Van Asch Tackles the Giants

I'm going backwards in time... not in a 'Time Travellers Wife' or Benjamin Button' kind of way, but more like starting with what is happening today and going back in time to my trip away in Marbella Spain...

Today (Friday 29th September) is the grand opening of a new branch of Folkhemmet furniture store in Barkarby Stockholm, just next to Ikea. I've been stocking their other branches for years and was super happy to see them open up a new shop.

I delivered a huge bunch of cushions and here I am with Ricard, the owner, on their amazing green velvet sofa! Ricards dog Molly liked the look of it too and up she came! As a fellow dog lover, I was delighted to see that Ricard didn't care about 'dogs on furniture' rules but I did have to help her up and the old girl needed a butt shunt to get her up!

I've only been back from Holiday in Marbella for a week and that is why there were no blogs these last couple of Friday's...Anyway, I'm making up for that with this bumper blog.

Where we were staying in the hills of Porto Banus, there were some totally amazing mansions but this one was like no other...

 It is the closest thing I've seen in real life that looks like how I imaging an alien civilisation would live..ok, I've read a bit too much science fi as a young' but it sure was amazing.

I can't speak for all of Spain, but certainly Marbella is a place of weird contrasts. There are a lot of immaculate, beautifully tended homes and gardens right next to dilapidated houses and half built abandoned construction sites, which flow onto the pavement. Sidewalks in front of nice homes are well kept, but sidewalks in front of abandoned homes are full of garbage and just left to run wild, despite the whole pavement being a public walkway.

There is masses of dog poo everywhere and the recycling system is laughable compared to the Swedish system BUT all the supermarkets I went into had biodegradable 'plastic' bags in their fruit and veg sections and that can not be said about Swedish supermarkets.

I thought, 'well, if Spain can manage that then so can Sweden'.  So why is the title of this blog 'Van Asch tackles the giants'? Because I'm on a mission to get the big Swedish supermarkets to stop using plastic bags and start using biodegradable ones instead.

I contacted Coop supermarket customer services to ask if they had plans to make this change and their response was obscure and confusing but essentially they said that those biodegradable bags don't meet food approved status and that it is the consumers responsibility to dispose of plastic properly.
I replied back that they were not in possession of the facts because the bags are food approved and can be bought from many places including a Norwegian company called Bio Bag World (more about them later) I have't had a further response from them so I've written them letter.

Then I rang ICA supermarket and I was pleased to hear that they are taking this seriously and that there is an internal conversation about it but they were looking at using paper bags possibly, however it would be an opt in thing for individual stores and the best thing to put pressure on is to contact your local stores directly. Not very promising...

But realising that there are biodegradable bags out there means that I've stopped buying plastic bin liners... I found these at my local Willys store and when I wanted to find doogie poo bags, my friend put me on to Bio Bag World who do a whole range of stuff. Yes, it is more expensive but it is a cost I'm more than happy to pay.

Plastic pollution is not a third world thing

This is the crap I picked up out in the nature on my early morning dog walk, just a quick 10 minute one but 3 plastic bags including one of the fruit and veg bags I want to see the end of.

Mr Boycie and I are not amused!

I could go on to get a bit ranty and preachy, but I won't do that..yet...

Changing over from using plastic shopping bags to using fabric ones is only the start and if you are looking for a chic way to hold your purchases then check out my wide range of cotton shoppers

Too Trendy Teenagers Bedroom Interior Design

Since when were youngins' so interior savvy? Ok, so obviously teens are spending huge amounts of time on the internet and specifically social media, like Instagram and Pinterest, watching you tube videos etc - looking at masses of pictures of beautifully decorated homes. It's given them the inspiration, and I hate to say it, pressure, to have their own rooms decorated just so.

But the thing that baffles me is why 12 year olds opt for Nordic minimalism as the style of choice. I mean when I was a kid I loved bright colours and crazy patterns...oh hang on...that hasn't really changed, but I mean most kids either didn't care about decorating their rooms or just stuck a couple of band posters on the wall, job done!
Not anymore! Jeez these kids are so sophisticated it blows my mind...

Cushions by Van Asch and bedding from Ikea

I think part of the reason that this style is so popular with teens is that it is easy to keep clean and neutral for all the relentless social media pics and selfies they do...

Big thanks to Klara for these pictures.

When I asked my daughter what were the key features of this look she said 'black, white and minimal. The focus is on the details'.

So there we have it... thats what kids seem to like these days ... here are some fancy versions..

pic from Two Thirty Five Designs

One of the things I do really like about this whole monochrome kids room thing is the gender neutral feel of it which is in keeping with the way society seems to be moving, I like that.

pic from 'The Only Girl In The House'

and just so you see what a difference it is now from when I was a kid...just check out a typical teens room from days gone by and I think you'll agree, a lot has changed...

That looks like a bedroom someone goes to die in! Ugh!!!

See what I mean!

Formex & the Autumn Trends for 2017

I've just finished doing Formex, Scandinavias biggest interiors and gifts trade show, in Stockholm last weekend. I've been doing it for years now and one of my favourite things about it, apart from seeing my lovely stockists, is seeing the trends emerging.

There was the usual abundance of grey and muted soft pink that has been constant for years but also lots of jewel tone greens and blues. From Marine shades through to deep indigos and light apple green...

There is still massive amounts of parrots and botanical themes everywhere... including on my neighbours stand. Petra Bush is a designer who loves colour and we can respect that!

I love all those kinds of marine colours and used lots in my own new collection...I'll be putting them up on the website as they come into stock.

But the other really strong trend is for  sort of terracotta, salmon, murky earthy colours. These colours don't really have familiar names like pink or blue... this is a world of spicy earthy euphemism...

This pic is from Home and Delicious blog which is full of interiors eye candy...

But Pinterest is full of this colour right now, from salmon to Masala ...sounds more like cooking recipes than interiors colour themes!

I don't personally relate to this colour palette much but I can totally imagine that a colour like this could end up being the Pantone colour of the year 2018.. Is it a bit like Masala, which was there colour of the year a few years ago? yes, but still.... that's where my money is going. Some kind of pinky earthy tone. Maybe I'll even be able to like it by then.  So what do you think? Do you love these strange spicy earthy colours? Do you think they are a trend on the rise or have we seen the peak? Or do we even care?  

Well, Formex really took it out of me and I've got a cold now, so I'm off home to wrap up warm and take care of myself for the weekend... You have a lovely weekend too...