A perfect day in the city starts with a Lean and Green breakfast (the organic option) in the Cadier Bar at Grand Hôtel with my family or a friend. We might then take a walk along the quay at Strandvägen, stop and do some shopping at Svenskt Tenn, an old interior design store that sells furniture and other objects which are quite expensive but will last a lifetime. I love that store; most Swedish people have at least one object from it. It’s also famous for its patterns. I grew up with some of them on wallpapers and sofas and I still love them.
After that we’ll walk 20 minutes to Djurgården, a beautiful island with oak trees everywhere. If Liljevalchs has an art exhibition on, we’ll go in and spend a few hours. One of my favourite places to have a coffee, a glass of wine or lunch is Blå Porten, next door to Liljevalchs. I love to sit in the garden.
Near Blå Porten is Skansen, a park and a zoo in every Stockholm tourist guide, but I love it. I try to go there on weekdays when it’s not so busy. A lot of my inspiration for Mini Rodini patterns comes from animals so this is also a great place to get inspiration, business-wise. There’s a small red wooden house with a cafe inside called Petissan, which has the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted.
My family has a circus, Cirkus Brazil Jack (Jack was my great grandfather) and when they come to town, they always put their tent in Tantolunden park at the end of August. It’s by the water and there’s a small beach there.
There are a lot of vintage shops, cafes, restaurants and bars around Nytorget, at the heart of Södermalm. It’s where I grew up and where our first Mini Rodini store opened eight years ago. You can easily spend a whole day in Nytorget. Urban Deli is a good food hall where you can buy coffee, cheese and fruit to take to one of the many nearby parks. Next to Urban Deli is Goodstore; everything is organic and vegetarian, they have everything from food to skin care – I love that. Södermalm was once a winos’ hangout but now it’s one of the hippest places in Stockholm. Vogue recently listed it as the third coolest place in the world.
Five minutes’ walk north from Nytorget is a church with a small cemetery, Katarina kyrka. This was my playground as a kid. I learned cross-country skiing there and I also buried my dead pets (probably illegal) there. I still go there a lot, to sit under the chestnut trees and listen to the organ being played inside the church.
In winter there are two things I like to do other than staying indoors. The first is to go sledding in the hills of Vitabergsparken, close to Nytorget, with or without kids. The second is to go to Hotel Reisen on Skeppsbron, just outside the old town. It has an awesome seafood buffet and great cocktails. When the snow is falling outside the window, it is magical to sit there and revel in the excellent lobster.
What I like most about Stockholm is the parks and always being close to the water. I need nature and space to get inspired. Sometimes when I need to get a quick fix I go to Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, I love the old buildings and the amazing collections of exotic birds and insects. I’m such a nerd, I can spend hours there. It’s five minutes’ walk from Bergius Botanic Garden, where there is a small but beautiful greenhouse, the Victoria House, where the world’s largest waterlily is grown. And they serve nice lunch in the Old Orangery.
If I have time to go outside the city I visit Nyckelviken. It’s a beautiful nature reserve 20 minutes by bus from the city. It’s on the water and is a nice place to swim, and it’s fun for kids to bathe in the gigantic waves from when the huge ferries to Finland pass by. There’s also sheep, horses, cows, cute rabbits and some other animals to look at for kids and a good café that serves pancakes. I have seen wild owls here.
Between Knivsöder and SoFo is one of my favourite vintage shops, Brandstationen on Krukmakargatan, which has jewellery, furniture, lamps and other things. I always find something I really want to buy there.
Götgatsbacken is also close, there’s a small mall there called Bruno where you can buy fashion from contemporary Swedish designers like Rodebjer, Hope, Acne, Whyred and more.
Just five minutes away on Medborgarplatsen is a market hall called Söderhallarna, there’s a Turkish place there where they make wonderful vegetarian burgers. It’s like a Turkish meze burger and it’s great value.
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