that ‘instant’ success.

And why is ‘instant’ so important anyway?

Is not the journey as valuable as the getting there? Improving the product, finding the market and building a strong brand takes time. Experience and foresight are vital to good business decision making.

Can these attributes be acquired overnight? Steve Jobs gave a good example in his commencement speech when he talked about joining the dots. If he had not dropped out of college and taken that calligraphy course he may not have thought about having different fonts on screen.

After a long recession, venture capital firms with overflowing coffers are eager to

invest in new start-ups and equally expectant of instant success. Competition to attract the most talented young entrepreneurs is fiercer than ever. Yet Bill Gates says of VC firms that their hit rate is pathetic with only 1 in 10 investments being successful. Easy pickings and short-term gains are what they are primarily interested in.

Is it really so important to grow a business fast, even in this fast-changing world?

History tells us that first is not always best. How much of your company will you have to give away because you cannot wait for that funding? Do you really need it all now? A VC company is extremely difficult to get rid of once you have let it through the door. And its business decisions are often less informed and very often more short-term focused than yours are likely to be.

I would like to research those 9 out of 10 ‘failed’ investments to see how many of those companies could have been successful given more diligent and longerterm thinking. It may well be that more than a few were never meant to have been fast growing. Maybe sometimes better a 15-year hard-slog millionaire than an overnight flash-in-the-pan failure.

Annika Åman-Goodwille www.goodwille.co.uk

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Scan Magazine | Business | Bygga Bo

Nordic nesting at new E17 haunt An old barber shop with the retro heat lamps still intact, now refashioned into actual lamps, Bygga Bo in east London’s Walthamstow has local history seeping through the walls yet is unmistakably Swedish in everything from the design items sold to the smell of freshly-baked cinnamon buns.

to with all the sourdough lunch offers imaginable, it is the staple cinnamon bun that has become the hallmark super hit: “We can’t seem to bake enough of them!”

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Bygga Bo

For the Hamiltons, the venture has also involved a big lifestyle change, as they live upstairs from the shop with their young daughter. Hard work and long hours come with the benefit of being able to spend quality time together – something they insist was very much well-considered in advance.

This blend of local and Scandinavian is far from a coincidence, as Malin Hamilton, one of three owners, explains: “It’s a Swedish café and boutique, but it was always hugely important to us to get as much local involvement as possible. For example, as part of a pop-up we’ll be hosting every Saturday, two local cheese traders will be selling cheese here at Bygga Bo.” Having opened its doors in April this year, Bygga Bo represents a long-held dream come true for Hamilton as well as business partner Eva Robins. “I’ve always worked with interior design, and when I met my husband, James, we started making plans straight away, as he shares the same interest,” Hamilton explains. “We

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wanted to create a place where you can feel at home: a place to eat something tasty, buy something nice, and perhaps enjoy a bit of art or live music. As Eva is passionate about food and always wanted to open a café of her own, it made sense to team up.”

That the venue got a Swedish stamp is perhaps unsurprising, considering that two of three owners hail from the long, thin country up north, and its offering speaks proudly of the Swedish food and design heritage. Well-known Swedish brands such as Cheap Monday and Fjällräven sit on the shelves alongside crafts from Iris Hantverk, jewellery from Lite Kalabalik and clogs from Moheda Toffeln.

And while the hipster crowds are catered

The name Bygga Bo, translating as ‘nesting’ or ‘building a home’ in Swedish, as such seems to carry more than just one meaning, and as the venue’s big terrace fills with locals and Scandimaniacs alike for a beer festival this month and countless other treats in the months to come, it is sure to become just that: a home. And not just for the Hamiltons.

For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/Byggabolondon

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SUBSCRIBE TO SCAN MAGAZINE Sign up to a years subscription and you will receive Scan Magazine through your letterbox each month.

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Scan Magazine | Business | Ask then vote

The Government chancellary Rosenbad to the right and the Swedish Parliament to the left.

Ask then vote – election debate in London Last month, with the main hall at the Swedish Church in Marylebone primed with seven political party representatives, plenty of hotdogs and cinnamon buns, and a panel moderator in the form of Harry Landau, Managing Director of the public affairs and media relations firm Gaudium Communications, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK invited Swedish expats and visitors to take part in an election debate under the slogan Ask then Vote. Scan Magazine got its political hat on.

By Linnea Dunne | Photos: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se

As a non-profit networking organisation putting on a wide range of events, the Chamber felt that a panel debate would be an appropriate way to highlight the upcoming parliamentary election in the home country. “With 2014 being referred to as ‘a super election year’, we felt that it is important to encourage all Swedes to vote,” says Events Manager Ebba Wiberg.

The evening kicked off with a round of introductory statements from the seven

94 | Issue 66 | July 2014

politicians, which taught the audience the number of different ways in which a politician can say “Sweden is a great country,” altering the meaning of the phrase with additions such as Nooshi Dagostar’s (V) “but the development is going the wrong way.” This theme, unsurprisingly, would continue throughout the debate as representatives from the governing liberalright alliance insisted that more of the same would garner even greater results,

with the opposition parties countering with critiques of tax cuts and insufficient spending.

Employment policy, inequailty and how to measure it The debate got particularly heated when addressing employment policy, as Henrik von Sydow (M) attacked the wish to halve the much-debated RUT deduction, to which Ylva Johansson (S) responded that “you can’t do everything; you have to choose,” bringing up the issue of growing inequality.

Raised voices, sneers and some scattered rounds of applause later, a discussion around measurement evolved. “Unemployment has increased,” insisted Dagostar (V), saying that the population is growing, so

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Scan Magazine | Business | Ask then vote

you cannot count in absolute numbers, while Anders W. Jonsson (C) pointed out that the poorest tenth is now far better off.

Johan Pehrson (Fp) highlighted that equal opportunity is not the same as equal outcomes, with Johansson (S) adding that a growing number of people cannot live off their income alone, but need to seek income support, suggesting that employment level measurements must look to the whole of society, also considering part-time workers and those on leave.

Landau, it must be said, deserved a standing ovation for all the subtle yet persistent glass clinking he did to remind the speakers about brevity.

choose, but then you may well make poor decisions, which of course can be solved with a poorer-quality, less effective society by centralising all the decisions and removing your right to choose, but then I think choice is more important.” Attefall agreed, bringing up a family’s right to choose in regards to parental leave: “We don’t believe in quotas and coercion. All families are different.”

Proudly Swedish – but where to from here?

Some clear rhetorical themes developed throughout the night. Anders Wallner (Mp) was keen to target causes rather than consequences, for example in regards to public health as well as the reasons why xenophobic feelings develop and where.

Stefan Attefall (KD) insisted on a diplomatic and humble style of argument, repeating that progress has been made but there are many challenges still ahead, in regards to both the health care system and education.

Two issues led to more consensus than any others: those of the need to stand united against the growing xenophobic wave and the image of Sweden that most Swedes abroad are proud of. Gender equality, a relatively HBTQ-friendly society, and a leading position in environmental innovation were among the key defining features celebrated. “‘What’s up with all the gay nannies?’,” Wallner (Mp) referred to a classic tourist comment. “Another common reaction is ‘Look at how clean everywhere is!’ I think this is something to be proud of, and judging by how people voted in the European Parliamentary elections, so does the electorate.”

Pehrson (Fp) took a bluntly ideological line of argument: “That is the classic liberal dilemma: we give you the power to

The question remains: where do we go from here? “Yes, there is a very positive image of Sweden out there, but this has not

been created now – on the contrary, it’s being ruined,” said Johansson (S), backed up by Dagostar (V): “This was the whole point of the alliance’s policies: to make the poor poorer, not to invest in Sweden.”

But those on the right were keen to show a united front, with von Sydow (M) pointing to the reason why Obama was recently keen to spend time in Stockholm, the capital of a country heralded as a successful economy: “Of course we should be a leader in terms of the environment and equality, but we also need a political leadership with the drive and energy to modernise.” Or in even more confident words, signed Jonsson (C): “Sweden is already the leading OECD country. It’ll be hard to improve when we’re already so good – but of course we will get even better.”

The Swedish Chamber of Commerce was very happy with the evening in Marylebone. “The debate was definitely a nailbiter with exciting remarks from all participating representatives, interesting comments, and eye-opening one-liners,” says Wiberg. “We are proud to have brought this event to the Swedish community in London, and hopefully we have shed some light on the different options of London Swedes who will cast a vote when the time comes.”

Sweden is a parliamentary democracy. The Constitution declares that all public power in Sweden proceeds from the people and that the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament) is the foremost representative of the people. Above right: The seven party representatives gathered on stage at the Swedish Church in Marylebone, alongside moderator Harry Landau and managing director of SCC, Ulla Nilsson. Photo: Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK.

Issue 66 | July 2014 | 95

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Scan Magazine | Business | Helena Whitmore

International families – the complexities of giving and receiving

By Helena Whitmore, senior wealth structuring adviser, SEB Private Banking UK

Those who are fortunate enough to have assets to give away to the next generation, whether in lifetime or through inheritance, can find that things get complicated very quickly as soon as there are international aspects involved. This is an area where it pays to make a careful plan, so that assets end up in the right place, with the minimum of delay and cost, and also without triggering unexpected tax consequences.

Under English law, in principle it is possible to leave your assets to anyone (but dependants may still have a right to make a claim against the estate if they are not adequately provided for). Other countries have different succession laws, which may include forced heirship rules, meaning that fixed shares of the estate must be passed to certain family members. The interaction of these rules must be considered, and it should be noted that the succession laws in one country may override a will prepared elsewhere. Not having a will in place at all can be particularly problematic, because the laws of intestacy will then apply and the assets may not end up where the deceased had intended.

Having to interpret which provisions apply in which country and arrange for assets to be released to the correct person can be a very expensive, time-consuming process, potentially avoided by the preparation of suitably worded wills. It may be appropriate to prepare wills in more than one country, to ensure that the estate can be administered more easily.

There may also be inheritance taxes to pay, again potentially in more than one country, depending on the location of the assets and the nationality, residence and domicile status of the deceased and the

96 | Issue 66 | July 2014

beneficiaries. Some countries tax the estate of the deceased, others tax the beneficiaries, and in the absence of planning, the same assets may well unexpectedly be taxed more than once.

Gifts in lifetime can cause similar levels of complexity. Many countries have gift taxes, which should be considered in all relevant countries. In the example of a Swedish citizen living in the UK, who wishes to make a substantial gift to his children, resident in France and the US respectively, the implications of the gift need to be reviewed in all four countries. Although Sweden abolished its inheritance and gift tax years ago, the fact that there is no Swedish gift tax to pay does not necessarily mean that the same applies in the other countries.

The position in the UK depends on how long the father has been resident there, and where the assets to be given away are located, so the answer may be different depending on the exact circumstances. Both France and the US have a range of provisions which can cause problems in international situations. Planning also needs to be updated regularly, as the law may change somewhere along the line.

Within the Scandinavian countries, Norway also abolished its inheritance tax on 1 January 2014, so Norwegian families will now face a different set of questions compared to last year. Find a good lawyer with a good international network, and proceed with caution.

For more information, email privatebanking@seb.co.uk or call 020 7246 4307

Helena Whitmore, senior wealth structuring adviser at SEB Private Banking UK

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Scan Magazine | Humour | Columns

IS IT JUST ME...

By Mette Lisby

Who is turning Brazilian? For the World Cup, obviously.

Well Denmark didn’t qualify, and my go-to team was England. My third fave team was Spain, and since the chances of my second and third back-up favourites looked dismal within the game against Holland, I just decided to throw all my support behind Brazil. At least the location will be the same throughout the tournament no matter the results!

So now I consider myself a Brazilian.

(Except when it comes to waxing. Boys, trust me. That’s… a yawwsssaaaa.) And I bet I’m not the only one who suddenly changed nationality. It’s like that old song: “If you can’t be with the one you love – love the one you’re with.” If our team didn’t make it, we have to love and support someone else. Just drinking beer and not shouting at the TV watching football would seem pretty stupid, right?

So Brazil and the Copacabana will undoubtedly be the hottest place of 2014 –

and we can simply keep the party going until 2016, when Brazil and Rio will host the Olympics. You have to tip your bowler to the Brazilians. How did they pull this off? Both the World Cup AND the Olympics, just two short years apart?

Such a clever way to get all the infrastructure in place for these events at the same time. Much better planning than in the case of London, having hosted the Olympics in 1948 and then had an 18 year wait until The World Cup in 1966, followed by and even longer wait to host the 2012 Olympics. The hosting gigs scattered just far enough apart to make sure every new construction, building and renovation is dilapidated, broken and shitty enough that we have to build it all over again for the next big event.

Talking about falling apart: In my effort of being Brazilian I accidently gazed at a Brazilian newspaper and learnt that the

A-levels

My A-level days were a bit of a blur. I found secondary school suffocating in its strictness, so the sudden freedom that came with teachers not giving a hoot was dizzyingly refreshing. My college was large and chaotic. Most people – teachers and students alike – were usually in the pub.

“Sex!” my psychology teacher would shout as we came swaying into his classroom.

England team had visited an orphanage while in Brazil.

“The despair and hopelessness on their sad little faces was almost too much to bear,” said 6-year-old Matteo afterwards. But who cares – we’re all Brazilian now. Arriba!

Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading female comedian. She invites you to laugh along with her monthly humour columns. Since her stand-up debut in 1992, Mette has hosted the Danish versions of “Have I Got News For You” and “Room 101”.

By Maria Smedstad

“Who wants to talk about Freud and sex?”

Then he would glance around, dismayed: “You’re all drunk! We might as well go back to the pub!” And so we would, teacher in tow.

We muddled through some kind of mock exams, after which my teacher whispered to me across the desk, “You got a G.” This came as a shock to me; I genuinely did not know that the grades went down that low. I realised I had to pull it together. For reasons best kept to myself, I attempted to revise for a psychology paper that we had not covered in class. I needed to cram two years’ worth of studying into three weeks.

I remembered reading somewhere that nicotine speeds up the transfer of information from short-term memory to longterm memory, along with amphetamines and strychnine, both of which seemed less appealing, so for those three weeks I smoked – in secret – like a chimney. A

neighbour caught me, and from then on found it hilarious to do puffing motions behind my parents’ backs and winking at me. It seemed pointless to try to tell him the truth.

It was worth it in the end: miraculously, I graduated with decent grades. And I have made sure there has never again been a reason for me to take up smoking, so all in all A-level college was a healthy as well as valuable experience.

Maria Smedstad moved to the UK from Sweden in 1994. She received a degree in Illustration in 2001, before settling in the capital as a freelance cartoonist, creating the autobiographical cartoon Em. Maria writes a column on the trials and tribulations of life as a Swede in the UK.

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Scan Magazine | Humour | Lost for Words

Lost for Words In these days of intense email use, it seems amazing that there is still no official name for the @ sign.

It is generally called the ‘at’ symbol, but other languages have come up with all kinds of mostly animalistic nicknames. Some Finns and Swedes, for example, see it as a cat curled up with its tail. Swedish has ‘kattsvans’ and Finnish has at least three names for this idea: ‘kissanhäntä’, translating as ‘cat tail’, ‘miaumerkki’, meaning ‘meow sign’, and ‘miukumauku’, which means something like ‘meowmeow’. In Turkish and Arabic it is an ear, in Swedish specifically an elephant’s ear (elefantöra) and in both Swedish and Danish most commonly an elephant’s trunk (snabel). It is also

sometimes referred to as ‘grisehale’ in Norwegian, meaning a ‘curly pig’s tail’, and a ‘kanelbulle’, a ‘cinnamon bun’, to Swedes.

What animal is your @ sign?

More than talking about the world wide web in zoo-like terms, the Sami people of northern Scandinavia have highly specific terms for family members and relationships, veering on the fastidious: there is ‘goaski’ for one’s mother’s elder sisters, and ‘sivjjot’ for one’s older sister’s husband. One’s mother’s younger sisters are referred to as ‘muotta’, while one’s father’s younger sisters are known as ‘siessa’. One’s mother’s brothers are ‘eanu’, her brothers’ wives ‘ipmi’,

By Adam Jacot de Boinod Illustration by Markus Koljonen

and one’s brother’s wife a ‘mangi’. You still with us? Things are about to get additionally bewildering.

From ‘Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran’ to ‘red leather, yellow leather’, a key part of mastering a language is being able to master its tongue twisters, always decidedly odd sentences.

One Swedish tongue twister featuring the f sound focuses on sheep: “Far, får får får? Nej, får får inte får, får får lamm” (which, obviously, means “Father, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lambs”).

Now, until next time, make sure you know your elephant’s trunks from your goaskis and your sheep!

Adam Jacot de Boinod was a researcher for the BBC television series QI and is the author of The Meaning of Tingo and the creator of the iPhone App Tingo, a game involving interesting words. Here he looks at what interests the outside world about the Scandinavian languages.

Bloggers’ Corner: The very best of the Anglo-Scandinavian blogosphere: from films to fitness

Staying on track for the British summer Much as we train and abstain in the lead-up to the summer holidays, once it is upon us, we enter frenzied holiday mode and indulge in everything going. To avoid this comically binary approach to healthy living, below are my eight tips to staying on track during the temptation months.

measuring tape. Nothing feels as good as seeing the genuine progress you are making!

By Faya Nilsson

1. CONSISTENCY: Planning and organisation matter, so diarise intended sessions. Make them a priority and then ‘consume’ them on schedule, so that fitness becomes part of your routine.

2. WEEKLY TARGETS: Progress is never instant, so set realistic weekly, bite-sized goals.

‘Slow and steady’ yields sustainable results.

3. EATING: Indulge in seasonally delicious treats such as strawberries, blueberries and raspberries (the staples of my Swedish childhood!). A clean diet of lean protein, healthy fats and delicious veggies is ideal, and rather than rich sauces, develop flavours with herbs and spices.

4. HYDRATE: The body is 70 per cent water but can only absorb around 200 millilitres per hour.

Stay optimally hydrated throughout the day.

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5. SLEEP IT OFF: Sleep wondrously repairs the body, mentally and physically. Aim for a solid 7.5 hours to achieve 5 REM cycles of quality rest.

6. REALISM: It is not all or nothing, but rather as often as possible. Walk where possible, take the stairs at work, climb the tube station escalators and stay mobile!

7. STRETCH: Stretching aids recovery and balance and releases built-up tension and stiffness that the humid heat can encourage, whilst sculpting beautifully lengthened muscles.

8. MEASURE: Tracking helps you train smarter.

Write down workouts so you can build upon them next time and keep your body guessing (the unfamiliar routine burns more calories).

Take weekly progress photos and use a simple

Faya Nilsson is a Swedish personal trainer living and working in London’s West End, and is the author of FitnessOnToast.com, one of the UK’s leading fitness blogs, full of workout tips, yummy recipes and fitness fashion looks.

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Scan Magazine | Culture | Aarhus Art Museum

Top: Your rainbow panorama hovering over central Aarhus by night (Photo: Axel Schütt). Middle: Boy by Australian artist Ron Mueck (Photo: Poul Ib Henriksen)

Built to awe and inspire Hovering like a halo over the rooftops of central Aarhus, Your rainbow panorama has been the new iconic landmark of the city’s skyline for the past three years. Whether gleaming in the rays of the afternoon sun behind the stern grey marble city hall tower or illuminated like a beacon over the dark silhouettes of buildings at night, the circular glass structure is visible from every part of the City of Smiles. The artwork is the creation of the famous Dano-Icelandic artist Olafur Elíasson, and it spans the entire roof of ARoS – the Aarhus Art Museum.

By Marjorie de los Angeles Mendieta | Photos: ARoS / Ole Hein Pedersen

Already from the onset in 2004, the new ARoS building was meant to be a spectacle. Through the years, the museum has boasted numerous attractive exhibitions of both classical and contemporary art, but it has always been the aim of the museum to relay a more holistic experience and sensation of the concept of art.

Part of this ambition has been fulfilled by the architecture of the museum building itself. An entire pedestrian street runs through the interior of the cubically dimensioned museum building, revealing a view all the way up along the wavy balconies of each storey to the ceiling some 50 metres above. In a corner on the

ground floor sits the museum’s original landmark work of art by Australian artist Ron Mueck: the crouching Boy, an overdimensioned, almost lifelike statue of a boy, and a café offers a pause for reflecting.

From the ground floor, a spiral staircase leads to the permanent and temporary exhibitions on each floor. Yesteryear, more than 570,000 visitors, both domestic and from abroad, took a trip up the stairs. This testifies to the fact that ARoS appeals to both connoisseurs and laymen. More than one in every four visitors is a child. Indeed, a special art workshop is dedicated solely to relaying art concepts to children.

Finally, from the various impressions of the 10 storeys below, the stairs lead to the roof garden and perhaps a visit to the museum’s gourmet restaurant or a panorama-view meal in the Sunset Lounge. From here beckons the final spectacle: an unsurpassed view of the city from the 150-metre long passageway inside Your rainbow panorama. An outlook on the city of Aarhus in every direction of the compass presents itself tinted in the hues of the colour spectrum.

For more information, please visit:

For more information, please visit: www.aros.dk

Issue 66 | July 2014 | 99

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Scan Magazine | Culture & Music | Scandinavian Music

Scandinavian Music

Despite being released a couple of months back, Albin’s Din Soldat is only just now starting to become an addiction of the Swedes – so much so, in fact, that more than any other release at the moment, it is in the running to become “årets sommarplåga”, the big, inescapable summer hit of the year. We like this one as it is a rousing bundle of energy, and an infec-

tious one at that. Eclectic pop crossed with dance and with an urban edge – and all peppered with a piano riff, a great big brass accompaniment, and hand claps aplenty. Albin raps, and Kristin Amparo sings, and yes – there is a hell of a lot going on here. But what could have turned into a hot mess instead becomes a really joyous piece of what pop sounds like in 2014. Summer 2014, to be specific.

After her debut solo single, Prototypical, became a massive hit both in the Danish charts and across the international blogosphere, Alphabeat’s Stine Bramsen is back with her new one – suitably titled Move Forward. While her previous hit flirted with retro pop stylings, this new track continues those flirtations and points them in the direction of two sonic suitors. On the one hand, you have flavours of 90s dance music, and on the other, you have the oh holy sounds of clap-happy gospel. And it works a treat put together. It is a hugely radio-friendly number that is uplifting and feel-good, sounding perfect for the summer.

By Karl Batterbee

The rapscallion rogues of Scandinavian pop music, Studio Killers, have returned with the first new single since their selftitled debut album last year, and of course it was always bound to be a big one. Well guess what. It is a big one, called Grand Finale. They have ramped the tempo up for their comeback, and turned in a total banger as their triumphant return. A repetitive yet catchy piano house riff anchors a track on which the band’s inimitable vocalist really gets the chance to let rip, even more so than before – a series of translucent wails and snarls that captures the listener in a way that no other pop outfit would dare try. THAT is Studio Killers.

And THIS is their massive riot.

Finally, Tove Styrke is back, this time with new single Even If I'm Loud It Doesn't Mean I'm Talking To You. It takes a few listens. QUITE a few, actually. But persevere. It is worth it. www.scandipop.co.uk scandipop@googlemail.com

Scandinavian Culture Calendar – Where to go, what to see? It’s all happening here!

Agnes Obel (12 July) Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel will play the piano-led songs from her second album, Aventine. Somerset House, London, WC2R. www.agnesobel.com Sofie Grevelius – Filiation (Until 19 July) Swedish artist Sofie Grevelius translates moments in the urban landscape that surprise and play with our attention.

Through photography, print and sculpture, she builds a roaming barometer of what she calls ‘wonk’ situations: conditions/circumstances that do not sit still and that unsettle the organised structures that surround us. Wed-Sat 12noon-6pm.

Tintype, London, N1. www.tintypegallery.com

100 | Issue 66 | July 2014

Little Dragon (20 July) Swedish electro-pop band Little Dragon will be playing songs from their new album, Nabuma Rubberband, at Somerset House, London, WC2R. little-dragon.net Reason & Intuition: Alvar Aalto & Ola Kolehmainen in Soane (Until 24 Aug) This exhibition brings together the works of Finnish modernist architect and designer Alvar Aalto and contemporary artist Ola Kolehmainen. Tue-Fri & Sun 1pm5pm, Sat 11am-5pm. PM Gallery & House, London, W5. www.ealing.gov.uk/info/200893/ pm_gallery_and_house

By Sara Schedin

Tove Jansson: Tales from the Nordic Archipelago (15 July - 24 Aug) To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson, this display in the Fox Reading Room presents original unseen photographs and material relating to her life and work, illustrated books and early first editions. In addition, copies of her illustrations for the London Evening News will be displayed. Tue-Sun 11am-6pm, Thu 11am-9pm. ICA, London, SW1Y. www.ica.org.uk

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Scan Magazine | Culture & Music | Culture Calendar

Little Dragon. Photo: Marco van Rijt

BBC Proms (18 July - 13 Sept) This year’s classical music festival will as usual feature several Nordic acts, including Finnish conductor John Storgürds and Swedish trumpeter Hükan Hardenberger as well as music by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. www.royalalberthall.com First Aid Kit (24 Sept) A must-see gig this autumn is First Aid Kit’s Royal Albert Hall debut where the Swedish sisters will be headlining an Albert Sessions concert. www.thisisfirstaidkit.com Matthias Härenstam at Whitechapel Gallery (Until 12 Oct) Norwegian artist Matthias Härenstam’s film Reconstruction (2013) will be screened alongside the work of four other artists from around the world as part of Whitechapel’s Artists Film International Programme.

Tue-Sun 11am-6pm.

Whitechapel Gallery, London, E1. www.whitechapelgallery.org

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Nordfyns Museum The history of the town of Bogense and North Funen, in words, artifacts, paintings and pictures.

Nordfyns Museum Vestergade 16, DK-5400 Bogense, Denmark Phone: +45 6481 1884 E-mail: nordmus@mail.tele.dk www.nordfynsmuseum.dk

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Scan Magazine | Culture & Music | Culture Calendar

Nutty Tarts: Monokini 2.0 (Until 7 Sept) Monokini 2.0 is a community art project exploring the narrow ideas of our culture concerning ‘good’ and ‘normal’ women’s looks. The project seeks to extend the concept of what is acceptable and beautiful in a human body by designing a swimwear collection for women who have undergone a mastectomy. The swimsuits available today are, without exception, designed for women with two breasts, although many women opt out of having a breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, wishing to continue their lives with a single breast instead. A group of Finnish fashion designers created bespoke swimsuits for the Monokini 2.0 project. The creations were then photographed in a fashion shoot, with women who had undergone a mastectomy acting as models. Photography

by Pinja Valja. Tue-Sun 11am-6pm, Wed 11am-8pm. The Finnish Museum of Photography, Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1 G, Helsinki. www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi

Model - Elina Photo: Pinja Valja, Monokini 2.0.

Designer: Elina Halttunen

102 | Issue 66 | July 2014

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