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Monday, September 19, 2011

What we were up to in Aug/Sep 2011


The last four weeks have been incredibly busy here at House of Norden. With everything that surrounded the Limerick Show 27th-28th August, the launch party here at HQ last Sunday 11th September, the arrival of new stock from new designers, the planning and execution of our September sale, not to mention the planning and organising of more upcoming events (which I will be revealing more about a bit later on), I have completely neglected the House of Norden blog. Apologies to you who follow and check in on a regular basis – I will try and do better this month!

So, what exactly have we been up to the last four week?

The Limerick Show
As mentioned above, we attended the Limerick Show at the Racecourse in Patrickswell, Co. Limerick at the end of last month. A two day, annual event, which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the county and beyond. We had a fantastic time showcasing our products, meeting traders, organisers and talking to our customers. Being a web-based business it was a great opportunity to talk to people about the designs, the materials and the quality of our products and for customers to see, feel and try on what we sell. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback on what we do and we are happy file this experience under ‘Complete Success’. Thank you all who came to visit us and who shopped at our House of Norden stall – we hope you are happy with our products! Well wear!

The House of Norden stall in the process of being set up the
evening before the Limerick Show.

Some of the astrid&agnes stainless steel display
at the Limerick Show.

New Designs  – The LOVA Ruffled Scarf
Another exciting bit of news worth mentioning is that we also had the opportunity to premier a new product from a new designer at the Limerick Show. The LOVA Ruffled Scarf, designed by Swedish wedding dress design company LOVA Weddings, is now the latest addition to our shop – the quality and beauty of which were admired by many at the show. A small percentage of the proceeds from all LOVA designs are donated to charity and in the case of the LOVA Ruffled Scarf, the support is given to the CNN Freedom Project and their worldwide fight to end modern day slavery - a highly commendable gesture by these relatively new and incredibly talented designers.

The scarves have been an instant hit wherever they are sold and Ireland is no exception – they are truly stunning around your neck!

Lovisa Tedestedt,
Co-founder, owner &
designer,
LOVA Weddings.
Photo: LOVA Weddings
LOVA Ruffled Scarf Large
tied in the stylish
Stockholm Knot
(Fuchsia colour)
Photo: LOVA Weddings.


















Festen
Our second big event this past month was the launch party here at House of Norden HQ - a small get together to say thanks to good friends and family for their love and support during this infancy stage of House of Norden. I was also thrilled to have had two very special guests coming over all the way from Sweden to attend – my darling mamma och pappa.
Despite the temperamental weather, we managed to be outdoors for most of the party and were able to enjoy the Swedish-style buffet prepared specially for the occasion. To all of you who came, and to those of you who couldn’t make it – sincere thanks for everything! We hope you enjoyed yourselves.

Thank you All!

Happy guest wrapped up in a small aubergine coloured
LOVA Ruffled Scarf.

Mini display of jewellery, cushions and scarves
at the House of Norden launch party.


This is very briefly some of the wonderful and fun things that we have been up to during the past four weeks. Lot’s more great events are being planned so stay tuned for more updates and announcements in the very near future.

As always, I would love to hear from you so if you have any questions about our products etc. please let me know.

All the best!
Asa

Friday, August 12, 2011

Dining with Lilly Green



Classic and modern napkin folding can turn even the simplest table setting into an elegant display. Most folds are much easier than they appear and will take less time than you would imagine. 

The best results will always be achieved by using well-pressed and lightly starched cotton, or linen, napkins. You can use spray starch and an iron to get the stiff condition of the fabric, however, I seldom bother and would nearly always make due with just running a hot steam iron over the napkin before folding.

While classic serviette folding is done with white napkins, a less formal look can be achieved by using coloured, patterned, or structured napkins. This is especially useful when wanting to add, accentuate, or highlight a colour scheme. In my own personal opinion, the simpler the fold is, the nicer the table setting will be. This is of course a matter of taste and some intricate looking folds, such as the Lotus fold or the Bird of paradise would definitely also look stunning on a dinner table.

Lilly Napkin Green
For the different arrangements these photos I have used our Lilly Napkin in green colour with the Lilly Table Runner Blue as a back drop. To these I have added herbs and flowers that are currently in season and in bloom in the garden. I have also used natural raphia ribbons to tie the napkins and pieces of slate from an old chalk board to make place cards.






The Napkin Folds
For the short roll I fold the napkin twice to create a square shape, then once more to get a rectangle. After this I rolled the short ends round two fingers and tied the raphia ribbon around the centre. For the long roll I repeated the first two folds and then rolled the napkin around two fingers. The ribbon was then tied slightly off centre, towards one end.

‘Buffet’ is the name of the napkin fold that contains the cutlery and below is a diagram of how to fold this simple, yet effective shape.






With a beautiful linen napkin like Lilly you can choose to add as much or as little decorations as you like. Use whatever is at your disposal. Things that grow in your garden, a few cut flowers from your local florist, or whatever interesting plants, flowers, twigs etc. you can collect in the wood.

With the addition of a few candles and your best crystal wine glasses you can transform your dining table into a work of art and make your guests feel like they have entered a fine-dining establishment.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

House of Norden in the Limerick Leader

To be interviewed about something as important as your new (or established) business is a seriously nerve-wracking experience, one which invariably makes you wonder "did I say enough or too much?", "did I emphasise the right things?", "did I come off professional?", "did I promote my business well?". For those of you who (like me) also happen to be camera shy, you can probably relate to the agonising wait in also finding out what the accompanying photo will look like..

I did an interview with Business and City Reporter Nick Rabbitts from the Limerick Leader two weeks after the launch of House of Norden and after three long weeks of finger nail biting and silent word-by-word reflections over my answers, the article has now finally been published. The wait is over and I can inform everyone that my nails have just about survived but have never looked worse.

By and large this is a well-written and accurate piece, obviously written with a 'new business starting up during a recession'-angle, but nonetheless containing a great plug for my new venture and I have to say that I am very pleased with the result. In the world of online businesses, getting your name out to people and potential customers is a constant and never ending task, one which probably dominates your working day/week/month/year. I am therefore extremely hopeful that this article will be of great help in spreading the news of House of Norden.

You can read the full article in our press section on the web site or on our Facebook page.
I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it!

Leave a comment if you like, or why not like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to receive our daily news feeds?

Until next time dear customer, follower and friend! //Asa



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Summer Dining

The summer is struggling to produce nice weather and if you are anything like me, I'm sure you are just as disappointed to need your central heating on in the middle of July! I can count on one hand the number of times I have been able to enjoy a meal outdoors this summer. 

This, however, does not stop me from trying to put a summery touch to my dining room and I try as much as possible to decorate my dinner table with freshly cut flowers and lovely fresh table linen. The way I see it is - if you cannot enjoy al fresco dining, you can create that summery feel indoors.

At House of Norden we are now having a 20% sale on all our 'Lilly' table linen to try and entice you not to give up on this summer. The Lilly range is designed by Moltex made of 100% linen fabric, woven with textured yarn to give it a wonderful rustic, yet soft look. We carry four pastel colours of this design (blue, lilac, pink and green) and in two product types (table runners and matching napkins).

The Lilly Table Runner measures 150 x 43 cm in size and can be displayed as one runner along the centre and long axis of your table. Alternatively, two or more runners can be placed across the short axis of your table to function as place mats.
The Lilly Napkin measures 44 x 44 cm in size and is easily folded into interesting and contemporary napkin arrangement, alongside or on top of your dinner plates.

You can mix and match the colours and co-ordinate with a simple display of summery flowers, or keep your table arrangement monochrome - either way, the result is guaranteed to have a beautiful summery look.

Below are some simple decoration suggestions using the Lilly Blue Table Runner and Lilly Blue Napkin to try and inspire everyone to make the most out of their dining experience. I hope you will enjoy this!




Lilly Blue Table Runner & Napkin
Design: Moltex
Photo: House of Norden

Detail of Lilly Blue Table Runner & Napkin
Design: Moltex
Photo: House of Norden

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Feeling A Little Rustic?


Rustic Living. Spring Edition 2011 Collection
By Moltex

THE NATURAL, RUSTIC NORDIC LOOK
In this second introduction post to the House of Norden products, I am going to stay on the topic of textiles and would like to talk specifically about three fabulous cushions currently in stock and on sale in our web shop. These are the Farmers Cushion, the Demi Cushion and the Postman Cushion. They are all designed by Moltex and form part of their Spring Edition 2011 and Urban Romance Collections, respectively.


I selected these wonderful, large and textured cushions as I believe they would be a perfect way to add a bit of a rustic touch to anyones living room or bedroom. The combination of the natural linen colour of the Farmers' and Postman cushions, with the deep blue colour of the Demi cushion, is a perfect way to introduce that little bit of Scandinavian 'Lantliv' (county living) quality to your home. 

Farmer's Cushion, Demi Cushion & Postman Cushion
By Moltex


CUSHION TALK
The Farmers' cushion (45 x 45 cm in size) in 100% natural linen fabric is made to resemble an old fashioned potato sack, with dark brown and green text and picture print on the obverse side.

The Demi cushion (50 x 50 cm in size) in 100% blue cotton fabric is made to resemble denim fabric. The slight winged edge all around the circumference, gives the cushion a small but interesting extra detail.
The Postman cushion (50 x 50 cm in size), also in 100% natural linen fabric, is made to resemble an old fashioned mail bag. The text print on the obverse side is in dark brown. 

MIX-MATCH COLOURS
Other ways of making the most out of the natural linen is to accent it against various whites and off-whites, such as other cushions, white furniture or perhaps even clean white cotton bed linen...

On the other hand, there is nothing holding you back mixing the blue denim colour and/or the natural linen colour with one or several of the "Fresh" cushions. This would add a splash of colour to the palette and help pull together and co-ordinate the colour shades of your room.
For a bolder statement you could use Fresh Turquoise or Fresh Cerise, or for softer and more romantic feel, perhaps the Fresh Aqua, Fresh Green or Fresh Pink cushions would be more to your taste?


Natural linen and whites for that
100% Scandinavian country feel
By Moltex
 
HOUSE OF NORDEN OFFERS
All three cushions are included in our 10% launch offer now currently on at House of Norden.

To read more about the products, to find out what else is on offer and to shop online, please visit www.houseofnorden.ie/Sale. This offer ends 15th July 2011.
I would of course love to hear from you, so if you have any questions or would like any advice on how to decorate and utilise our products in your home, don't hesitate to get in touch!

Hälsningar // Åsa

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Fresh Living

What makes your home comfortable and stylish? Does colour and texture play a role, or is it a specific mood or feel that sets the tone?

For me the answer is: TEXTILES!

Textiles have the ability to add colour, structure, ambiance, comfort and style to any room and to transform it from a merely functional space to one infinitely more personal and sophisticated.

It is because of my love for natural fabrics that I have launched the House of Norden web shop with a range of textiles and soft furnishings for your home. The designers I am currently stocking are Moltex and Himla and the products have been carefully selected for their quality, colour and texture, as well as for their impeccable design and style.

At House of Norden the products have been categorised according to how they may be used and in this post, as well as in a series of following posts, I aim to introduce you to the various textile collections on sale at House of Norden and how they can be used to transform the look of your home. Please remember that my suggestions may just be one out of many - you can of course be creative and utilise the products in many different ways. Only the imagination sets the limit!

I will also be dedicating a number of posts to the amazing collection of stainless steel jewellery designed by astrid&agnes, so stay tuned for this! 

FOR LIVING
In this department you will find our complete range of cushions, all of which are made from either 100% cotton or 100% linen fabric.

In this blog post I would like to introduce you to the 'Fresh' Cushion designed by Moltex as part of their Basic Collection.
The Fresh Cushion is made from 100% cotton and measures 45 x 45 cm in size. House of Norden stock this product in five colours (Turquoise, Aqua, Cerise, Pink and Green). This range is suited for both indoor and outdoor use and can be easily washed.
Why not use Fresh as seat cushions in your garden, or as decorative pillows on your sofa or bed?


Fresh Cushions currently in stock.

The Fresh Cushion is included in the 10% launch offer and is now retailing at EUR27.27.
To see all of the House of Norden products and to shop online, please visit www.houseofnorden.ie.

I hope to be returning really soon with some photos of cushion arrangements using the Fresh range as centre pieces. 

'Fresh'
By Moltex

 

Monday, July 4, 2011

LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT!!


Dear Customer, Follower and Friend,

I am delighted to announce that as of 1st July 2011, the virtual door of House of Norden are opened and the shop is launched.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, we are kicking off with a 10% sale on selected products from across our departments. Visit our Sales section  and check out this great offer. The offer ends 15th July, or for as long as stocks last, so shop online today to make sure that you don't miss out!

The intention is to continuously update the shop with new, fantastic products from amazing Scandinavian designers and to run various promotional offers and sales on our items. For those of you who wish to receive notification of such upcoming sales and events, why not subscribe to the House of Norden newsletter and be the first to know when it happens? You can sign up by clicking the Newsletter Subscribe button on the left sidebar of the shop home page (This link will get you there). Another sure way to subscribe is to create an account with House of Norden.  

The House of Norden Facebook page is continuously growing with likes from people interested in Scandinavian design. Why don't you also Like it and follow our news posts and updates?

I have received so much wonderful feedback on the design of the web site and I think it is only fair that I thank the very talented web designer Hannes Louet-Feisser of www.hsolutions.ie for the fantastic work he has done in pulling together all my visual ideas into a concrete, stylish and contemporary looking web site. I couldn't be happier with the result!

Without further ado - Welcome to House of Norden - Let the shopping begin!