Designs by Ulrika Hydman-Vallien
 
Afficiandos of fine art glass will not have to travel all the way to Småland this summer, where the so-called Kingdom of Glass is located.  For the first time ever, all eight of Kosta Boda’s main designers are jointly presenting their work at NK department stores in Stockholm and Gothenberg.   One of my favourites is Ulrika Hydman-Vallien, whose delightfully decadent works will be shown in the bookstore on the third floor of NK Stockholm. (…)

Veronica Maggio sings for Ivana Helsinki

Ida Pyk

The Media Rocks Group of the USA has previously arranged  spectacular shows in London, New York and Rio de Jan de Janiero.   On June 25-26, for the first time ever in Scandinavia, a Fashion Rocks show was held  beneath the giant chandeliers of 146-year-old Berns Salonger. (…)

Swedish-American artist  Marcus Mårtenson showed his works last night at  a VIP pre-party held in a suite at Berns Hotel: open bar with Campari cocktails,  DJs, burlesque girls in bondage attire, a pirate flag waving outside over the beautiful Stockholm skyline, and good vibes. (…)

This was the scene at Sergels Torg, the central square in the Swedish capital shortly after people learned about the death of music legend Michael Jackson.   Fans lit candles, brought red roses, a sequinned glove, photos of the star as well as a copy of tabloid Expressen, whose first page declared “Dead Last Night.”   News travels fast.  Many people in Sweden learned about Michael’s passing  within seconds of people in Hollywood.  I was  drowning in text messages and phone calls all saying the same thing: ”Have you heard? (…)

 
A few days ago I dropped by Beyond Retro’s giant vintage clothing emporium behind the Åhlens department store in downtown Stockholm.  I was impressed.  The way the garments are displayed, the styles and the music made the shopping experience very pleasant.   As it says on its website, this London-based chain provides “vintage clothing for the sartorially obsessed.”  A sense of the store’s attitude can possibly be detected in this fuzzy photo I took of two of the staff.   When I got home I discovered that the sleeves on the  Western-style shirt I bought were too short for me.  How could I have missed that? (…)

Berns nightclub manager Martin Kling, guest manager Payman Dejdez, Nizar and David get together for a planning session in the 2.35:1 Club. (…)

Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir – Lights (Photo: Per Plougmann Povlsen)
 
If you are a fan of  large-scale outdoor sculpture gardens, the place to be right now is Denmark.   An Australian project called Sculpture by the Sea—now entering its 12thyear—inspired the Danes to create what appears to be an amazing exhibit of some 60 sculptures on sand, shoreline and water along the Bay of Aarhus. (…)

There seems to finally be a shift away from the cold-hearted hotel rooms we’ve seen in recent years with all the white-on-white charm of hospital hallways. (…)

A major advertising campaign questioning the existance of God has blanketed the Swedish capital all this week. 
In full page-ads in the largest newspapers, on billboards in subway stations and even on bus shelters,  the message is trumpeted: “God probably doesn’t exist”  (Gud finns nog inte.)  The message is accompanied by flag images which symbolize the three main monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.  Its been rainy and cold all week, with dark skies and heavy winds:  I guess the man upstairs is pissed off, or not. (…)

In this Bjorn Borg promotional video Bibi reveals the truth about the fashion firm. They all work in their undies.