Colourful, welcoming, bright, bold and a little bit crazy – not a list of adjectives you associate with Scandinavian crime drama. However Malmo, where we have been invited to preview Rice’s Spring 2015 stock, is just over The Bridge from Copenhagen airport. Yes – the bridge from The Bridge. Øresund Bridge. For two Brits abroad it’s an interesting start to the day, to be driven across the hugely long span between Denmark and Sweden, the low coast lines of both countries barely seeming to break out of the water amidst forests of eerily silent wind turbines. We islanders are not used to such international mornings – at least on the ferry to France there’s time for a nice cup of tea.
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| Kristina’s home near Malmo is full of welcoming spaces for socialising |
Luckily for us, the lingua franca between the Danes and the Swedes is English so we don’t have to get too far outside of our comfort zone. Over dinner later that evening one Swedish blogger asks me if I’m Danish. I tell her that no, I’m English – did I look Danish? and she says maybe and that she just thought I had only been speaking in English for her sake – “we can’t understand the Danes, they sound like they are speaking with porridge in their mouth”. The Swedes generally seem to consider the Danes to be extremely laid back – a way of being which they think extends to their lazy way of talking – so many written sounds are dropped or half pronounced that, although the two languages are closely related, they cannot understand the way the Danes speak. Certainly the time we have spent in Denmark recently shows them to be a very informal. hospitable and friendly nation.
particular Swedes we met have definitely caught a dose of the Danish. After the preview day we were lucky enough to be invited back to Kristina’s beautiful home in the Swedish countryside together with about 12 other Swedish bloggers and buyers. Kristina works for Rice in the south of Sweden but definitely lives her work – her house is stylish, colourful, beautiful, eclectic, welcoming and just a tiny bit crazy, but of all these adjectives the most important for Kristina seems to be welcoming. To invite colleagues and customers to your house is one thing, Kristina was actually hosting 5 or 6 of her clients overnight and had decided to feed us all a beautiful feast too. “I just love to have visitors” she told us, as we helped ourselves to salads, pulled pork, dips and pita breads which she managed to conjure from nowhere.
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| An inviting, open and welcoming kitchen greets us after the preview day |
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| The scene already set for us includes a warm and welcoming table |
chairs facing each other, not solitary or facing a TV screen. Places which have been designed for chat and socialising. The kitchen is abundant and open, with dishes stacked high in vibrant blobs of Rice colours – inviting you to help yourself, to be happy, to eat, to drink. Visiting that house made sense for me of why we love working with Rice – that kitchen made sense of it. We have always loved feeding people, socialising with people, talking and eating together more than anything else. If there isn’t food in the fridge and a drink in the cupboard to share with friends who happen past then home isn’t home for me. And apparently this is a sentiment shared by all around the table that evening. It’s a sentiment which Rice as a company is built on, from its strong ethical values to its bright and welcoming style. There are quirky and unusual finds including many lamps and candles dotted around invitingly and most of the pieces Kristina has chosen seem to be picked to make you smile. And that, in turn, makes you comfortable and relaxed.
2015 finds from Rice. I hope you enjoy them.
by Mark Fletcher
