RIC Dispatch

Wow, it's been way too long. Lots of stuff is keeping me way too busy these days (among them planning my wedding, which will take place in September!), but I don't mind because it's better to be busy than not. I'm so much more productive when I have a full plate.

That said, I'd like to fill you in on a few things that have been going on around here. First of all, our dish cloths got a big mention in a Seattle newspaper called the Post-Intelligencer. Frances Somers wrote about the snazzy little Danish textiles, and the paper ran the article with a BIGGG blown-up photo of a turquoise dish cloth. In fact, it was so big that it doesn't even fit on my scanner! So you'll have to live with the online version, which will surely suffice. To see it click here.

Needless to say, I was thrilled, because the Post-Intelligencer is one of Seattle's biggest newspapers. Frances' write-up brought in a ton of sales from the Seattle area, so I'm very grateful to her for giving them such a glowing review.

Speaking of the towels...we just loaded up on our stock and added 2 new colors to the range! We now carry the dish cloths and kitchen towels in total of 18 luscious colors. Recently added are Citrus and Swedish Blue (they happen to look awesome together). Looks like a color combo you'd see in hip Danish kids clothes (like my favorite brand Katvig!)

Also, we've got another great retailer to add to the growing list of shops carrying the RIC products. Pome, a new gift and homewares shop in Denver, is stocking the dish cloth and kitchen towels in a wide variety of colors. Be sure to check them out if you live in the Denver area.

Calling all Baltimoreans!!

Hi everyone. I'll be in Baltimore this weekend participating in a charity sale at Roland Park School. If you live in the Baltimore area, please come stop by!! Much better than online shopping because 1) we get to meet in person, and more importantly 2) you don't have to pay any shipping costs!

Since it's Mother's Day this weekend, I decided to make some Lille Hus gift packages, and if I do say so myself I think they look quite beautiful. There seem to be endless color combinations with the RIC kitchen towels. You should definitely swing by if you need a Mom's day gift!

I had fun playing around with all the colors:




I spent some time this week in the flower district sourcing ribbon and other goodies for the gift packs. I found some incredible little birds in one shop. They come in a variety of colors and are the perfect finishing touch so some of the larger gifts. Take a look!

Here are the details for the sale:

What: May Mart

Where: Roland Park School, 5207 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210

When: Saturday, May 12, 10am-3pm

new things

I stopped by Barnes & Noble on my way home this evening to pick up the new copy of Blueprint (which has a quote from me on page 28!). There is a beautiful blue bike from Electra featured in the front of the Perimeter section. Here is a pic of the same model, but in black.

In fact, this bike reminds me a lot of the one I recently received for my birthday from my incredibly generous boyfriend, except, dare I say it, I think mine is more beautiful (it's a buttery, lucious cream color) and more special, because it comes all the way from Denmark! That's right, I got a Danish bike for my birthday! He's such a love--he saw it back in February when we were in Copenhagen and he arranged to have it shipped to Brooklyn. He almost managed to keep it a surprise all the way until my birthday, but I accidentally saw the receipt a few days before, poor guy.

But it is the lovliest bike a girl could ask for. It's from My Bikes (Cykelmageren) in Copenhagen, which is just about the coolest bike shop in the city. They're featured in Wallpaper Magazine's Guide to Copenhagen. I love the bike beacuse it's really old-fashioned looking, but it's brand new and therefore safe to ride, unlike the old clonker I've been dangerously riding around the neighborhood for the past year.

It's got a classic English saddle by Brooks. The leather is really tough though--it'll take a while to break it in, so in the meantime my bum is sore for 2 days after I ride it. But it is worth it! It's the cutest bike in Brooklyn, and it's just so...Alexa. It looks just like the one in this Danish article--the middle right picture.

I also got a copy of this month's Hallmark mag, which has the Lille Hus melamine cups in it. So much exciting press this month! Here is a link to the online version. Scroll down to the last item. All of this press stuff will be up on the LH press page soon.

May Day

I was just checking the Scandinavia House website, and saw that there is a very interesting exhibition right now on Swedish silver. The exhibit spans 500 years of Swedish silver design, "documenting international influences and charting the evolution of a distinctive Swedish style." It's on through May 26th. More info here. I am going to try to check it out this weekend.

And as always, Scandinavia House is showing some really cool films from the Nordic countries. There is one Danish film that looks particularly interesting, (One to One, director Annette K. Olesen) and there are screenings this Wednesday (5/2) at 6:30pm and Saturday (5/5) at 3pm.

image from scandinaviahouse.org

Late Night

I can't sleep!! It's quite late for me on a Tuesday night. Nearly 1:30 aleady.

So, I think I will tell you all about yet another must-see Danish movie, After the Wedding (Efter Brylluppet), which was nominated this year for an Oscar for best foreign film. It is a typical Danish plot, centered around family secrets brought to light.

After the Wedding stars my all-time fave Danish heartthrob Mads Mikkelsen (yeeoow! see photo below). Mads plays Jacob, an orphanage manager in India, who must return to Denmark in order to secure funding for the orphanage from Jørgen, a wealthy businessman. Jacob does not wish to revisit his past, but Jørgen, who insists on meeting in person, is Jacob's last hope for keeping the orphanage afloat. The title refers to Jørgen's daughter's wedding, which Mads attends. The wedding is where we see the real drama start to unfold. As the movie's tagline so seductively states, "Champagne is poured, secrets are spilled."

For us design and interiors geeks, the sets are worth the price of the ticket alone. I got a total thrill out of seeing such a lavish, over-the-top Danish wedding. It was gorgeous! With tons of candlelight (natch), beautiful table settings, and a big white tent with bleached hardwood floors! So stunning. Here's proof that the Danes (espcially really rich ones...) really know how to throw an elegent party. No surprise there.

Jørgen's house and its environs are also a must-see for those of us interested in Scandinavian design. Danish country beauty at its best. The set design in the house is perfect--the interiors will make you drool.

Please go see it if you can. It's still playing at the Angelika, for you New Yorkers.

Spring is Here!

Another month has passed in the blink of an eye. It's already April! How did that happen? But I'm not complaining. No no no. April means...spring flowers, new fruits and veggies at the farmer's market, matzoh in all the supermarkets, the one week of the year where the trees on my block are bursting with pretty pink blossoms, longer days, some warm sunshine (finally!) and my birthday--next week I'll be 25.

Spring is gearing up to be a really exciting time for Lille Hus, too! Between now and the end of the summer, our products will be featured in Time Out NY, Real Simple, Hallmark, and Redbook Magazines. And look for a quote on renovation projects from yours truly in next month's Blueprint! All very exciting.

I am also planning on spicing up the Lille Hus homepage with a new image for spring/summer. I think you will like!

My friend Nora gave me a back issue of MS Living that has a pretty little spread on Danish brunch. It's from the January 2007 issue (a bit old, sorry, but such great ideas I had to share), and shows Martha making New Year's Day brunch. Yes, Martha served smørrebrød this New Year's! Smørrebrød is the quintessential Danish food. I think this explanation from Cooking at Debra's sums it up nicely:

"Literally 'bread and butter,' the smørrebrød is crowned with all manner of fish, meats, cheese, vegetables, spreads, and edible garnishes. Open-faced sandwiches are popular all over Scandinavia, but the Danes have taken them to high art.

Where the canape is eaten in one bite and a regular sandwich is hearty enough to be a meal, the smørrebrød is always eaten with a fork and knife, and is somewhere in between. Each has just a single slice of bread, and several constitute lunch."

Smørrebrød is everywhere in Denmark, and I tend to eat it very often when I'm there. When I lived in Copenhagen, I volunteered for a short time at an AIDS foundation. Every day the whole staff ate lunch together in a big room, and we always hadsmørrebrød. We'd have bread and then a big array of toppings to choose from--pate, herring, ham, tomatoes, chees, cucumber, etc. Everyone would make their own sandwich and then we'd sit together and eat, discuss the day, and take a break from working (I spent most of that time with my ears perked up, trying to understand as much of the Danish as I could). But it was such a lovely way to have a meal at work. So civilized. We should do more communal eating at offices here in New York.

The tradtitional Danish brown bread, called rybrød (rye bread), is so delicious and hearty. I like it with a few slices of English cucumber, some good stinky Danish cheese, avocado, and a little spicy mustard.

Martha did her own take on smørrebrød, with the help of Danish chef Kim Christensen, for 100 of her closest friends (100 people? wow!). And she did a nice job! You can read the full article here. Martha, I'm still ready to come on your show if you want to discuss smørrebrød or other things Danish. Call me!

RIC Dish Towels in Blueprint!

Wow--what an exciting day!

Today I received my copy of Blueprint from the gals at Martha Stewart. Lille Hus' RIC dish towels were featured in this month's issue (hits newsstands today), and I was so excited to finally see them in print.

It's a huge thrill to see my company's name in a mag from one of my biggest inspirations--the one and only Ms. Martha. Since I started Lille Hus, it's been a goal of mine to get my products into one of her magazines, and here you go! Living proof! (p.s. Martha, if you're listening, I would love to come on your show...). So, it was a good day.

I think the dish towels look so great mixed in among the many other "easy-on-the-eyes cleaning tools" in the All in a Lather section. What do you think?

Please forgive the shamless plug here, but I need to take this opportunity to remind all the shop owners who might be reading this that Lille Hus is the US agent for RIC products! This means that you can stock the dish cloths and kitchen towels in your own shop!

A little bit about the product:

The ribbed-cotton weave makes them extra-absorbant. You can dry a whole sinkful of dishes with one kitchen towel, and I promise it won't be a sopping mess when you're done. Did I mention they are hand made in Denmark (!) and that we carry 16 lucsious colors and are adding more all the time? I could go on and on, and I would love the opportunity to do so. So if anyone is interested in stocking the dish cloths or kitchen towels, please email me. They are such unique and beautiful products, and I'm looking for more retailers across the country. Get in touch!