Summer Holiday

It’s been about a week since I arrived in Torekov for summer – one jam packed but lovely week. We started off with traditional Swedish midsummer celebrations at our friends’ beautiful house overlooking the ocean. This year we were a larger group than ever before, almost 50 adults and kids of all ages. Our friends who have a house here had visitors all the way from New Dehli and thankfully Sweden was showing off with blue skies and perfect temperatures. We showed them all of the traditional components of a Swedish midsummer – herring, cheese pies, salmon, fresh potatoes, strawberries, snaps and drinking songs, flower crowns, games and a cold dip in the ocean. 

We are lucky enough to live on the same little cul-du-sac street as two of our favorite families. Our children are the same age and have become close friends – spending time together every summer. We all have dogs who keep barking at each other through open doors and windows. Fun fact is that John and I went to school together from the age of 6 to 15 (we also played Cinderella and her prince in a school play when we were 7 years old) and now our daughters are best of friends. After almost 20 years abroad he and his family are now moving back to Stockholm. It’s beautiful and rather bizarre, seeing our daughters the same age we “just” were.

Since we arrived I have been stocking up the fridge with delicious local produce such as potatoes, eggs, milk, kale and asparagus. In my first days here I managed to squeeze in a few flea markets and my favorite plant nursery to make sure the pots looked pretty in time for an upcoming shoot. Pelle and I cleaned our back and front patios, pulling endless amounts of weed. Things grow like crazy in this part of Sweden, which is both wonderful and tiresome. 

This week started with a dream crew arriving from Stockholm for a fun but very windy photo shoot of an upcoming collaboration launching this fall–with my whole family playing models for a day. The pictures turned out so lovely and I can’t wait to share them with you! When I am asked to do collaborations I am always very mindful of whether or not it’s a brand and a product I can fully stand behind. The last thing I want to do is to contribute to mindless consumption for brands who aren’t authentic and quite often full of greenwashing bs. There are quite a few of those out there but I am proud to say that this Swedish brand is far from that. I’m so passionate about small brands, often founded and run by genuine and kind people who work tirelessly to bring a good, lasting product into the world.

The studio and shop will close next week so I only have one more week of work before a long vacation awaits. If you follow me on Instagram you might now that I am an absolute disaster when it comes to packing lightly. I wish I could be efficient and decisive and I envy those who can travel to Paris for three days with only a carry-on but I have come to terms with the fact that I will never be one of them. I don’t know how much I packed this year, it’s a ridiculous amount of clothes. But we’ve had the coldest spring and early summer here in Sweden and I wanted a chance to wear everything in my summer wardrobe. Soon enough it’ll be cold again and I will go back to my fall/winter staples but until then I want my options. I packed for colder Swedish summer weather and hopefully warmer French weather. We have one week on the French Atlantic coast planned, the same trip we did four years ago. Ile de Ré, Arcachon and a quick stop in Cognac. We do one week every summer when it’s just the five of us and it’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. I really love Torekov, it’s the whole family’s happy place, but it can be intense and sometimes it’s a bit too social for my liking and I long for quality time with my “five”. The kids are so big now, traveling with them these days is just pure pleasure. And who knows, soon enough they might not want to travel with us anymore. (I get a knot in my stomach just writing that...)

Faye is working on getting her certification (green card) to play golf and it seems like the whole family (apart from me) are becoming enthusiastic golfers. Pelle has proven to have a real talent for the sport and is obsessed with it - he can play for hours every day. It’s so cool and rewarding to see your children grow and find what makes them happy. I got my certification back in 1992 when I was 12 years old, played one or two rounds before concluding that it was too slow, boring and snobby for me. When a conservative old man commented on my denim shorts on the drive in range I quickly decided it was not for me. I have never been good with authorities and especially not grumpy old men. Besides, putting and chipping do not go hand in hand with my impatient nature and short fuse; not to mention risking ending up in a bunker. It’s better for everyone that I don’t play. I still like hitting a bucket on the range though! Maybe it’ll come back to me when I get older but I doubt it. 

I have a few smaller projects around the house this year – nothing too big. Every summer I find things that we need to improve or replace. As the avid flea market (and Etsy!) lover I am, there is always new/old objects being added to the house. Luckily I am very good at selling off stuff too and this summer I am participating in Örtagårdens Loppis here in Torekov. So if you’re in the area make sure to stop by on July 8^th and say hi!  

I’m also working on a new collection, something I started in May when I had three days of solitude here. I have come to learn that I really need time alone in order for my creativity to flow. At home and in the office there is always other things demanding my attention and nothing good comes out of an hour of scattered creative work here and there. Those three days alone in May set the foundation for the collection and I am itching to get back to it! As a team we are slowly becoming more structured when it comes to launching new designs and planning the correlating photoshoots. This is always a massive undertaking and I have a hate/love relationship to them. We have a big shoot in early September and this time I have had so much help planning it. After all we are a team of four now and Mia has lots of experience from her time in fashion, so it’s been a great experience to feel that support. 

Until then I plan on doing as little as possible, or at least do things that make me happy and give me energy. Most importantly I am going to rest and fuel my body and mind with good food, family and friends. 

I will see you all in August. Take care and be kind to yourself and others. 

Love, Cathy