a place for design[ed] matters. Because design matters.
There is something to be said about classic lines. This sofa designed by Nina Jobs for Gärsnäs has ticked all the boxes for classic. But in the same time it feels fresh and new. It might be the color.
Or the legs.
Or the arms.
Or the back.
Or…it all put together so beautifully.
More info here
Photos from Gärsnäs
I am curious what 2018 brings. Will we have a lot of yellow again? I know I used to love yellow. I guess I still do to some extent. Somehow yellow is a bright and happy color for me. Or will we continue with the dusty colors – beautiful in its own right?
Us Scandinavians tend to go with white a lot. It might be because the weather is gray most of the time (grey and white is quite beautiful together!).
Trend spotters predicts it will be a lot of strong colors during 2018 – and black is in the forefront. The color of all colors – I know that black is not ‘a color’ but never mind, it still is considered a color in my book. It goes well with anything and everything if you ask me .(.. but I still long for yellow).
We will continue to see a lot of wood, greens (both as color and as plants), metallic – is it so that we in this connected world long for authenticity – the real deal? Vintage mixed in with our present reality. Because it is…well, real really.
To sum it up: all trends are in action at the same time. Do, use, paint, furnish, dress exactly as you wish as long as it makes you happy. Because at the end of the day – happiness is what matters.
Have a happy 2018!
Chair ‘Lilla Åland’, made by StolAB. Picture from svenssons.se
Meeting T opened up a whole new world for me. OK, not entirely new, but I sort of started to notice at a deeper level. I’ve always been intrigued by natural things, raw ingredients if you wish, nama in Japanese depending on pronounciation (info from my Japanese friend M). And I’ve also always really liked the product Shea Butter.
Googling around I found this (very nice I must say) blog that posted info about Shea Butter that I found interesting – I thought you might too. So without further ado, let me introduce The Renaissance Lady. Thank you Renaissance Lady for this interesting post!
TRL pointed out Shea Butter products from Ivynat that in turn had this information (text below) on their site (all info from The Renaissance Lady and Ivynat):
Unrefined Shea Butter is rich in Oleic, Stearic and Linoleic acids that help protect, nourish and keep the skin beautifully soft and moisturized. It is also rich in essential vitamins A, E and F. Vitamin F protects the skin, particularly from the suns harmful UV rays. It helps promote youthful skin, reduce fine lines and dryness. Vitamins A and E help maintain overall health of the skin and hair as well as nourish the skin and maintain blemish free skin. It almost works as a cleanser, with its cleansing abilities it penetrates the pores and expels clogged dirt and oil accumulation allowing the skin to breathe.
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Shea butter protects the skin from drying out: The butter remains solid at room temperature, but melts on the skin to form a non-greasy coating that effectively seals in the moisture. Applying Shea butter all over the body after a bath or a long swim will help keep the skin hydrated and soft. Alternatively, you can add a tablespoonful of butter into your warm bathwater before the final rinse. It will quickly melt and cover your body with a thin, protective layer of oil, but the best part is that it does not make the skin oily.
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Healing Qualities: Shea butter is known for its healing properties that can be attributed to the presence of several fatty acids and plant sterols such as oleic, palmitic, stearic and linolenic acids. Raw, unrefined shea butter is effective in curing skin rashes, skin peeling after tanning, scars, stretch marks, frost bites, burns, athletes foot, insect bites and stings, arthritis, and muscle fatigue.
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Antioxidant Qualities: Shea butter contains plant antioxidants, such as vitamins A and E, as well as catechins. The vitamins A and E protect the cells from free radicals and environmental damage. The cinnamic acid esters in the shea fat help in preventing skin damage from ultraviolet radiation.
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Anti-Inflammatory Properties: Shea butter has several derivatives of cinnamic acid that exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. Research has proved that in addition to its anti-inflammatory benefits, lupeol cinnamate found in shea butter prevents the development of tumors. Its anti-inflammatory properties render it beneficial for the improvement of skin conditions.
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Sun Protection: Shea butter may not replace your sunscreen, but it can provide some protection against UV exposure. Shea butter has been estimated to have a sun protection factor of 6 (SPF-6). It may not be sufficient for full sun exposure on a summer day, but may be enough for a quick trip outside when the sky is overcast. With rising concerns about the possibility of chemicals in sunscreens themselves causing skin cancer, it may be a good idea to apply Shea butter as base coat before applying another sunscreen on the skin. The anti-inflammatory action of the butter is even helpful in reducing burning and soreness after sun exposure.
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Healing Agent: Shea butter has amazing healing properties. It is often used as a base in medicinal ointments due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It has been used since ages for the treatment of scars, eczema, blemishes, skin discolorations, chapped lips, stretch marks, dark spots, and in reducing the irritation caused by psoriasis. Due to its high content of vitamin A, it is effective in promoting healing and disinfection, and soothes skin allergies like poison ivy and insect bites. Vitamin F acts as a rejuvenator for soothing and healing rough and chapped skin.
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Anti-Ageing Benefits: Shea butter is considered as one of the best anti-aging and moisturizing agents for the skin. It stimulates the production of collagen, the youthful scaffolding protein in the skin. The vitamins A and E found in this butter keep the skin supple, nourished, and radiant, and prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines. Shea butter penetrates the skin easily, without clogging the pores, and is effective for dry skin.
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Baby Care: Shea butter is an excellent natural moisturizer that is devoid of chemicals. Thus, it is ideal for baby care as besides being gentle and soft on the skin, it is specially adapted for the delicate and sensitive skin of babies. It can be used for after bath application on the skin and also for healing eczema or diaper rash on the skin of babies.
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Lip Care: Shea butter is easily absorbed and provides extra moisture and nutrients that are needed during the cold season and dry weather. Thus, it acts as a perfect lip balm to protect your lips from cold and dry weather and is effective for treating dry and chapped lips.
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Restores Skin Elasticity: The non-saponifiable matter and vitamin F in this butter are vital ingredients for maintaining the skin’s elasticity. Thus, the application of shea butter restores the elasticity of the skin and helps maintain an even skin tone, besides hydrating, softening and beautifying it.
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Soothes Dry And Irritated Scalp: Shea butter is effective in soothing a dry, itchy scalp or dandruff. It possesses anti-inflammatory qualities and gets absorbed into the skin without leaving a greasy residue or clogging the pores. Being rich in vitamins A and E, it soothes dryness, repairs breakage and mends split ends. Hence, it is extremely effective in providing relief from a dry scalp, dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis.
Twelve/
Moisturizer: The presence of vitamins A and E makes shea butter an excellent moisturizer to moisturize your hair from the roots to the tips. Thus, it can be used as a natural conditioner. It is highly effective in locking in moisture, without leaving the hair greasy or heavy. Shea butter has wide usage in curly hair treatments due to its emollient qualities. A number of chemical treatments like straighteners, perms, curlers, etc. are responsible for stripping off the natural moisture from the hair. Shea butter can help restore this lost moisture.
Thirteen/
Hair Protection: Shea butter provides protection to the hair against the harmful free radicals in the air and water and harsh weather conditions. Moreover, shea butter has a low amount of SPF that is sufficient to protect the hair from sun damage caused due to the exposure to ultraviolet radiation and repairs the damage that has already been caused by the harsh weather and the sun. This is largely due to the fact that once absorbed, shea butter coats the hair shaft so that it is protected from a heat tool or any other damaging material being passed along the hair. This is particularly beneficial for processed or colored hair. It also protects the hair against salt and chlorine when applied before swimming.
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Hair Softener: Shea butter is great for softening and revitalizing damaged and brittle hair. Due to its non-greasy nature, it helps to control and spread the excess oil in the scalp. Massaging the hair with generous amounts of shea butter can give soft and silky tresses. This benefit of shea butter is applicable for dry as well as fragile, curly hair. Shea butter should be applied twice a week for hair growth, improving the hair texture and moisturizing the hair.
Disclosure: Shea Butter information and pictures from The Renaissance Lady, Ivynat (all info from TRL and IN), Natural Homes and Vivian Holt Exclusives.
Lavender is one of those scents that is so nice. Imagine the fragrance….., breathe it in deep and just….lovely isn’t it?
I love meeting talented artisans like T. T makes soap by hand (among other things such as creams, scrubs etc.), and one essential oil she use to scent her products with is lavender (I will introduce you to all the other great items she makes in another post).
Look at Royal Copenhagen cups curves, the color, the overall design. Isn’t this a classic to die for?
Designed by Karen Kjaeldgard-Larsen for Royal Copenhagen.
Each piece is painted by hand thus every piece is unique.
If you look closely they all have their own uniqueness.
Check it out here
Pictures and info from Royal Copenhagen website.
Fancy some minimalistic, Scandinavian:ish designed prints. Look no further -> emerybloom.com
I am in the midst of searching high and low for some great (in my opinion) large pots [of some kind] for my indoor palm trees. And check these Bacsac’s out – aren’t they adorable? What a great invention; colorful, smart design (in many different ways – not only the invention – you can use it for the floor, to hang along a wall, or anywhere else you want on your terrace/balcony etc). And the colors!! Did I mention the colors? No I guess I didn’t. I think that as a true DMKA-person a Bacsac in orange would be suitable, don’t you?
Go check it out here
Visit any Farmers Market, near or far, anywhere really – and you’ll have an abundance of design. In everything and anything.
Even the most simple things like fresh berries or fruit is beautiful. Mind you, these pictures haven’t been near photoshop. And the colors and shapes are just perfect …
Pictures from Hollywood Farmers Market, Los Angeles.
Bangkok has some of the most well designed coffee shops in the world according to us at DMKA. We love Bangkok for all its beauty and even in the not so beautiful things (still picturesque).
On our last visit we found (through a tip from talented New York Inspiration CEO Charlotte Raboff – whom is also the brain behind Thailand Living) Rocket Coffee Bar.
Rocket Coffee Bar has several locations and the one we chose to visit was located in Sukhumvit Soi 49. This Rocket is the newest addition to their Coffee Bars and also their largest so far. It has comunal seating, counter bar – and a stylish lounge at mezzanine level. Sooo cozy and sooo worth your while getting there.
Check out this lamp installation!!
Rocket Coffee Bar
46/12 Sukhumvit Soi 49
The first thing I noticed was the shape of the bottles. I stopped in my step and just had to stroke the glass bottles. The guy selling them kindly let us sample the juice and it was truly delicious. We were visiting Farmers Market at Larchmont – a quaint, smallish farmers market where there are a lot on offer but still not so much that it gets lost in translation.
Besides [the Farmers Market] Larchmont is a street with many nice places/shops/restaurants so if there is nothing of interest at Farmers Market (every Sunday) there is always other things/places to see/do.
Meanwhile, enjoy these vibrant colors
While in Bangkok I had the pleasure of visiting the International Arts & Crafts fair 2015 where many very talented designers showcased their products. I found this jeweler – Ms. Fonthip Tangviriyamet – that had a wonderful assortment of various intriguing jewelry.
Fonthip’s style is delicate and almost airy. Fantastic workmanship and you can really tell that nature is a great inspiration since it shines through in all her designs. It is corals, autumn leaves, oriental flowers, message from earth, garland, stopped motion to mention a few of her lines. My favorite is coral. And Stopped in Motion. Which one is yours?
Please check out the website at www.fonthip.com, you won’t be disappointed. I promise.
Pictures above from Fonthip’s website
