#FORMEX #ZANDRARHODES

Zandra Rhodes is the guest creator at Formex in Stockholm until Friday! This English fashion- and textile icon has been around since the 1970 with her own design and fabrics. She is the founder (and built the house) of the Fashion- and Textile Museum in London (Bermondsey Street near London Bridge Station). Her colourful and quirky design are still very much in demand. Some of her designs has been recently into the limelight again on the film "Bohemian Rhapsody" where Freddie Mercury is wearing a white outfit by her!

Me yesterday at Formex with Zandra. A colourful couple indeed!

Yellow followed by a muted orange are still a strong colour in fashion and interiors. Bags from Ceannis at Formex.

Stripes are always in. AfroArt has their own way of doing them. Formex.

More orange and yellow. Jugs in durable melamine at Rigtig. I love these! More here soon!

#COLOURFULGUEST #FORMEX #JAN2019 #ZANDRARHODES

Zandra Rhodes is coming to Stockholm, and so am I. Formex is up again, think Topdrawer but bigger...best interior accessories and gift fair in Northern Europe. This is the shell of Zandra's stand in the entrance hall as it is today. Fully equipped by Tuesday morning when the fair starts. Follow what is coming up in Stockholm and Formex during the next week here! First trip abroad since I moved to Wales. See you soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR #ABERGAVENNY

Happy New Year to all my readers and followers. Yes, I have moved, from the picturesque The Cotswolds to the beautiful Welsh town of Abergavenny surrounded by mountains. After a heavy and very tough 2018 I am embracing a new year and hoping to be able to put a lot of bad experiences away. Experiences like some family that showed their true colours when it comes to loyalty and honour and choose to put their heads in the sand and feel sorry for themselves. Shame on you! I will start by visiting my lovely birth town of Stockholm and continue my work for Formex (interior- and gift fair in Stockholm 15-18 January) and thereafter the Scandinavian Furniture Fair in Stockholm 5-8 February. In between I will enjoy the farewell tour or Boyzone (yes, one of my secret loves!) and later in February my all time favourites Steely Dan and Stevie Winwood. I will also try to improve my presence here on my blog and work on my extended work as a journalist. More about that later. See you soon!

#CHRISTMASHUTS #LONDON

Christmas this year could easily be spent in a hut. Weather you want to shop, eat or drink, it should be in a hut. Along Southbank this Christmas you will find all sorts of huts. This one I found at the Cantina del Ponte, one of Conrans Restaurants along the river by Shad Thames. Huts has been a cosy winter thing in the Scandinavian Countries for decades and my childhood memory takes me back to the wonderful outdoor museum/zoo/park Skansen in Stockholm where the Christmas market (and all year really) is all set in huts! The same goes for the Christmas market in Stockholms Old Town on Stortorget. Unfortunately the Danes has taken this "huggy" and "snog" trend to other heights with their "hygge". A way of living and decorating during the dark and long winter which is more accurate in Sweden and Norway than in Denmark.

Private dining in style at Pont de la Tour this Christmas, next door to the Cantina del Ponte and another Conran restaurant.

This was last years Conran Christmas and these huts are now to be found at their office in Shad Thames. More from London and Christmas soon. Photo by Ann-Katrin Berggren/AKB Design.

#LONDONROCKSTHISCHRISTMAS

London rocks this Christmas. From Elton Johns platforms boots and piano at John Lewis to Father Christmas Rock stars at Selfridges. The Christmas TV-ad this year by John Lewis features Elton John and his journey through having got a piano for Christmas when he was 5! Perhaps it is a reaction to the depressing times the world is going through at the moment. Let´s rock the blues away!

Country and Western rocker at Selfridges.

Lady rocker at Selfridges.

Rocking parcels at Dr Martens on Oxford Street.

Super rocking Father Christmas at Selfridges.

Glittering punk, a gay Father Christmas?

ZZ-top inspired Father X-mas, Selfridges. All photos by AKB Design/Ann-Katrin Berggren. More to come soon...

#INFLUENCER WHO IS THAT? AND MINITRENDREPORT FROM #CHELSEAHARBOURDESIGNCENTRE

Am I an influencer? What is an influencer? Who is an influencer. Bloggers, instagrammers, twitters, and now Influencer. Who makes these words up? Most of those that call themselves or are called Influencers by others today are influenced by who pays them to influence their readers and followers. And it seems to work...so sad. I am a journalist and was for a long time paid by a magazine company to report, write and style new trends etc about fashion, interiors and food. Whatever I was influenced by was filtered through my integrity as a journalist to try to be fair and true towards my readers. I guess I was more of an influencer than the so called influencers of today. I was not paid by anyone to have any specific view. Today my profession is slowly dying in favour of writers, bloggers, instagrammers etc without integrity. So sad. Fortunately some of us are still around trying to share our thoughts freely about what we see and hear. At the moment I am sitting on a train into London to visit Chelsea Harbour Design Centre preview of SS19 and the new exhibition in cooperation with Ikea Musuem at the Design Museum. I will return about this soon. With some thougts and view of my own, without being influenced...

#BLACK @ #DESIGNJUNCTION #LONDONDESIGNFESTIVAL

I am moving house and when I am settled in in our new pad at Abergavenny I will finally start working on my online-magazine that has been in the back of my head for years. Meanwhile I will give you another glimpse from London Design Festival and today some black stuff that was shown at Designjunction. This year they decided to set up their mobile fair near Oxo Tower on the South Bank of London. Above, the French company Petite Friture are always on the hunt for chic design of today. Above, the ceramic is by Swedish couple Färg& Blanche.

More from Petite Friture, birds by Andras Rigler.

Coffee brewing like in Sweden by Japanese company Kinto was served in the press room. Elegant way of everyday coffee making. There will be more from me, both interiors and fashion. Do not despair, I will be more frequent once I moved. November here we come...