Robert&Blad

New blog

2011-03-16T14:12:00.006+01:00

Here's the new adress, where I now do my blog posts. Come, come, we have fashion, glamour and an occasionally really angry designer.

The arctic photo shoot...

2011-03-02T08:55:00.007+01:00

I KNOW we will get gorgeous pics from the shooting of the new designs
(soon to appear in the shop).

A very heroic team of photographer Irika, hair- & make-up artist Anne Hanson and superb model Johanna Jarlman was working stoically in -3° C and strong gusts of wind.

An especially warm hug to Johanna who, wasn't wearing arctic survival gear, like the rest of us. The striped blanket is not part of the collection, but I'm pretty sure it was Johannas favourite. ;-)

Up and running again!

2011-02-21T15:04:00.003+01:00

Photo by Daniel Pedrsen

All is working again. Website as well as shop.
Hooray!

Domain chaos

2011-02-21T08:41:00.003+01:00

Dear friends, due to several kinds of fuck ups (not all on my part!) the webshop, website and e-mail are all down. Should I panic or go on a holliday?

Well, we're already on it and I hope we'll be up and running again within a day or two. Rest assured I will post notice here, as soon as we're on the GO again.

Fashion shoot, Dj-debut, small talk & boxing

2011-02-16T12:24:00.013+01:00

I've been really busy lately...

Yesterday I held a short talk on eco and fair trade as trend factors in current fashion. An alert and inquisitive audience of mostly freelance journalists made it really fun.

Yeah, and then there was the DJ-ing...

More of a scary experience, my recent DJ-debut, at a do for music magazine Gaffa. There I was, surrounded by all this hi-tech shit. Knobs, levers and blinking lights galore! And some strange thing called "pitch". Luckily it turned out to be great fun as well and I will GLADLY do it again, if anyone will have me! I was truly happy and proud when several people asked me afterwards for the names of some of the artists I played. Though next time, I'll make sure to get cooler headphones.

So what's next...?

Well, here's my choice of location for shooting some new Robert&Blad garments. Cross your fingers for no rain next weekend! I'll be working with photographer Irika for the first time. She has a very special style, all her own and I'm really excited to see what she'll make of this!

But before that...
This coming weekend will be spent in white shirt and bowtie, judging the South Swedish Championship in boxing in Ronneby. Looking forward to good boxing and hotel breakfast!

B.t.w. if you are the least interested in either boxing or fantastic photos,
here's a book by James A. Fox that I warmly recommend.

This is Not Fashion Week.

2011-02-01T10:11:00.017+01:00

Of course I'm in denial when I tell myself I don't need to visit the Fashion Weeks. Copenhagen Fashion Week starts on thursday and in Stockholm it's on now and next week. I should at least be there networking, being visible. But I still won't do it!

I don't know if I'm different from all the other designers or I'm just one that won't lie about it. The whole trade fair thing really makes me depressed, bored and sick. It's not at all that I'm too good for it or too much "artiste" or anything like that. It just plain gets me down and I'm clearly not made for sales. Please get me right, I have the greatest respect, even envy of people who can sell, do it well and enjoy it.

I've been to the fashion trade fairs in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris and Tokyo, showing Robert&Blad, so I know what I'm talking about here. I've made some great friends among fellow designers out there, but I'd much rather meet them in another environment.

This is the gum that was stuck to crazy modell Karolina's cardigan the day she came in for the filming with Ulrika Rang. Just thought it could illustrate how fashion fairs make me feel... ;-)

Thankfully I've NEVER needed those affairs for inspiration. Ideas just pour out of my head as soon as I open that particular tap.

So while the rest of the fashion world are enjoying/suffering the Fashion Weeks out there, I'm really busy with a bunch of more interesting stuff. Chaos in above pic, is me preparing for my first-ever-in-life-ooh-soo-scary Dj-set for music magazine Gaffa. I'll probably screw up technically, but the music will be great!
I'm also booking locations to show the re-design and film project "Adios MTHRFCKR". Galleri Rostrum and ATT: in Malmö this spring, so far, dates still not fixed. And of course we'll take it on the road!
Other things keeping me from the Fashion Weeks are writing a column about re-design for the magazine Grön Stad, prepairing a photo shoot of new designs, with Irika.

And of course hunting for an agent to represent Robert&Blad at those dreaded fairs... ;-)

Artsy, punky, re-design film project.

2011-01-27T13:10:00.014+01:00

Don't you just wish you were me?

This is the wonderful stuff I've been filling my days with lately.

Film maker Ulrika Rang and me at "work" on the short, punky film about the re-designing of a wedding dress. Working title: Adios MTHRFCKR!

Phases # 1, 2 & 3
Fucking it up.

Duel at high noon.

Phase # 4
Screen printing shop brutality.

Phase #5
Making nice.
Not caught on camera due to the usage of super secret re-designing formulas. ;-)

Phase # 6
The moment of truth - fitting and styling.

The super cool film photographer working the angles from perilous height,
with neither safety net nor body double. Art before safety!

Model Karolina Wojcik looking the part.
Karolina is also a great artist and illustrator. Check it out!

Aaaaand... ACTION!

The filming bit is now finished and Ulrika has the tough job of cutting enough material for about two seasons of weekly tv-shows down to maybe 3 minutes. I don't envy her all that killing of darlings. But I feel confindent in the fact that she is a seasoned pro.
Next week exciting meetings with the musicians we're hoping to work with. Cross your fingers!

You all better do some shopping so I can keep this no profit, artsy shit up!

Ps. Thanks "Emma - the intern" for the stills.

World Champion Stylist

2011-01-20T09:43:00.003+01:00

Currently these posters for the Mens Handball World Championship, are all over the place.
I had the pleasure of styling them while Daniel Pedersen took the pics. Happiest of us all though, was the Danish guy who got to be "The Danish guy".

Always a pleasure to work with Daniel! Here in his studio during the shoot. Daniel is the guy with the camera. ;-)

Our models had to rest in between some pretty exerting jumping and screaming. They were brilliant jumpers and screamers, by the way.

Angry young woman... With a sense of humor.

2011-01-17T10:58:00.005+01:00

Went to the opening of a great art show by Ella Tillema at Galleri 21 in Malmö.
Do see it if you're in the neighbourhood!

These two paintings will end up in my home...

And this is the size of the lumps of ice hacked loose from the roofs of Malmö city.
Fit for a cocktail party for gigants!

Todays outfit

2011-01-14T13:04:00.005+01:00

As opposed to all the adorable little fashionistas blogging about "todays outfit", this is what a fashionpro with years upon years in the business wears on a day when she's working from home.

Todays outfit: Classical Helly Hansen, bright orange, fleece sweater, men's singlet, red long johns (Pierre Cardin!!) and down socks. All from the charity shop except socks which are stolen from hubby. So there you go.... Reality check.

Ps. Actually the pic doesn't give full credit to the horror of the red of the long johns (yeah, NOT leggings, they're bloody long johns) with the warning-orange of the sweater.

Parents inadvertently doing cool and funny stuff.

2011-01-12T09:39:00.007+01:00

Last week was my mothers birthday. The whole family was generously treated to a trip to Tenerife. This is my trendspotting from the trip.

My dad has his own take on most things. Not always stylishly so.

But Daddy six-eyes is waaay cool!

My mom considering a choice of two different things on the menu.
Or just discreetly hailing Satan...

This bird is no parent of mine, but it falls under the category "Tenerife trendspotting".
For 2011 I strongly suggest gorgeous, iridescent plumage, bright yellow eyes and and looking intent but very stupid.

Remember where you read it first!

Tenerife toes

2011-01-11T14:23:00.004+01:00

Black nail-polish, whitecapped volcano and local beer.

Sun and very salty water.

Overcast and wine. And brilliantly funny Bateman.

Atlantico, mi amor.

Black on black.

Off into the sunset.

Ps. I hate Spanair and I've seen enough man tits to last me a lifetime. Apart from that, it's been a great vacation and I'm sporting a very enviable tan.

Pillow punching - a passion...

2011-01-09T11:50:00.010+01:00

Since a few months I've been going back and forth to lovely Vienna. This is my weird and wonderful passion there. Check out our Pillow Fighting Team! This is me and my team mates. Trust me, we are no powder puffs!!!

An evening with the Parisians.

2011-01-02T14:38:00.004+01:00

Just after christmas I went to excellent Brogatan in Malmö for a beer with Sebastian.

Just as I'm about to walk out the door, in comes my friend Maria Fors and her husband Alex. We've known each other since our crazy days at Copenhagens Patternmaking Academy in 1986 (!)
She moved to Paris shortly after that and has lived there ever since. So you understand that I don't see her to often and it was such a lovely coincidence.

Maria was equally happy to see me and promptly tried to put a fork in my eye. But I forgave her, took my coat back off and ordered another beer.

Incidentally we share the habit of writing down "very important stuff" on our hands.

The hip and gorgeous Parisians! Fashion designer Maria Fors and her dj/musician husband Alex.
Great to see you guys! And bisou until next time...
Hopefully I'll go visit them this spring. I have sleeping quarters booked under their kitchen table. ;-)
Maria and Alex are serious party people, not to be taken lightly. I know this from experience. It will be tough!

Just to make the evening more intense Jonna showed up. She is very funny and truly disturbed. Here she does nasty things to food and drink while the rest of us were blushing.
When she isn't abusing innocent food, Jonna is in charge of the photo gallery Format. Definitely worth checking out!

Jonna came with Jeff who is very sweet and funny and not nearly as nasty as Jonna. He's also a great photographer.

Thank you all for a great evening!

Malmö - patterns & structures

2010-12-27T12:04:00.002+01:00

A frozen coastline, amazingly enough the same as in the very first posts in this blog (july).

Oooooh!

Both birds and humans appear to prefer the little bridge.

Clinging to every word.

Silver birch tree

I know, banal motif, but never the less irresistable to the photographer.
Please forgive me.

Great undefinable colours and very definable lines.

Look, the're growing...

2010-12-25T10:30:00.002+01:00

Now the neighbouring house has icicles all the way down to the window ledge!

And last night i found an A laying on the ground. Anyone missing one?

Plenty of white topping.

2010-12-24T11:42:00.003+01:00

Decided not to have breakfast in the garden this morning. Seems amazing that I ever have...

Opting for lots of gingerbread cookies indoors instead...

I wish you all a very merry x-mas!

Stuck inside of Malmö with the x-mas blues again...

2010-12-23T15:39:00.005+01:00

Check out the icicles on my neighbour's house...

Was supposed to go on a seven hour, northbound train journey with two transfers today, but the south of Sweden is smothered in snow and bloody nothing works! Nothing leaves Malmö central station. Except of course dissapointed travellers.

To be honest, returning back home from the station is waaay preferable to getting stuck halfway and forced to spend the night in some freezing, hell-hole station.
I guess the picture says it all.

Besides, have already been invited to lunch on x-mas eve by superb neighbours. :-D
Not the icicle record-holder, that is.

Bits & pieces...

2010-12-22T15:58:00.004+01:00

Googled Robert&Blad and to my surprise found this...
and this as well. Two little films from Robert&Blad's participation in London Fashion Week.
Enjoy...

Miscellaneous...

2010-12-07T11:28:00.005+01:00

Just a couple of things that put me in a good mood.
Hope they'll do the same for you.

This makes me hopefull of the kids.
Of course there is a chance it was made by some 30+, board-riding ad-agency guy. But still...

And the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Mmm... Enjoy!

NGBG t-shirt release party. Everybody was there...

2010-12-02T13:53:00.015+01:00

The bar. Or the altar, as someone suggested.

Some of the best guys I know, from left superb bluesman Svante Sjöblom, Sebastian who runs the club "Ain't nobody's mistress but my own" and to my left Daniel Pedersen, one of my great photographer friends.

A perfect, early Friday evening after work in the studio. I was very pleasantly surprised by the turn up (around 60 people), in spite of it being really snowy and cold. Thanks friends!!

Lured them in with free beers...

Sharpest dressers this evening: my former intern Johan and Louise his girlfriend.

So this is what it was all about. The release of the t-shirt which is an homage to the street
Norra GrängesBergsGatan, where the studio is located. This is the street for illegal after hours clubs, baclava bakeries, Polish bootleg booze and a bunch of other dodgy emterprises. Robert&Blad included. ;-D

My dear old friend Heléne Thoresdotter, another of my much appreciated photographers, here with her fiancé Max. Two of the best, all categories!

Aha, customers! Staffan, teacher and funk-nerd with Johan who works with something super interesting to do with interaction design. I think.

Jenny Nordberg, half of Apokalyps Labotek, designers of our time, working with different types of waste as raw material. Brill, check out! And stylish Louise again, with pearls on her sweather.

In charge of marketing & pr this evening, Svante Sjöblom. Great salesman grin! Next to him his girlfriend Malin who also acted as my assistant for the evening. She most definitely did not spend it sitting on her ass!

The most picturesque printing shop in the world?

2010-11-24T19:12:00.008+01:00

Yeah, we got snow... Just in time for me to do a two-day session in the silkscreen printing shop. The radiator isn't so hot (pun intended). It has to be turned really high in the morning, and do it's thing for a while. Eventually it's ok to go out there to start working. But it does look extremely inviting, wouldn't you say?

There they are, hanging three rows deep, the t-shirts in honour of that gloriously grungy, gritty and grimy street Norra Grängesbergsgatan, where the studio is located.

Release party in the studio this friday at four. Do come! :-)

Malmö goes all Gaga

2010-11-19T12:11:00.008+01:00

Lady Gaga plays Malmö this evening and this inspired the paper City (p. 32-33) to invite Robert&Blad and two others Malmö-based designers for a fun little experiment. We each got a bag of stuff to use to create a spectacular outfit, Gaga-style.

We're talking stuff that would not normally be used for clothes. I got paper napkins, coffee filters, muffin moulds, cake doilies and paper cups. And it should take no more than half a day to make. Once I got my basic ideas sorted I actually got it done in two hours. And I used everything in the bag. Especially proud of the coffee cup-rings on the skirt and that I managed not only hat and bag, but also pimped the shoes with muffin moulds.

Hat made from paper cup, doily and muffin moulds.

Keeping the novemberness at bay...

2010-11-18T14:14:00.001+01:00

Todays tip for surviving the long, dark winter: Pimp your coffee-filters.

The hunt for eco-fabrics & the recycling of own designs

2010-11-11T11:23:00.008+01:00

In October I went to Sweden's textile capital Borås for the fabric fair. I was particularly searching for a good woven eco-cotton or hemp, for trousers and skirts. I think I may have found the right fabric, and as you can see, if I would want to incorporate colours in the collection the possibilities are there... Being a quality and control freak I will want to make a few samples an wear and especially wash a few times before settling on the fabric. It will definitely be great to be able to add a bunch of bottoms to the collection, as it is a bit weak on that front at the moment.

An other thing I was on a quest for was a wool to do a remake of this Robert&Blad coat from 1992 or -93. I was amazed at how much I liked it upon being reunited with it. Dear old customer My let me borrow this on-off piece so I could refresh my memory. I'm flattered and proud that My has kept, used and loved it for all these years! Thanks My!

So here is the first sample remake. Accidentally got sewing machine oil on the lining so I'm afraid I'll be forced to keep it myself. Dommage! ;-)

I did find a very interesting Portuguese recycled wool for it. So it will be available in the collection from next fall. By then I will have tested this one and can tell you truthfully if it's possible to bicycle in it or not. I might have to lie...

Shop away!

2010-10-22T10:18:00.003+02:00

Finally the webshop is live! Go crazy, knock yourselves out and by doing so be proud in helping out with the financing of The Fridge (and maybe a glass of champagne or two).

Robert&Blad - now cooler than ever!

2010-10-21T10:22:00.005+02:00

Maybe the access to cold milk for the coffee doesn't render this kind off excitement in every workplace...

You all might not find the arrival of a fridge that exciting...
Studiomate Sofia got so caught up in the excitement that she actually dreamt about the arrival of The Fridge, even though she's only been in the studio for a couple of weeks.

But trust me, after three years of this, it's an everyday luxury beyond comprehension. No more food hanging out the window! So, note to self: Don't forget to appreciate the things in life that actually work. God knows there's enough of the opposite...

Neuköllns finest comes to visit

2010-10-16T10:25:00.010+02:00

Last week my dear friend Silke Jentsch came to visit for a few days. Silke is the designer of fashion brand Mutabilis Berlin. We first met when we had stands next to each other at Tokyo fashion fair IFF, in 2006. In a period of about one month we also met at the fairs in Berlin and Copenhagen where I showed Robert&Blad. While Silke did things at a slightly smarter pace, I also managed to squeeze in showing in Paris and Stockholm during a period of totally six week. Absolutely suicidal of course! And I ended up with tinnitus and nosebleeds... But trust me, I learned something from that!

In december 2008 Silke was in Malmö working out of Robert&Blads studio for a month and a half. It was great fun and we really get along well, in spite of being very different. We also give each other lots of help and support, practically as well as morally. A generosity not to be taken for granted between designers, where the the competitive climate often makes it very cold.

During her time in Malmö she'd never had coffee at the excellent coffee bar in the corner of Ystadsgatan and Möllevångstorget, so now I took here there. It is a corner of mad traffic and constant action. Never a dull moment looking out the large windows!

One of the places Silke of course insisted of visiting in Malmö is super nice restaurant/bar/hang-out Tempo. Where we felt very happy and at home, as you can see...

Joachim, who works at Tempo, told me how he appreciated the article in the sunday supplement a few weeks back where I pointed out that Jever is my absolute favorite beer. We've sort of bonded on the subject of Jever before. Very nice. It's good to have a friend on the other side of the bar. Since he's also the singer in a cool rock 'n' roll band, of course I want to be friends with him!

I don't know what this is, or what it's doing in the street. Neither does it have anything to do with any of the places where we ate or drank. Anyway, we decided against it.

Oh, and by the way, I got some very flattering attention for being a gifted stylist, in the swedish photo blog Konsten att stjäla ett ögonblick. Thank you! :-)

Stockholm part 2

2010-10-07T14:04:00.007+02:00

Up-dating, finally!
Stockholm really got the better of me and I ended up with a pretty bad cold and of course a lot of follow ups on the to do-list. Well, while I was still in the big city I had a couple of very interesting meetings with sales-agents. Of course nothing is simple, swift and in the bag... but, there's definitely hope.
And of course I managed to squeeze a little more of my best sport into the stay. Hanging out with friends and colleauges over drinks, that is.

Very conveniently the lovely Susanne Beskow of Van Deurs opened her shop in shop, at Snickarbacken 7 in Stockholm, where she shares a beautiful space with a café, gallery and interior decoration shop. So it was art show opening, shop opening and premiere of the whole space, all rolled into one. And lots of people, even if they're not in my pics.

The accordion-pleats are the signature of Van Deurs. Here also illustrated by the smart and elegant hang-tag. Congrats Susanne, well done!

See me dwarfed by my wonderful old friend Bodil and Susanne, two true amazons! Let me tell you, Bodil was very excited about finding a designer also taller than 180 cm (both with good margin, I believe). I'm sure there's gonna be some tall garments sold as a result of this...

The next day I went to see Ylva Liljefors at her office at post fire dew. Of course everything they were working on was top-secret and I had to be very careful not to accidentally get Ylvas mood-board in the picture. But I did get her round window and Ylva very proudly wearing her Slayer T-shirt.

Just before getting on the train I hooked up with funny, bubbly, crazy stylist Angie, who flattered me immensely by wearing a Robert&Blad dress for our meeting. After two hours of catching up, since it's been a while, she followed me across the street, to the train station.
And so it was over between Stockholm and me for this time. Well, I got to keep that little souvenir, the cold, of course. Thanks Stockholm!

Fashion friends united and Finnish TV

2010-09-22T19:02:00.005+02:00

Busy days in Stockholm...
Last night I got together with another fellow designer and wonderful friend. Ylva Liljefors has dressed all the coolest people in Sweden and is also a great person to be around. I will try to fit in a visit to her work, at mens brand Post Fire Dew, before going back to Malmö.

As you can probably tell from the pix, Ylva and I have slightly differing approaches to life...

In spite of this we really like each other! Though she didn't really buy my braid as being the genuine article and was a bit disrespectful about it...

One of the things on todays schedule was a meet with Finnish television, for a show they are making about Minna - the successful fashion blogger.
Going there, reminded me of how it's not always (in fact hardly EVER!) limos and champagne. It's a lot more like, with tired feet on a very scryffy old bus No.74, and the collection in a battered old aluminum suit case.

Anyway it got better! Minna is very concentrated while taking instuctions from producer Liisa Akimof. Truthfully, she looks petrified.

Something she quickly got over! Once she had three cameras pointed at herself, she seemed perfecly comfortable. I got some footage too, and we really managed to wave a lot of Robert&Blad designs around, and tried to sneak the logo in to every shoot and every angle.

It's going to be super fun to watch, even though I don't understand a word of finnish. Apparently the tv-show will not be accessible on the web, outside of Finland, due to copyrights. So those of you who can watch Yle 1, be alert!

Visting Astrid Björk

2010-09-21T16:44:00.011+02:00

I'm in Stockholm at the moment. Today I spent a lovely afternoon in the studio/workshop of jewellery designer and friend Astrid Björk.
Astrid has a super nice little shop connected to her workspace at the top of the steps at Blecktornsgränd. A very picturesque adress at Söder, worth the climb whether you're into stylish jewellery or not.

This is Astrid worktable. Inspiring, indeed!
No wonder she's got that huge smile on her face!

I managed to keep Astrid from working for at least two hours, over coffee and brownies. Or I shouldn't say keep her from work, since we are our work. It's always on our minds and we are constantly talking about it. It's great to have collegues and friends to share info and tips with, as well as warnings! Not to speak of to test ideas and just generally support each other.

Now Astrid and I are toying with the idea of some kind of collaboration. Maybe an exhibition, maybe a fashionshow. We'll see what the future holds...

Paradise revisited & specimen taken for experiment.

2010-09-09T13:07:00.015+02:00

Recently I went for a meeting with one of my favourite retailers, Carlson Ahnell in Skanör. It's a great shop and webshop where you'll find a range of Robert&Blad clothes in the new, lovely and environmentally smart hemp/lycra jerseymix.

Skanör is the village by the sea where I grew up, where my parents live and where my dads family comes from, for generations. It also happens to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, now sadly under siege by an army of suv-people.

While in Skanör, I naturally went for a swim...

But I also took the opportunity to start a little perfume & preservative-free cosmetics-experiment. Since I love what swimming in the sea does for my hair, I decided to try using the real thing this winter, instead of perfumed saltwater-spray off the counter.

Quite a lot of seaweed, due to the winds on this day, made the water pretty cloudy. My mother convinced me it would be full of eggs and larvae and other unknown things that would either hatch or rot. I actually took that in, in spite of the source being mom!

So once the icky stuff settled, I carefully decanted the water and boiled it.

Stay with me and I'll keep you updated on the experiment.

Read it, if you can.

2010-09-07T14:55:00.004+02:00

Here's the whole article. If you don't read swedish you may enjoy the pix...

Another 15 minutes...

2010-09-06T13:25:00.005+02:00

Yours truly had the pleasure of getting six full pages, including the cover of the morningpaper sunday supplement. Sweet indeed!
Here wearing Bat tunic, Tie tights from Robert&Blad and boxing gloves (stylists own ;-)).

The devil is in the details

2010-09-01T14:09:00.007+02:00

If Satan was one of those petty, little every day irritations, I would say that Satan was a nick in the edge of the packing tape!

It has been driving me nuts while I’ve been packing boxes for delivery to the retailers. All the time I’m considering throwing an almost new roll of tape in the bin, but some sort of hope and mad determination kept me using it while swearing madly. Well, in the end the nick ran out. And I’m still here! Robert&Blad vs. Satan 1-0

And the devil sometimes hides in the folds of the clothes. When production arrives there is the very tedious task of going through everything and check the quality. There are always mistakes! It doesn’t matter how good the production. And where’s the intern when she’s needed??

Production will hate me, but hopefully retailers and wearers will love me for being so thorough. And I do deserve your love after re-pressing loads of stuff from the factory, which I didn’t think met my standards. Now I’m not referring to things being wrinkled, but to the pressing, which is an integrated phase in the production of clothes. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t such a well educated designer (mens tailor and patternmaker). Then I might not even know that the pressing wasn’t good.

Welcome to the world of fashion 10% creativity and 90% damagecontrol. No, that was unfair! Actually a lot of the damagecontrol requires a large amount of creativity.

Anyway, check out what it’s all about at: Folk, Hep Cat Store and Carlson Ahnell

A box made of tape...

2010-08-24T14:37:00.004+02:00

...arrived today. I feel fairly confident nothing has fallen out this time!

Though, I'm not convinced it should be recycled as paper... ;-)

Feeling fall

2010-08-24T10:31:00.003+02:00

Believe it or not this is on my way to the studio in the morning. Hard to believe I'm cycling through a city. Even a small one.

This morning it's windy but sunny and the air is mild. There is an undeniable tinge of autumn in the air. It always makes me a bit melancholy even if it is a season I love.

The water is still warm and I'm hoping I'll have time for a dip this evening.
But right now I'm waiting for DHL to bring me the last of the deliveries for this season...

In case you are curious as to what all the noise is about...

2010-08-23T15:51:00.005+02:00

These are the amazing shawls I'm waiting so impatiently for. They are super-multi-purpose and can be turned into almost anything! Arrival tomorrow, they say... Cross your fingers! More pics of "The Garment" at Robert&Blad. Photos by Daniel Pedersen.

Tangled

2010-08-23T14:39:00.005+02:00

The exterior is a pretty good illustration of the interior currently. Many tangled and loose ends needing have to come together, and they will soon.
Getting very promising meetings sorted for a trip to Stockholm in a few weeks. Can't say anything of course, for fear of jinxing things.
Waiting for the last Robert&Blad clothes to arrive from the factory... Hopefully tomorrow. And sort of treading water while waiting.
And getting in a slightly melancholy autumn mood...

Gray monday...

2010-08-16T10:54:00.003+02:00

Malmö is very gray and humid today and the air is like breathing warm molasses. This makes for a slow and slightly stupid designer. Will make no serious decisions today. Just trust in my favorite tools, especially my Elvis coffee mug to take me through the day without any serious mishaps...
Yeah, maybe lay off the sharp tool all together... Wish us luck!
By the way, deliveries of the Robert&Blad collection are on their way to the shops, as we speak (or whatever you call this).

The eagle has landed!

2010-08-10T10:48:00.003+02:00

Deliveries are here from the factory! All boxes arrived in good condition. Very exciting!!
Now we "just" have to sort it all, label and repack for our customers.
No small job, I can tell you! But a very satisfying one. :-)

A very happy designer & a new colourful Bag-in-Bag!

2010-08-06T14:52:00.005+02:00

Striped and colourful, just like the parasols at an Italian ice cream stand.

It doesn't get much more like summer than this!

Of course, it works nicely with a perfectly matching skirt made from an old tablecloth...
But that's optional ;-)

Sunflower yellow and...

... apple green.
It's friday afternoon and the sun's coming out. Don't think I'll work that much more today.
Have a brilliant weekend, everyone!

Bag-in-Bag

2010-08-04T15:27:00.003+02:00

Currently I'm working on the Bag-in-Bag. It's a limited series of bags, made from waste material from previous collections and projects.
The polka-dot drawstring inside the tote prevents things from falling out when you throw the bag under your table at the café. And also makes it harder for unauthorized hands to get in your bag in crowded environments.
It will come in two sizes, two-handled tote and a smaller partybag on a long shoulderstrap.
Of course it has an inside pocket for your phone.
Besides the black with red polka-dots, hot off the Pfaff, are some great, candy-coloured, striped ones, that will put a sun in the sky and a smile on your face!
Now lets see who will retail them...

Making friends with Kaunas Alienz

2010-07-26T15:53:00.005+02:00

Kaunas wasn't all work. We also had a great time making friends with the lokal bikers "Alienz".

This guy told me "girls don't like skulls, girls like flowers".
I had to update him on the possibility of many facets to the female mind. He was enthusiastic about the info and promply offered me a ride. I would have been an idiot to decline!

Anyway, we got on fantastically, as you can see.

He spent two years building this monstrosity. He was very proud of it!
I'm guessing he's single...

Robert&Blad + Almost out of gas = true?

2010-07-23T16:48:00.009+02:00

Believe it or not, this is a boardroom meeting between Almost out of gas and Robert&Blad.
We are hoping to do weird and wonderful stuff together.
Ps. In the end, I wasn't the only one drinking beer.

Visiting the factory in Lithuania

2010-07-21T10:16:00.006+02:00

The most important meal of the day for a hardworking designer!
Even if she looks like she hasn't woken up yet.

Helle with Inga our contact at the factory...

... And the sewing ladies...

...And the cutting lady...

... And the price negotiations!
We vere all still friends afterwards. :-)

If this is work I never want vacation!

2010-07-18T11:39:00.004+02:00

After a morning swim and an extensive breakfast we continue our work on the webshop. I wonder if we can fit another swim in Öresund in, before Minna takes the train back to Stockholm...
Another day at work at Robert&Blad.

Welcome to our world!

2010-07-18T10:10:00.007+02:00

It has been two busy and really fantastic days in summer warm Malmö. We have been working with Robert&Blad webshop, which will be opening any time soon now... And it's going to be amazing!!

After hard days work we took a late night swim at Öresund Sea. So warm water, so beatiful beach - ah, you get it - it was prefect! And yes, lights behind us in the pictures, it's Copenhagen. :)

Minna

Helle

So stay tuned and enjoy the ride!

Kram,
Minna and Helle