Chasing Hygge

Buy a share of Christiania for your Valentine :-)

Chasing Hygge — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:29:07 +0000

Ok, in reality I have never been crazy about Valentine’s day! Let’s say I use the Valentine excuse to talk about a really cool project that we discovered a while ago. And to style a photo with heart-shaped candies…

As many of you may know, Christiania is the self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood in the heart of Copenhagen, founded 40 years ago when a group of people, hippies and dreamers, occupied a disused military based by the canal. Christiania has been ever since a Freetown, and one of Denmark’s main tourist attractions. Recently, however, Christiania had to face the government’s new plans for “normalisation”: in other words, the status of Christiania as a Freetown was threatened. The goverment wanted to force the construction of new conventional housing development over the autonomous area. Luckily, a solution has been found in order to “maintain the Freetown as the property of everyone and none”.

The community was offered the possibility to buy the area at a sub-market rate, maintaining their autonomy and their system of communal land ownership. So the Freetown has issued Christiania shares (Folkeaktier), in order to raise money to buy Christiania free.

(shot of my Christiania share certificate with Sweethearts candies!!)

When you buy a Christiania share you are contributing to the survival of a unique town, a sustainable, self-governed community with a thriving social life. Christiania residents explain that, unlike stock options, Christiania shares “promote community, sharing and autonomy in contrast to the financial speculation currently causing great harm to communities all over the world. . .it is our modest hope to inspire the development of social models of investment, that value common wealth rather than profits”.

The Freetown is simply lovely in spring and summer…

You can buy shares for as little as 20 Danish crowns (around 3 euros) in bars around Copenhagen, and from 100 to 10.000 Danish crowns (from 14 euros up to 1300) on this website. The shares have a serial number that you can register officially – and as a donor you’ll be invited to special social events. The shares are actually really beautiful! They are printed on FSC-certified high quality paper from Sweden: the wood comes from Swedish forests and waste from the sawmill is used as raw material and biofuel.

The design is by a local artist, and they are individually signed. Here you can even see two cool videos on how they produced the shares.

As of today, Christiania runs “five childcare institutions, renovates and develops 100 acres of mixed housing and green areas with a focus on ecology, and houses a number of cultural institutions, live stages, café, restaurants, workshops, collectively run businesses”. Besides the concert-halls, Sunday jam-sessions, vegetarian restaurants, organic grocery stores, bars and cafè, what I love about Christiania is the eclectic mix of building styles:

(source: Tiny House Blog)

(source: Dave Gorman)

It’s beautiful to just walk around the canal, looking at how different people built their own houses with reclaimed materials. And if you are in Copenhagen during the spring, you can also explore the interiors of most houses during the Open House day.

(The interiors of a Christiania house from Danish lyfestyle magazine Bolig Liv)

Naturally, Christiania is also really cozy during the winter. You go there, and you find hygge! The canal freezes and is covered in snow, and you can enjoy a hot chocolate or a hot hyldeblomst (elderflower drink) in one of the many little cafè. Or a Christiania beer, obviously! Just go past the over touristic Pusher street, explore the surroundings, immerse yourself in nature and climb on a treehouse.

This is the link to the Christiania Share website (English version): http://www.christianiafolkeaktie.dk/index.php

And an article on the current situation of Christiania from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/24/christiania-community-big-society-40-years

Walking in Nørrebro

Chasing Hygge — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:53:20 +0000

So much has happened lately! Now I’m busy with Danish classes every morning, and in the afternoon I keep looking for jobs, or go to meetings organized by my union. Andreas’ mom came visit, and soon we’re flying to the Northermost tip of Denmark in order to celebrate Andreas’ grandma 90th birthday.

But in the meantime I’m really happy I got the new lens I wanted for my NikonD60. I had to go to Sweden to buy it, but now I have it! So take a walk in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, with us…few blocks away from our place.

The days are getting colder but also longer and lighter…soon it will be spring, and I cannot wait. Have a really nice week!

-10 degrees and we got offered a diamond

Chasing Hygge — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:48:45 +0000

Yeah, it’s -10 degrees in Denmark right now! The perfect weather for biking downtown: I really wanted to buy a new lens for my Nikon, but it’s sold out everywhere – I’ll have to wait. In the meantime, while walking around in the freezing weather, we casually found the H&M Home shop. Bed sheets, tablecloths, pillows, curtains…all very cheap, all very colorful. I have never been in there before!

After a nice hot chocolate and a burger we stopped by the lakes close to where we live. They are almost completely frozen, soon it will be allowed to skate on them…Considering it’s -20 degrees at night, they may be totally frozen really soon. In the meantime I’m perfecting the art to take photos with mittens on…

But what about the diamond? Well, Andreas is trying to sell his MacBook Pro online, and so far he’s getting very interesting offers. Somebody offered his old HP laptop instead of money, another guy an IMac (really?!) and today a man wrote offering a diamond in exchange for the computer. Can’t wait to know what comes next. I hope a pony. We’ll keep you posted.

Have a great weekend :-)

Making the unreal seem real: Eleanor Hardwick

Chasing Hygge — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:40:28 +0000

What if one day a famous magazine, browsing through Flickr photos in search of fresh talent, would choose your work to be featured in a special online column? This is what happened to a very talented teenage photographer, Eleanor Hardwick, when she was 15. Since Dazed & Confused showcased her work (here), Eleanor has been working full-time as a fashion photographer. Today, at the young age of 19, she has already shot for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire Enfants and several others, and is signed with an agency.

all the photos above are by Eleanor Hardwick

I’m very impressed by her work, which I discovered through Monki’s website (Monki is a fabolous Swedish clothes store). Browsing through her portfolio online is like being transported into a dreamlike, personal world. You are carried inside ghost stories and fairytales.

photo: Eleanor Hardwick

So…if you would like to take a look this is her website, and this is her flickr. Monki TV has some really cool videos featuring Eleanor preparing an Alice in Wonderland photo shoot (here). I hope you’ll be inspired to use your camera a little more this week!

A good, dark crime novel for the winter: “Murder by the Circle” by Dan Turèll

Chasing Hygge — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:02:29 +0000

This month’s book review presents a gloomy Danish murder story written in 1983 by poet Dan Turèll. This is a crime novel I truly enjoyed. It was fast to read – mostly because I couldn’t put it down – and quite thrilling: the perfect book to accompany your nights in the deep of winter. I must confess I’m not a great fan of contemporary crime novels, and I’ve tried to read Stieg Larsson’s books but gave up after 10 minutes – the writing was not that good, and I didn’t find it compelling. Dan Turèll is a complete different story. He was an experimental Danish poet, who is sorely missed after his premature death in 1993. The city of Copenhagen, where I live, has even named a square in his honor: Onkel Danny Plads (“Uncle Danny’s” square). So, if I was to read a Scandinavian crime novel, it had to by by Uncle Danny, the excentric, humorous poet whose style – as Wikipedia puts it, is “delightfully difficult to fit in a box”. Plus, this book is set in Nørrebro, my neighborhood, during a gloomy and cold month of January…and the murders in the book take place about ten minutes away from where I live. That alone made the book extra creepy.

“Murder by the Circle” is a beautifully written novel inspired by American pulp novels. As a poet, Dan Turèll is a keen observer of human nature. He gives us a dark-humored, anthropological account of Copenhagen at the beginning of the 80s, with its squatters and biker-gangs, immigrants and barflies. And lots of dry, Danish sarcasm. At the same time, though, the book is deeply human, which makes it even more compelling. The narrator is a nameless reporter working for a fictional Danish tabloid, who is unfortunate enough to keep stumbling in the victims of a mysterious serial killer….I can’t tell you more. But one thing I really like is the deeper meaning of the book, a sort of reflection on what “home” and family means in Denmark. It’s highly recommended!

And this is a photo of Uncle Danny (via lionblog2544.blogspot.com). A detail you cannot see is his signature dark nail polisher manicure.

Thanks to Italian publisher Iperborea for selecting me as part of their blogger contest: I won an ebook of my choice from their crime novel selection to review – and I was so pleasantly surprised to find this novel by Turèll! The title of this book in Italian is Assassinio di Lunedi, from the Collana Ombre by Iperborea. You can find it here. I really hope they are going to translate more of Turell’s work – pleas do!! In the meantime I may just try in Danish. No English translations of Turell’s work are available yet, as far as I know, that’s just not right!

Cruelty Free Make-Up

Chasing Hygge — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:43:40 +0000

Photo: Wikipedia

Hello! This post is slighlty different than the usual – I will talk about make-up. And, despite the lab rat photo above, it’s not gonna be depressing! Lately I have been watching many Italian make-up reviews on youtube, I find some of them quite addictive…don’t ask me why, I’m not even that into make-up. But while watching these reviews I’ve started wondering about how many of these cosmetics are still tested on animals. So I did a little research about the content of my beauty-case.

Surprise! Almost all of my make-up products are not tested on animals, and I had no idea. I use Chanel products (liquid foundation, blush and nail polishers), Urban Decay (eye-shadows), Bare Minerals (mineral foundation and bronzer), H&M (nail polishers), Gosh (creamy eyeshadow), MAC (lip gloss) and Body Shop (eyeliners). All these brands DO NOT test on animals, who would have thought? I mean, besides Body Shop and Bare Minerals, who always emphasize their cruelty-free policies.

The only one product in my beauty case which is tested on animals is my rimmel by La-Roche Posay (owned by L’Oreal) – needless to say I won’t buy it anymore. If you are sensitive to the issue of animal testing you can find a (very long!) list of cruelty-free make-up products on the PETA website, or you just simply google the products’ brand and you’ll find info about them on their company’s website.I guess the main reason why many companies are more well-behaved in terms of animal testing is the recent EU regulation. The only evil, evil company that remains is L’Oreal, based in France. And of course big corporations like Procter & Gamble…

What to avoid. So…if you care about animal testing stay away from the following brands:

Shiseido, Max Factor, Maybelline, Vichy, L’Oreal, Chapstick, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl’s, Lancome, Aveeno….for a complete list you should chek out the PETA list though!

Luckily now there are tons of other companies that are cruelty-free, and much better in terms of quality :-)

Things to Do in 2012

Chasing Hygge — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:52:28 +0000

This is probably the first year that I am writing a list of resolutions…usually I write only one, mostly highly unrealistic. And I know, I know…New Year’s resolution posts are usually published at the beginning of January! But I was busy traveling and having various kind of dental problems, and I also had to get on my job search as fast as I could. Anyway, this is the list of things to do in 2012. I wrote it 15 days ago on a piece of paper. I’ll check back at the end of year and see how it went….

1. Buy No Books. This is a strange resolution for a book-addict like me, but I have reached the point where I hoard books anytime I can – both online and in stores – and they’re just piling up without me reading them. Not good! (But receiving books as gifts is OK). Which brings me to number two…

2. Read More. And in the case of the many craft books I have purchased both used and new: use more!

3. Knit Socks. Probably my most glamorous resolution. I yet have to finish my first pair, you can see the work in progress above. It’s kind of fun, and I’m sure it’s gonna be relaxing once I get a hold of the technique. I have seen people here knitting socks while waiting to go to the movies, or at meetings, or during festivals…

4. Write More on the Blog. Go ahead and check up on me on this one.

5. Make More Linocuts. Actually the ones I really like to make are made with vinyl instead of linoleum. Graphic art is one of my favourite ways of visual expression.

6. Make Handmade Presents. Because I have received amazing homemade presents for Christmas and it was awesome. Somebody is gonna get socks this year (hopefully!).

Photo: Visit Norway

7. Travel Somewhere Special. Like Norway to the fjords, or Japan.

8. Learn to Make Kombucha. I will! Because they don’t sell it here in Denmark.

9. Speak Proper Danish. Ja, det er rigtig!

10. Use my Rolleiflex.

11. Write Regularly.

12. Start & Finish the Sketchbook Project Notebook that I have received in the mail. My theme is “The science of story”. I’ll keep you updated. (Ando is participating too.) If you don’t know what this is check it out here.

13. Do Yoga at Least Twice a Week.

Do you have any special resolutions? Are they more than 13? Maybe I have too many…but I’m sure I will achieve at least one this way. Happy Year of the Dragon everybody!

Welcome Home

Chasing Hygge — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:20:48 +0000

Here we are, back home again from a wonderful trip to California and Seattle. Sorry I haven’t really updated the blog lately, but it was nice to take a break from everything. I’ll be back on track very soon, I promise!

(The photo above was taken by Andreas in the center of Copenhagen, two years ago, during the winter. And I’ve scribbled on it with my favourite app Brushes, for Ipad. I want to do more of that, it’s fun! Thanks Ando for letting me play with your art.)

Graduation Station

Chasing Hygge — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:42:48 +0000

Today is the first snow day of the season in Copenhagen! And I finally get to sit down and update the blog. I graduated from my master in Anthropology 18 days ago, and since then I have been taking care of many things. I applied to the “Master & PhDs Union”, worked on my CV, applied to the job center and have been looking for job opportunities. Denmark is so pleasantly organized when it comes to welfare and the job system. There’s a government-run internet based job system that manages your data and helps you finding interesting openings and reminds you to refresh your “job-seeking” position online weekly (a crucial step in order to get the unemployment check).

We also have been enjoying some outdoor time, as you can see from these photos…

We had guests visiting too: Anders & Cathrine, my sister Silvia and Massimo (below).

(Enjoying our alienating tablet moments together)

Right now I have lots of free time to knit, and I’m trying to listen to podcasts while I do. I really like the BBC podcasts, but I found out there’s dozens of knitting podcasts too. My favourite so far is the Bay Area based Stash & Burn.

But now is time to get ready for California, where we’re gonna spend the holidays. I feel like I have so many things to post before we leave – including my latest experiment with making vegan smørrebrod – I’ll try my best to keep the blog updated with all the projects!

Macrobiotic Cookies

Chasing Hygge — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:24:36 +0000

Last week I made these macrobiotic/vegan cookies from the book Mayumi’s Kitchen. They are really good despite being wheat-free, butter & eggs-free…they don’t even have sugar, because they are sweetened with maple syrup. So I decided to post the recipe I hope you enjoy it! I will definitely make them again and again.

Dry Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups (125 g) almond meal or finely ground almond
1 cup (90g) oat flour, or rolled oats run through a blender until fine
1 cup (150 g) spelt flour
dash sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup (120 ml) almond oil (I used avocado oil, and it was great, but if you can’t find almond oil or avocado oil you could use sunflower oil or rice oil)
1/2 cup (120 ml) maple syrup
1/4 tsp almond extract (I didn’t use it and it was fine)

Filling:

Sugar-free rasberry jam

How to:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) – I actually thought this was a little too hot, you may want to turn it down a bit…

Place all Dry Ingredients in one bowl and all Wet Ingredients in another. Mix well separately, then add Wet Ingredients to Dry Ingredients and mix just enough to blend.

Use a teaspoon to make 24 even-shaped balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with natural parchment paper. Make an indentation in each ball with your index finger and place a generous amount of jam in each hole. Bake for 15 minutes, or until done.

Note: the photo template above is from Pugly Pixel, I have made a collage with my picture following this really nice tutorial on youtube. I’ve just upgraded to Picnik Premium and I’m really happy with it – my Photoshop skills are really limited, so Picnik is great!