Scan Magazine | Issue 9 | June 2009

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SANDI TOKSVIG: THE COMEDIENNEWHO WOULD RATHER BE A HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERSCAN DESIGN GUIDE SUMMER 2009GRAM PALACE: A HISTORIC HOLIDAYSTOLT-NIELSEN: 50 YEARS IN SHIPPING

SCANM A G A Z I N E

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clasohlson.co.uknow open in croydon and manchesterHOME • HARDWARE • MULTIMEDIA • ELECTRICAL • LEISURE

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Scan Magazine | Contents

COVER FEATURE

10 Sandi Toksvig | Comedienne by a Twist of Faith

DESIGN

14 Scan Design Guide Summer 200928 We Love This | Design that Matters29 Danish fashion | Hits the web

SCAN TRAVEL

32 Gram Palace | Experience the Nature and History of Jutland First Hand

SCAN FOOD

34 Midsummer Magic | The Night when Magic Comes to Life

COLUMN

37 Is it Just Me | Mette Lisby on Babies

SCAN BUSINESS

BUSINESS FEATURES

38 Northern Bank | Danske Bank’s New Ambition40 Bridgehead | Giving New Companies a Fair Chance42 Forex | Money for Sale44 Stolt-Nielsen | Keeping a Steady Course

REGULARS

46 Recruitment | Campbell’s Column47 Tax | HMRC Seeking Information48 Hotel of the Month | Chill Out at Clarion Collection Hotel Twentyseven50 We Gotta Do Something | Wiping the Slate Green52 How was your day? | Marjo Sanderson53 Chamber News | Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and

Danish Chambers of Commerce for the UK

SCAN NEWS

56 How did they do it? | Scan Magazine Hits One!58 Scandinavian Newsflash

CULTURE

63 Scandinavian Music | Latest from the Scandinavian Music Scene65 Culture Calendar | Your Scandinavian Cultural Events

Contents

17

4 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Editor’s Note

We have just entered the first summermonth and as we all know this has manyconnotations. On the bright side we havebeach trips, flowery parks and bank hol-idays, but with them also follow sun-burned noses, hay-fever and increasedcredit-card bills. Just as it is with sum-mer so it is with anniversaries; they arealways enjoyable but also bring some-

thing else with them like the need to revise, improve and take upmore responsibility. At Scan Magazine we have done exactly thatand as we celebrate our one-year birthday, it is my pleasure, asthe magazine’s new editor, to present to you what we believe tobe one of the best editions yet.

We hope you will agree with us as soon as you open themagazineto read the funny, yet thoughtful, interview with Danish Comedi-enne Sandi Toksvig, a well-know personality on British TV.

Further into the magazine you will see that we have chosen todedicate amajor part of this anniversary issue to one of the Scan-dinavian’s biggest passions: design. In a 12 page special ouraward-winning design writer Barbara Chandler gives you a com-prehensive guide to Scandinavian design: a must-read for all de-sign enthusiasts.

But we have, of course, not forgotten the many other thrivingparts of Scandinavian business here in the UK. Since the Vikings,we Scandinavians have been famous for our skills on the sea. The

business profile of the Norwegian, family-owned shipping com-pany Stolt-Nielsen on page 44 proves that we still have them. Onthe business pages you can also find out why new entrepreneursshould seek the help of Danish founded Bridgehead and how theSwedish exchange business FOREX is doing as a newcomer onthe UK market.

Of course we also have contributions from all our valued colum-nists, who have stayed faithfully with us through the year, and herediversity is the key. On page 37 you can have a good laugh withMette Lisby, who struggles to find the right superlatives for new-born babies, while Bronte Blomhoj reveals the secret of makingyour own cured salmon. It has to do with digging, but if you wantto knowmore, you will have to turn to page 34. Last, of course, noteven Scan Magazine’s anniversary edition can avoid taking noticeof the MP’s expense scandal, on which you can find a humoroustwist in Malcolm’s column at the back of themagazine. Luckily, hecan tell us that they are not all bad, which we choose to believe be-cause on birthdays everyone should have the benefit of the doubt.

I hope you enjoy the issue and look forward to another year incompany with you and Scan Magazine.

Signe HansenEditor

Dear Reader,

SCANM A G A Z I N E

Scan MagazineIssue 9 | June 2009

Published 08.06.2009ISSN 1757-9589

Published byScan Magazine Limited

Design & PrintLiquid Graphic Limited

Executive EditorThomas Winther

EditorSigne Hansen

Art DirectionMads E. Petersen

Copy-editorMark Rogers

ContributorsBarbara ChandlerIan WelshBronte BlomhojRikke Bruntse-DahlEmelie KruglyMette LisbyMalcolm CampbellHelena WhitmoreKarl Batterbee

Cover PhotoPA Photos

PhotosYiannis Katsaris

Sales DirectorTure Damtoft

Marketing ManagerHelene Oxfeldt Lauridsen

[email protected]

To receive our newslettersend an email [email protected]

To [email protected]

Next issue 6 July 2009

Scan Magazine Limited53A Clapham High StreetLondon SW4 7TGPhone 0870 933 [email protected]

www.scanmagazine.co.uk

All rights reserved. Materialcontained in this publication may notbe reproduced, in whole or in part,without prior permission of ScanMagazine Ltd.

Copenhagen Stockholm Oslo Helsinki Gothenburg Bergen Stavanger

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All example fares from London Heathrow one-way including taxes, correct at time of printing and subject to availability.

Always with SASFree 20 kg baggage Free online seat reservationEuroBonus points25 % child discount

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Välj.Or choose as you say in English. It’s one word you’ll hear often when you fl y with us. That’s because we offer more options than any other airline when it comes to fl ying to Scandinavia and Finland. You can choose from more destinations, more fl ights and more classes of travel. So choose wisely and fl y SAS.

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6 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Contributors

Barbara Chandler hasworked as a specialistwriter on interiors anddecoration for over 30years, contributing to

many leading UK and European pub-lications. She has also written sev-eral books and was awarded Jour-nalist of the Year by the NationalHome Improvement office in 2007.

Signe Hansen (Editor)has an MA in Journal-ism and has beenworking as a freelancereporter in London.

She is now the editor of Scan Maga-zine. Having previously worked withtelevision, radio, web and local news,the good story is always her priority.

Ian Welsh is a UK-based independentwriter and editor withnearly 15 years experi-ence in business pub-

lishing. With a background in corpo-rate communi cations, Ian nowspecialises in corporate responsibilityand supply chain issues.

Bronte Blomhoj runsScandi Kitchen in London, a Scandina-vian deli/cafe. Bronte,who has studied in

Edinburgh and has a background ininvestment banking, has lived in London for 7 years. She writes ScanMagazine’s monthly food column.

Rikke Bruntse-Dahl.Being a greenie atheart, Rikke has writ-ten extensively on ecoissues for a variety of

publications including The Observer,New Consumer and SmartPlanet.Ethical consumerism and green business behaviour are her main areas of interest.

Emelie Krugly hasworked on a number ofSwedish newspapers.After travelling exten-sively, she is now

based in London and is responsiblefor Scan's news section. She can becontacted any time regarding an eventor story: [email protected]

Mette Lisby is Den-mark’s leading femalecomedian. She invitesyou to laugh along withher monthly humour

columns. Since her stand-up debutin 1992, Mette has hosted the Danishversions of “Have I Got News For You”and “Room 101”. Mette currently livesin London.

Malcolm Campbell be-gan his career in Research, moving af-ter some years into theHuman Resource func -

tion. In 1991 he was invited to foundan Executive Search Company as ajoint venture with a major firm of

Actuaries. The business is now inde-pendent, being owned by Malcolm.Malcolm writes a regular column forScan Magazine.

Helena Whitmore isdirector of tax atMcGuireWoods LondonLLP based in London.She has been with the

firm since 1990, and has been an as-sociate of the Chartered Institutesince 2002. She writes regularly forScan magazine with good advice onpersonal and corporate tax issues.

Karl Batterbee is de-voted to Scandinavianmusic and knows exactly what is comingup in the UK. Apart

from writing a monthly music updatefor Scan Magazine Karl has alsostarted the Scandipop Club Night andits corresponding website: www.scan-dipop.co.uk

Thomas Winther (Executive Editor).Originally from Den-mark, Thomas has abackground in Eco-

nomic consultancy. He is now on apersonal mission to take Brand Scan-dinavia to new heights. Thomas livesin Blackheath with his much betterhalf and 8 month old son.

Contributors

Corren Troen is an English law firm, based inLondon, with a special knowledge of the Anglo-

Nordic market, and an extensive internationalnetwork of like-minded professionals. We combine

the experience and qualities of a top city law firm withthe time, and attention to detail of a family office. We

provide advice to many English and Nordic families,attending to all their private and business needs across

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Our law firm is built on 4 main areas of expertise:

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Elizabeth Kristensent: +44 (0)207 592 [email protected]

2.1_Corren_Troen_Ad:Layout 2 23/3/09 15:06 Page 1

8 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Letters of The Month

Letters may be edited. Letters are only published with theconsent of the sender. Write to [email protected]

Dear Scan Magazine... Letters of the Month

Dear Editors,

We are a Swedish theatre company named Scandimaniacs.I (Emil Lager) and Sara Lewerth met in Paris at the JacquesLecoq international theatre school in 2005. We developed acabaret show in French and had a successful residency atthe Chat Noir before we took the show on tour to Sweden,Barcelona, back to Paris and now in London.

Our show is a fresh take on Cabaret mixed with absurd hu-mour and diverse musical influences. We represent newSwedish theatre!

We would love to tell you more about this project and getgiven the opportunity to reach out to Scandinavian people inthe UK, as well as British people (the sense of humour isvery similar!).

Kind Regards, Emil Lager and Sara Lewerth

Dear Emil and Sarah

I have been told that this is quite a wonderful show and thatit will make you laugh until you cry. I therefore warmly rec-ommend our readers to go and experience some Scandi-navian humour at its best. It’s not only our design and busi-ness entrepreneurship which are successful exports! Youcan read the full report on Scandimaniacs in our news sec-tion.

All the best,Thomas

Dear Editors,

I would like to introduce to you NICE-Festival. NICE (NordicIntercultural Creative Events) is a combined arts festival cel-ebrating Nordic arts and culture. It will take place 19 No-vember- 3 December 2009. Our primary focus is to showcasecontemporary Nordic arts and culture within the North Westregion. NICE provides a platform for linking arts, businessand educational institutions in the North West and the Nordicstates (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland).

NICE works closely with all the Nordic Embassies and therespective Institutes, Tourist Boards and Chambers of Com-merce to attract and enhance business opportunitiesthrough cultural initiatives.

Some of the highlights of this year’s festival are ‘Scandi-mania’ taking place at the oldest Art Centre in the UK, TheBluecoat Liverpool, where Nordic Literature-Music-Foodwill be introduced to the public in the surroundings ofNordic Design. Nordic Films – Short Films – Documentarieswill be at FACT Liverpool and Novas CUC. BBC Radio willplay hits with Radio Helsinki, Nordic Circus will be per-forming and an Icelandic Children’s play will be performedat the Unity Theatre Liverpool. H2Dance, a Norwegian-Swedish dance group will celebrate their 10th anniversaryat the Festival, and Nordic Composers will be celebrated atthe Lady Lever Gallery. Various Nordic Music events willalso take place at different venues in the North West.

We also welcome any ideas for submissions for both thisyear and 2010, and most definitely welcome visitors to ourFestival. Hope to see you there,

Best wishes,Ingi Thor Jonsson

Dear Ingi,

It’s all a bit “Scandimaniac” at the moment I think! Goodluck with this exciting event. You can be sure that we willcover this in Scan in more depth nearer the time and I amglad we have now featured this little taster.

Kind Regards,Signe

We receive many lovely letters from our readers. Aswe’re fond of saying, your feedback helps to make all ofthe time and effort worthwhile. We’ve decided to select afew Letters of the Month – letters that for whateverreason tickled our fancy.

Handelsbanken’s customers are the most satisfied in the country*. Do you want to find out what it is

like to bank with us? Contact our London West End branch and we will be happy to tell you more.

John Hodson – Head of London West End Branch: 020 7930 3982

*Source: According to a survey done by EPSI Rating in 2009, customer satisfaction with Handelsbanken is significantly higher than the industry average.

Relationship Banking - Just as you remember it

www.handelsbanken.co.uk/westend

Handelsbanken is the trading name of Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ). Authorised by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) and authorised and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Services Authority. Details about the extent of our authorisation and regulation by the Financial Services Authority are available from us on request.

It’s hard to label Sandi Toksvig. Presenter of radio andTV, author of many books, comedienne, explorer acrossAfrica in a canoe and round Britain in a boat: her CVstretches far and wide and reeks of someone who hastaken life by the horns and enjoyed it to the full. As ScanMagazine meets the woman herself at ScandinavianKitchen in Central London, though, it is more likemeeting up with a pal and having a chit-chat about whatit means to be an ex-pat Scandinavian: no hints of airsand graces at all.

Sandi Toksvig was born in Copenhagen in 1958, right nextdoor to the Carlsberg Brewery. One of three siblings, she’sthe daughter of Claus Toksvig, the very well known Danish

foreign correspondent for Danish Radio. “They could onlyafford one correspondent back then,” Sandi laughs, “sothat’s why everyone still remembers him today – hecovered any event outside Denmark for many years. Theysent him to New York and he was stationed at the UNthere – and the family moved with him.”

Sandi’s affair with America wasn’t a long one, however:“Mostly because I didn’t like the rule that said you had tobe at school every day, how boring is that?” she says witha smile. “But seriously, they’d ask you to read a book, likeCatcher in the Rye, and I’d go home and read it thatevening – not realising that they meant we were to readthe same book for a whole year, finger under each line

10 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Sandi Toksvig

Sandi Toksvig – Comedienne by a twist of faithBy Bronte Blomhoj I Photo: PA Photos

and everything... it was boring.” Thus, after a few failedattempts at settling in America, Sandi was sent toboarding school in Britain and has stayed here ever since.

“I could easily have applied to be a British citizen,” shesays. “My grandparents and mother are British and I havelived here most of my life. But something in my core is sovery Danish. I might live here, but I keep kind of tellingmyself that I’m not planning on staying, but until now, Ijust sort of have…” So, will she ever go back permanently?“My kids are at school here but I do see myself living onone of the small Danish islands one day, writing manymore books.”

Life in the spotlight

Planning a career in the spotlight was never a consciousdecision for Sandi. She read Archaeology andAnthropology at Cambridge, followed by Law, and wonawards for outstanding intellectual achievements duringher time at university. “I wanted to be a lawyer,” she says.So, was a route into comedy never planned? “Not at all. Iwas in a play at Cambridge, the director saw me andoffered me a job for a year at the Playhouse. Someoneelse saw me there and offered me another job and here Iam, thirty years later, still meaning to go to law school.”Asked if she’d take the same route again, given thechance, she says resolutely: “No. I’d become a humanrights lawyer. There’s so much work to be done out there– it is silly to waste time only to do jokes.” Does she notthink that humour builds bridges? “I hope so, or else ithas all been a terrible waste,” she laughs, “but I’m onlyfifty, I might still go to law school...”

One of few

Sandi’s career has taken her from early days in comedy topresenting and co-presenting some of the biggest shows

in Britain, such as Have I got News for You and Whose Lineis it Anyway. Since 2006, she’s been hosting the BBC Radio4 topical News Quiz: “We still struggle finding femalecomedians for the News Quiz,” Sandi comments, “maybebecause it requires them to take a stand and have anopinion as well.” Does she feel that there is still a lack ofwomen in comedy today? “Absolutely. I had hoped that bynow there’d be a flock of them behind me, knocking onthe door, but I don’t see it. There are some women doingit out there, but most are not doing political material. Arewomen anxious about stating an opinion as well asmaking a joke? Men have never had a problem telling uswhat they think.”

What about Scandinavia, then? Does she feel that the viewabout women’s equality in the Nordic countries is justifiedand that women have a better deal there? “I hope it isright, but it is hard to be sure as I don’t live there full time.What I do know is that there are different ways ofapproaching problems. Denmark has the lowest rate ofinfant mortality, Finland has only three kids under 14locked up, where as Britain has hundreds. And in Norway,all the money from the oil, well, the government decidedto give not to the next generation, but to the generationafter that so they’ll be the only place not to have to worryabout their pensions later on. I really like the idea ofthinking about the generation after the next one.”

Janteloven, Denmark and feeling Danish

What about Janteloven*, has she ever encountered it inDenmark? “Yes, but I think it probably has its place insociety in some ways. The only thing I worry about is if thearts sometimes suffer because of the lack of struggle indaily life. The arts tend to flourish in times of struggle –just look at all the great art that came out of Ireland duringtimes of social and political struggle: you need a

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 11


“I’m only fifty, I might still go to law school...”

Sandi Toksvig

government to make fun of to make good political theatre.Think about it: it’s really hard to make fun of BarackObama because everyone thinks he’s a nice guy. Ifeveryone in Scandinavia is happy and healthy, it couldpotentially be more difficult to produce great art. Actually,this is a really strange thing for a socialist to worryabout...” she laughs. “I do hope it is not the case, though.”

What keeps Sandi feeling Danish? “My father was soDanish, Danish to the core,” she smiles, “things likeDanish Christmas, candles on the tree, the roast pork –all the tribal things that tie you to a country. The food isvery important and I also suspect that what ties you to acountry is something to do with attitude – things like worknot being the core things in their lives: it’s about family,being together. That time you have with your family ismore important than anything you might achieve in yourcareer.” And what of her own family here? Do her childrenfeel Danish? “They refer to themselves as half-Danish and

come along to our summer house in Jutland for longbreaks. We go there, we don’t have a phone, no TV, nointernet. I’m still not really sure what we do all day: weswim, we read, we talk, stuff like that. They can run freeand just be. I love going there – as soon as I step off theplane, my shoulders sink six inches and I can reallybreathe... It’s home.”

Sandi Toksvig is back on the News Quiz on BBC Radio 4later this year.

12 | Issue 9 | June 2009


*’Janteloven’ is a concept written about by Norwegian/Danishwriter Axel Sandemose about a fictional Danish small town. The‘Laws of Jante’ describe the mentality of “don’t think you are betterthan us” and “don’t think you can teach us anything”, often referredto as being commonly used to preserve social stability anduniformity.

Sandi Toksvig has lived in London since she was a teenager but enjoys spending her holidays in Scandinavia. Photo: Debbie Toksvig.

June 5-28 | Aarhus, Denmark

International sculpture event in Aarhus, Denmark

More than 60 sculptures

First time in Europe

Sculptures from more than 10 nations represented

1 hour drive from Billund or Aarhus international airport

Under Danish Royal patronage

No entrance fee

www.sculpturebythesea.dk

June 5-28June 5-28 | Aarhus, DenmarkAarhus, Denmark

national sculpture e Inter in Aarhus



entvnational sculpture ek, Denmar in Aarhus




e from Billund oriv 1 hour drnational air Aarhus inter


e from Billund ortpornational air

Under Danish Ro patronage

No entr

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eeance f No entr

.sculpturebwww ythesea.dk.sculptureb

14 | Issue 9 | June 2009

UK Ne

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SWEDEN, DE

NMARK, N

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FINLAN

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in Love

Those

Northern

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Design and Scandinavia go hand in hand. Indeed much ofwhat we view today as modern, from the mobile phoneto self-assembly furniture, has come from those fourcreative countries in the North of Europe, which are socool in every sense of the word.

And in particular, here in Britain, from the “mid-centurymodern” classics of the 50s and 60s to the Ikea revolution,Scandinavia has fuelled contemporary design. But, andhere's the exciting bit, the fire is burning as brightly as ever.

For a whole new design wave is surging out of 21st centuryScandinavia. We saw it in January in the StockholmFurniture Fair, and then this April at the famousinternational Furniture Fair in Milan, set out in stunningshows such as Danish Crafts and Swedish Love Stories.And we are seeing it now in our capital, where we arelooking forward to a strong Scandinavian presence at theLondon Design Festival in September.

Big brands are unveiling new design, materials andtechnology, and a crop of smaller enterprises (includingsome dynamic websites) are hard on their heels. Fromaudio excellence and computer-generated lamps to well-worked wood and edgy glass, currently Scandinavia rocks.At the same time, advanced ideas are underpinned by aunique craft heritage and a sensitivity to nature and theenvironment. And, of course, those enduring contem -porary classics retain their appeal.

Here at Scan Magazine we wanted to celebrate the 21st

century design success of the countries that are thebedrock of our magazine. So we initiated (a littleambitiously perhaps) our first overview of Scandinaviandesign in London and the UK today, and I have had muchinterest, and fun, writing it.

Now for a little confession: I myself am not Scandinavian– well, regular readers have probably guessed. But I am aLondoner, and am passionate about design, about whichI have been a specialist writer in leading British papersand magazines for a very long time (which is why I knowabout the last century). I represent the British followersof Scan magazine, a growing readership who simply loveScandinavia, and in particular Scandinavian design. Whichis roughly where we came in.

It has been an honour, therefore, to be invited to write thisguide, and truly thrilling to get an update on those I knewalready, and an introduction to those I did not. It is aneclectic selection that even includes an interior designerand a florist: the Scandinavians really do do a lot of verydifferent things rather well.

And if you yourself have any business in the UK that islinked with Scandinavian design that we do not knowabout, do please tell us. Because this Scan Design GuideSummer 2009 is just the first in a regular series. So seeyou next time, and best wishes

Barbara

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 15

Scan Magazine | Design | Scan Design guide Summer 2009

SCAN DESIGN GUIDE SUMMER 2009By Barbara Chandler, Design Editor

16 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Life-EnhancingFurniture at BoConcept is uniquely flexible ("bo" in Dan-ish means "life" - or living, if you like). Ranges have a hugechoice of components which can be combined into anynumber of individual pieces. Overall style is in the best tra-ditions of Danish modern design, being simple, elegant,well-made and unlikely to date. Products include sofas,dining/coffee tables, chairs, beds and storage. A free inte-rior design service includes home visits by appointment.

BoConcept: 158 Tottenham Court Road, W1 and at 18 to 24Westbourne Grove, W2. It is also in Harrods, SW1, and Sel-fridges, W1; 0845 605 0565; www.boconcept.co.uk

Iittala

BoConcept

Designhouse Stockholm

Clearly visible from London's Regent Streetis the stunning back wall "picture" of the Iit-tala glass shop. This "pixilated" design oncloser inspection turns out to be a metic-ulous assembly of tea lights, called 'Kivis'.For Iittala is Finland's iconic brand for glassand ceramics, and this cool enclave ofScandinavian design is in mar kedly mod-ernist contrast to the capital's imposingclassical terraces outside. Shelves are filledwith glass in a rainbow of colours, the redand purple colours commanding a higher

value because they are so difficult to pro-duce. Find also contemporary ceramicsand long-lasting, quality kitchenware.

Iittala's glass factory was founded inSouthern Finland in1881, in the little vil-lage that bears its name. It is bestknown for modernism, and the perfectpared-down shapes of Alvar Aalto, hiswife Aino, and Kaj Franck (producedfrom the thirties onwards). More re-cently, however, Aleksi Perala has addedstacking glasses in five rich colours to

the range, and fashionable graphic de-signer Klaus Haapeniemi is putting hischarming folk-based patterns, with imagery of animals and trees, ontoplates, mugs and cups-and-saucers.

Iittala's endearing motto is "lastingdesign against throwawayism." Sosomething from their wedding list serv-ice should last a lifetime.

Iittala: 126 Regent Street, W1; 020 72875600; www.iittala.com

Glass Act

Swinging Sweden

Design House Stockholm, on London's famously fashion-able King's Road, Chelsea, brings a fresh new attitude toSwedish design, with its quirky motto of "fantasy and func-tion." Thus useful everyday items such as furniture, table-ware, vases and other home and fashion accessories geta modern touch of design magic. Newly arrived are Bjorkrugs and interior cushions by Lena Bergstrom and SilverLight Candle holders by Magnus Lofgren. Don't miss thewonderful fabrics printed onto heavy cotton at a traditionalSwedish mill.

Design House Stockholm: 205 Kings Road, SW3; 020 7352 8403; Also in Selfridges Oxford Street (lower groundfloor) 0207 318 377; www.designhousestockholm.com

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 17


Cloudberry Living, a successful on-lineboutique for Scandinavian design, is ahappy collaboration between two en-thusiastic Finnish women now living inThames Valley. Anne (accent on the “e”)Tiainen-Harris comes from "the middleof nowhere in freezing temperatures bythe Russian border", whilst SirpaArovaara had a "fresh, warm and stylishhome" in Helsinki. "But we share ourFinnish roots and love for Scandinavianstyle." You can see this from their web-wares, an exhilarating mix of high-

quality home accessories and gifts fromFinland, Denmark and Sweden, all re-flecting "our unique Scandinavian de-sign heritage."

Design treasures include the classictableware of Kaj Frank, lighting byLouise Campbell and Verner Panton,glassware by Aino and Alvar Aalto, and,a recent arrival, patterned trays by San-dra Isaksson. Plus cosy felt slippers andblankets, quirky wall-stickers and wall-paper, and marvellous Moomin mer-chandise, starting with the famous

books by Tove Jansson. Many items areinternational design icons, but can behard to track down in the UK.

"More and more Brits are getting toknow and love Scandinavian design,"reports Anne. "It's because of its beau-tiful yet functional shapes and colours,and high quality. And we are alwaysadding new designers and new prod-ucts."

www.cloudberryliving.co.uk

Bodum

Cloudberry Living

Moomin Marvellous

Without BODUM many a London dinnerparty would maybe grind to a halt as itnears its end. Because the classicChambord "press" is largely the capi-tal's coffee-making method of choice. Ground coffee goes in the jug, hot wateris poured on top, the coffee brews, thendown goes a plunger. A filter catchesthe grounds as the coffee is poured.Rapid, quiet, effective and simple: "re-ally, the best way to make coffee is to getout of the way as quickly as possible,"says Jorgen Bodum, the Danish CEO,whose father founded the company inCopenhagen in 1944.

Everybody knows this simple jug, butmaybe not its history and robust design

details. The Chambord started as anItalian invention in the 1930s, and wassubsequently perfected in France. Thejug is actually made of a tough, lightborosilicate glass which sits inside awell-engineered frame of chrome-plated steel. A robust handle is in heat-resistant Bakelite so it is never too hotto hold. A new model is double walled tokeep the coffee hotter for longer.

Bodum make a teapot as well, abeautiful glass one with a built-in filterto beat the Brits at their own game.

Bodum has an on-line shop: www.bodum.com

Coffee, Anyone?

18 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Staffan Tolgard and RedThread

Brought up in Stockholm, and trainedhere in London at the prestigious Inch-bald School of Design, Staffan Toll-gard, committed and charismatic, israpidly making a name for himself inthe world of interior design.

Based in Notting Hill, in a dynamic stu-dio in a modern complex built literallyunder the Westway, the Staffan Toll-gard Design Group works closely to-gether on a wide range of projects, of-fering a bespoke interior design to anexclusive international clientele. "Everyclient has a unique story. We use thelanguage of design to tell it."

Tollgard was billed recently as "oneto watch" in a leading UK professionalmagazine. His residential and com-mercial projects tend to be at the highend of the market, yet his studio has afriendly atmosphere, and is not toogrand for small commissions. A partic-ular skill is product sourcing, and the

Tollgard team has a passion for track-ing down unusual materials, furniture,artefacts, and the original works of artthat feature so effectively in many oftheir schemes.

Tollgard has an interesting slant onstyle, seeing his own as a fusion be-tween Scandinavia and Japan. "Scandi-navian design effortlessly combinesbeauty and function," he says. "It'sclean-lined and modernist, but alsosensual." And Japan shares many sim-ilar qualities, he feels. "Our landscapeis much the same, with tranquil treesand water, affecting everything we do.We both love order, and natural materi-als such as wood. It is as though our twocountries have an unspoken affinity."

Running alongside his interior de-sign practice, Tollgard has a new ven-ture with the intriguing name ofRedThread (from the Swedish "Rödtråd", the guiding principle of good de-sign). Tollgard's business partner is

Richard Newling Ward, a successful ho-tel and restaurant owner, who hasworked with Terence Conran, RaymondBlanc and other respected names. To-gether, they are offering "a holistic ap-proach to hospitality design." This is acomplete and cohesive service for ho-tels and restaurants. Obviously interiordesign is their forte. "But we also adviseon branding, menu style, price point,location and even staff uniforms, any-thing relevant to our client's image andsuccess."

Despite the current financial cli-mate, the hotel and restaurant industryis still active, taking advantage of thesudden availability of premium sites."We are currently helping new clientswith a range of services, from lowbudget make-overs to more ambitiousfull fit outs."

Staffan Tolgard and RedThread: 020 7575 3185; www.tollgard.co.uk

Sweden Entertains Japan

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 19


Bang & Olufsen

A League of its Own

Within4Walls is an intriguing websitefor advanced design set up around fouryears ago by Dutch-born Claudia Lang-stone, herself a designer. Designersand products come from all over theworld, with a significant number fromScandinavia.

A prominent protege is Janne Kyttä-nen, born in Finland in 1974, who has pi-oneered an advanced way of makingthings, which, confusingly, has variousnames, including rapid prototyping,

laser sintering, and 3D printing. This ishi-sci stuff where artifacts are "grown"all in one piece, layer by layer, in a tankof polymer by a computer-controlledlaser. Janne's company Freedom of Cre-ation (FOC), founded in Helsinki but nowbased in Amsterdam, excels in this tech-nique. They produce a series of lampsand tables whose incredibly intricatesculptured patterns are truly designs ofthe 21st century. Within4Walls offer thebest selection of these in the UK.

By contrast, Tom Rossau's lightingis entirely hand-made from delicatestrips of birch veneer. He is based inCopenhagen. And Danish Søren RoseKjær has created the marvellous Milkdesk in a high gloss white lacquer tomatch your Mac. Advanced features in-clude electronic height adjustment and– look! – no cables.

Within4Walls: 019 2677 2217; www.within4Walls.co.uk

Within4W

alls

Light Years Ahead

When it comes to television and audio,Bang & Olufsen is in a league of itsown, combining sleek Danish designwith superb picture and sound quality.Their exclusive range includes televi-sions, audio systems, loudspeakers,telephones, and multimedia. Foundedin 1925 in Struer, Denmark, the com-pany employs over 2,550 people, and isjustly famous all over the world.

A unique feature is the stand-aloneBang & Olufsen stores, instantly recog-

nisable with their distinctive logo andcool interiors. Bang & Olufsen havearound 1,200 outlets in more than 100countries and around 65 per cent ofthese are "B1" stores selling exclusivelythe Bang & Olufsen product portfolio.There are 12 in the London area. Herespecialist sales staff are devoted en-tirely to demonstrating the company'sproducts, providing customers with theultimate Bang & Olufsen experience.But Bang & Olufsen never rest on their

laurels, constantly updating their rangeto embrace the latest technology. Forexample, the already impressive BeoVi-sion 7-40 LCD television now boasts anintegrated Blu-ray player, 100 Hz pic-ture quality and a DVB-HD module.

For further details of the products orto find your nearest store to arrangeyour personal product demonstration,visit www.bang-olufsen.com

20 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Northlight

Scandi Fan

Linum

"I've always loved everything aboutScandinavian design," confides PamelaSpurling, who founded her companyNorthlight six years ago, selling mostlytextiles from small Swedish companies.Things went so well that she now has asubstantial shop in a Georgian buildingon Oxford High Street. Fabrics are stilla speciality, including lovely linens stillscreen-printed in the old way in Swe-den. Curtains and blinds can be expertlymade to order, with a service also for

upholstery and interior design. Othermerchandise is intriguingly varied, frombeautifully patterned birch wood trays toquirky crochet kits.

New products arrive all the while,some from very small outfits, whichmake them extra special. Slojd, theSwedish Handcraft Association, sendsover some very special items, such aspatterned wrist-warmers and scarves,and traditional "ragg" socks in vibrantcolours. Very popular are children's fab-

rics, furniture, blankets and toys. AndFinnish hot water bottles are comfort-ingly versatile - with covers in cotton forspring and wool for winter (or even thatBritish summer...) "Good design is sim-ply a part of everyday life in Scandinavia,"adds Pamela. "And please come backat Christmas - it's very special for us."Northlight Scandinavian Homestore: 36 High Street, Oxford OX1 4AN; 01865248850; www.northlightdesign.co.uk(online store).

The Brand that CaresA quintessential Scandinavian brand isLinum, committed to the environment,and making high-quality textiles inlovely colours in natural cotton andlinen. There are those beautiful Scan-dinavian blues, of course, plus softgreens, clear reds and masses of natu-ral white and cream. Patterns rangefrom fresh florals to classic ticking.

Linum is a household word in Swe-den, where it's been around for 40years. But it only came seriously to theUK in 2003. This was thanks to an en-terprising and imaginative Swedish girl,Sanna Hedman, here since 1988. "Myson Oscar was born in 1997, and now Ifinally feel settled, and may well retireto Cornwall!"

This is a family business, which be-lieves the best way to help people inpoorer countries is to help them to helpthemselves. So textiles designed inSweden are made by another familybusiness in Tiripur in Southern India."The very basis of Linum is the well-be-ing of our workers and the protection ofthe environment," says Sanne.

Fabrics by the metre, bed/tablelinen, cushions, rugs and so on sell inaround 150 shops in Britain. Or visittheir showroom in a listed building inHenley-on-Thames, relax, and choosequietly in peace.

Linum: 01491 571 880; www.linum.se

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 21


Hästens

Ikea

Unbelievable, isn't it, that a productshould have a 25-year guarantee? Butthat’s what you get with a Hästens bed.And it's a guarantee you can trust, be-cause Hästens is a family firm with animpeccable reputation, now in its fifthgeneration and purveyors to theSwedish Royal Court.

However, most customers, whorange from your average professionalto celebrities such as Brad Pitt, TomCruise, Simon Cowell and DonatellaVersace, are buying not for longevity butfor perfect sleep. Hästens, who havemade beds in Sweden since 1852, areunfailingly committed to their goal of

creating "the world's most comfortablebeds." They achieve it with a mix of nat-ural materials - solid pine, horsehair,flax, pure new wool, and hand-temperedsteel springs - all put together meticu-lously in a time-honoured way by hand.Besides the quality, comfort and guar-antee, there's another distinctiveHästens feature. It's that expansive, de-lightful covering of large blue check, astatement trademark. This pattern isregistered with the Swedish patent of-fice – and who knew there are actually20 other colours to choose from?

Hästens West End: 99 Crawford Street,London, W1, 020 7723 2925. HästensKing’s Road: 579-581 King’s Road, Lon-don, SW6: 020 7384 2020. Hästens Sur-rey: Auckland House, New Zealand Av-enue, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, KT121PL, 01932 260 034.www.hastenswestend.com

Stressless

Ekornes of Norway is Scandinavia's biggest furniture man-ufacturer, selling in the UK under the Stressless brand.Actually, the name says it all, as their key design is theirfamously-relaxing reclining chair, which they pioneeredover 35 years ago. It's a seemingly-simple mechanism:settle in, feet on footstool, lie back, and get correct neckand lumbar support in every position, thanks to a patented"glide" system that follows your slightest movement.Stressless chairs are made of fine materials to meticulousstandards, with coverings of top quality leather in manycolours, or of plain modern fabric. Stressless UK: 0800 652 0800 (UK); www.stressless.co.uk

Blue and Yellow

No London guide to Scandinavian design would be com-plete without Ikea. I'll keep it brief because obviously youknow them already. But just a little update: newly arrivedis the latest special PS collection of cutting-edge design.And it's the best since the PS programme was launchedin 1992, featuring exclusive design from some big-gunnames. Four years ago Ikea opened their largest UK storeat Edmonton in North London: now that's a good Ikea,along with the multi-million pound refits of their stores atWembley and Croydon. Ikea Wembley: 255 North Circular Road, NW1; 0845 3551141. Ikea Croydon: Valley Park, Purley Way, Croydon;0845 355 1144. Ikea Edmonton: Glover Drive, N18; 0845355 2255; or shop on line at www.ikea.co.uk

A Guarantee You Can Trust

Lie Back and Enjoy It

22 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Wharfside

Danish modern furniture has an en-during appeal, and it fills the hugeshowrooms of Wharfside, which hasbeen in business for over 40 years.

Director Jonathan Stewart, son of theoriginal founder, believes he knows whyhis furniture has been so consistently indemand: "It's got this very special qual-ity," he said. "The style is markedly mod-ern yet it's not going to date. There'salso the high quality materials and con-struction, and the superior finish."

Indeed, Danish furniture has had areputation for advanced design fornearly 100 years, Jonathan adds. In the1920s, manufacturers and architectsworked together to create a new Danishfurniture aesthetic. It spawned manyinnovative manufacturing techniques,including steamed bent wood, bent tu-bular metal, and a widespread use ofglass, metal and upholstery. "Sincethen, Danish furniture has consistentlyexcelled in design and quality."

Stock at Wharfside includes diningtables and chairs, sideboards, uphol-stery, sofas, coffee tables, recliners,wall units and bookcases, and furni-ture for bedrooms. Wharfside can alsokit out the home office. Most of theseproducts are in wood or upholstery.Timber is sustainable, and the com-pany uses only natural glue andwooden hinges, and has eliminated theuse of metal, particularly from its bed-room furniture.

This friendly company is still verymuch a family business. Jonathan'sgrandfather was an apprentice cabinetmaker in Hackney in London's East Endin the very early 1900s. He taughtJonathan's father everything he knew,then apprenticed him to an upholstererin Shoreditch in the 1930s.

Mr Stewart senior started his ownupholstery company after he was de-mobbed from the army in 1946. In 1965,the showroom arrived at its present sitein Buttesland Street, N1. The company

also has a showroom in Leatherhead"I am proud to continue in so fine a

tradition," remarks Jonathan. "Facto-ries we work with still exercise thesame time-honoured craft skills theyhad way back when. The result is furni-ture you can be proud to own, made toorder just for you."

Many of the staff at Wharfside alsostill have the old skills they learnedfrom their own fathers, such as polish-ing, cabinet making and upholstery. "Itake delight in using these craft work-ers to adapt, re-model or repair furni-ture for customers," Jonathan says. Hehas had many callers at the showroomtell him about the furniture they boughtfrom his father back in the 1960s. Ap-parently, it is still in daily use and looksas good as when they took delivery over45 years ago.

Wharfside: 66 Buttesland Street, London N1 6BY; 020 7253 3206; www.wharfside.co.uk

A Very Special Quality

Bredgade 33 DK-1260 Copenhagen K Tel +45 8818 1111 www.bruun-rasmussen.dk

Poul Henningsen

Tivoli in Copenhagen

The world-renowned Danish architect and light-maker Poul Henningsen (1894-1967) served as architect for the Tivoli Gardens in the 1940’s, and the results of his work include the Tivoli lamps that for almost six decades illuminated the famous garden. When you buy a Tivoli lamp, you acquire more than a piece of cultural history, you become the owner of an extremely rare lamp that is bound to grace any garden, patio or entrance hall with its unique idiom and soft, antidazzle light.

It is truly Danish cultural history that comes under the hammer, as the more than 60 years old and highly illu-strious Copenhagen auction house of Bruun Rasmussen presents 100 of these original spiral-shaped Tivoli lamps. Please visit bruun-rasmussen.dk for further information.

Tivoli lampsPoul Henningsen: Tivoli lamps, 1949. A total of 100 pieces were produced.

These are now to be sold one by one on weekly basis through 2009 at the online auctions of Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers. Estimate: DKK 8,000 – 12,000.

24 | Issue 9 | June 2009


A Breath of Fresh AirWith eco- and environmental-issuesright at the top of the current buildingagenda, architects and home-ownersalike are seeking good quality windowswith high insulation values.

And increasingly popular on the UKmarket is Vrogum, founded in Denmarkin 1957, and makers of high-perfor-mance windows and doors, using northScandinavian pine, oak and aluminium-clad wood. Indeed Vrogum has a strongfollowing in Britain: exports to the UKaccount for around 25 per cent of totalturnover.

"It is the high quality of our productsthat appeals to the British," says JohnJørgensen of Vrogum. "We stand upvery well to comparisons with otherScandinavian and UK manufacturers.

Yet we are not the most expensive win-dows on the market, so we offer goodvalue for money."

Vrogum make more or less every-thing for the outside of a building, in ahost of colours, sizes and designs, in-cluding all types of window (casements,sash and so on), and French, patio, slid-ing, folding and stable doors.

The new Vrogum Glaslux window,with its beautiful and innovative design,meets high technical and aesthetic de-mands. It has a long life span, and ex-tremely high insulation values, whetherfor wind, water, weather or sound. Italso scores highly for security features.

Vrogum: +45 76541111 to locate yournearest UK dealer; www.vrogum.dk

At the Click of a MouseSwedish Linda Swarbrick is married to an Englishman andhas lived in the UK for 12 years. But when she was made re-dundant from her job in the City, and fell pregnant roundabout the same time, it was the impetus to start her own busi-ness. Thus Scandi Living was launched in January 2007 –and her daughter Thea is now three years old.

Linda has always loved the fresh clean look of Scandina-vian interiors, and had secret dreams of running her ownshop. A website was ideal, because it could be combined withbaby care. "We're an online boutique selling high quality, styl-ish and trendy Scandinavian home interiors," says Linda. "Wesell everything from table linen and soft furnishing to glass-ware, lighting and wallpaper." A lively portfolio of brands in-cludes Linum, Kosta Boda, Orrefors, Normann Copenhagenand Ferm Living, but new ones arrive the whole time, the lat-est being Pappelina from Sweden. Linda is launching a wed-ding gift service shortly, and will soon add furniture to her site.

Scandi Living can take orders by phone, and discuss spe-cial colours, sizes and so on. Deliveries are usually betweenone to two days. "We offer a relaxing, enjoyable and secureshopping experience."

Scandi Living: 01428 681474; www.scandiliving.com

Vrogum

Scandi Living

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 25


Kari H

oseth Peters Interior Design

Designer Kari Hoseth Peters has akeen eye – and a sympathetic ear.

Interior design is first of all about lis-tening, says Kari Hoseth Peters, whohas been a designer for around 20years. "At the outset, clients may noteven know what they want, and you haveto arrive at the ideas together," sheadds. Talking with Kari, you realise thatshe does indeed have a natural empathywith people, which obviously stands herin good stead, as she is always busy,with most jobs coming on recommen-dation. Her clients become friends, andtheir projects ongoing, as they comeback time and again for more help andadvice.

Kari was born and brought up in Nor-way, and first came to the UK as an aupair. She always loved design, but "whenI was younger, my sense of adventuretook priority." So she worked as a stew-

ardess/purser for Pan Am ("a little un-usual for a Norwegian girl") and at thesame time did a correspondence coursein interior design at Berkeley University.Later, finding herself once more in theUK, she qualified at the City and GuildsInstitute, and then was invited to set upan interior design service/showroom fora distinguished oriental carpet and floor-ing specialist where she lives, in Kent.Last summer, she took over the interiordesign side of the business, which be-came her own entirely.

Now she can offer a complete inte-rior design service, based on some for-midable experience. A recent client wasthe former owner of Costcutter super-markets, with a huge detached prop-erty. On the contract side, Kari hasworked for The Royal Society and TheWellcome Trust. And for Lehman Broth-ers: she is still wondering where all herblinds went to... She has a wonderful lo-

cal workforce from ace curtain-makersto first-rate decorators and carpenters."A scheme is only as good as the peoplethat implement it." She can also provideflooring, including bespoke carpets.

Some people say Kari's home has"a touch of Scandinavia." But at workshe feels her style is classic. British Vic-torian interiors are an inspiration, andKari adores trimmings. A sophisticatedinternational touch comes from travel-ing to and living in so many differentcountries. "And I do love mixing old andnew." Kari is constantly out and about,visiting the design showrooms ofChelsea Harbour, the latest tradeshows, big antique fairs and local deal-ers. "It's a job you do with your feet, asmuch as your eye and your mind."

Kari Hoseth Peters Interior Design:01732 700427; 07788 664320; [email protected]

I Hear What You Say

Photo: M

agnus Arrevad

Photo: M

agnus Arrevad

26 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Floral Sym

phonies

Skandium

Royal Florist Nichlas Vilsmark sees allflowers as a "gift from mother nature",and this successful florist from Den-mark now has his own distinctive Lon-don Floral Symphonies studio. The cap-ital loves his beautiful, fresh and aboveall naturalistic bouquets, garlands andso on, backed by an impeccable envi-ronmental policy. Nichlas personallychooses the most ravishing blooms inseason and oversees arrangements for

gifts, homes, offices and, of course,weddings – he was the Head Florist atthe floral extravaganza for the RoyalWedding of the Danish Crown Prince inCopenhagen Cathedral in 2004.

For more details, call 020 8964 1168 (studio)or 0844 561 7670 (customer service) or visit www.floralsymphonies.co.uk

Marimekko

For lovers of Scandinavia, Marimekko means fabrics.That sounds simple, but the textile archive of this famousFinnish brand is rich and complex. It ranges from theearly stylised flowers of founder Maija Isola (still bestsellers) to stunning graphics from the new textile avantgarde, sold by the metre, or as panels, and on cushions,tableware, linens and so on. Oh, and this is absolutely the2009 place to buy a summer bag.

Marimekko: 16/17A St Christopher's Place, W1; 020 72240818; www.marimekko.co.uk

Great classics, plus…

Skandium is London's first port of call for Scandinaviandesign. The two shops stock all the great classics by Weg-ner, Jacobsen, Aalto et al, and have introduced them to anew generation. Plus textiles treasures by Marimekko,Jobs Handtryck and Woodnotes. Then there are thesmaller items by Eva Solo and Normann Copenhagen andtableware and glass by Rosendahl, Iittala and RoyalCopenhagen; plus gifts, children's books and toys.

Skandium: 85/86 Marylebone High Street, W1; 020 79352077; also at 247 Brompton Road, SW3; 020 7584 2066;www.skandium.com

A Gift From Mother Nature

Bags for summer!

Tel/fax: 01376 585533Email: [email protected]

www.nbswindows.co.uk

For those who demand quality and design

• Casement windows • Tilt and turn windows • Sliding sash windows

• Entrance doors • Patio doors • French doors • Sliding doors • Folding doors

®

Scandinavian Timber / Timber - AluminiumComposite Windows and Doors

NBS Windows Ad:Layout 1 2/2/09 11:35 Page 1

Originally built in 1890, The Knightsbridge Green Hotelis centrally located in the heart of London’s fashionableKnightsbridge shopping district between Harrods andHarvey Nichols, within easy reach of all that the city hasto offer.

We are moments away from excellent transport links,making us the ideal base for your time in London.

Perfect for business, pleasure, shopping and sightseeing.

All rooms and suites are spacious with en-suitebathrooms, air-conditioning and wireless broadbandfree of charge, offering you a comfortable stay in style.

We look forward to meeting you.

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Lobby Suite Superior

Special price £99.00 + VAT in superior room. Pleasequote Scan when booking. Valid until the 31.12.2009*

*(With exception of 19-23/5 and 9-11/11 2009. Subject to availability.)

2.2_Knightsbridge_Green_Hotel:Layout 1 22/3/09 20:27 Page 1

28 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Design | We Love This

Love or NothingThe name says it all. Love or Nothingis a swimwear brand for women whotruly know what they want and havea strong fashion image, but don’t takeit too seriously – much like the brandcreator herself, Danish Eva Nabi. Theswimwear comes in many differentstyles and colours. From £169 to £239.www.loveornothing.com

We love this...There is so much hot stuff that we would like to show you. In fact we love this!

Luxury, elegance and a good night’ssleep are at the heart of American San-dra Laughlin’s business, Laughlin De-signs, which sells first class linen forthe bed, bath and table.

Most Scandinavians are fans of goodquality, especially when it comes to ourduvets and bed linen because we knowthe pleasure of snuggling down in asoft, welcoming bed on one of thosecold Nordic nights. Luckily we are notthe only ones. From a log house in Ken-tucky, USA, Sandra Laughlin, anotherquality and comfort fan, has turned herpassion for linen into a world spanninginternet business: Laughlin Designs.

The products on her website, whichis very appropriately called www.snug-gledown.com, cover everything fromtablecloths to duvets, or as they fittinglycall them in America: comforters. Butthe bottom-line is always the same.“The fabric is always the most impor-tant thing, but I also look for products

with delightful colours and designs,”Laughlin says. “The bed should be re-ally inviting and once you are snuggledin you should be happy to be there. Iwant it to be a visual experience as wellas a cosy and comforting one.”

Among the different materials usedfor the products are high quality down,hypoallergenic down, Egyptian cotton,organic cotton, cashmere and silk.

Laughlin Designs was established14 years ago when Laughlin startedselling quality linens from her home,then located in California. “I have al-ways loved luxurious sheets. Mymother-in-law had the most wonderfulsheets, they just got softer and betterover time,” she says. Through one ofher friends Laughlin made contact withsome of the companies producing thehigh quality linen and started purchas-ing and selling them herself.

Since then, the high quality productshave been enjoyed by both men andwomen from all over the world, who or-

der from her website. “They alwayscome back,” Laughlin says, and con-tinues to reveal that there are evensome royals among her regular cus-tomers, although she will not revealwhom; our guess is that they are theones who always miss the ceremoniesbecause they get out of bed too late!

For more details visit: www.snuggledown.com

Laughlin Designs – A Good Night’s Sleep

Sofie Theresa Lysgaard, self-confessed “trendsetter andglobetrotter”, is a girl with a mission at only 26. “I justwant to get Danish fashion out there,” she says, “and tomake sure that no-one can miss it ever again.”

Fashion? Denmark? Really? Yes, really. And people likeme, and possibly you, who thought that fashion andDenmark was a contradiction in terms are possibly notvery fashionable themselves. Because Sofie and herinternational team have assembled an elite corps ofexclusive Danish fashion brands, and put them onto a sexynew website, which went live in March. It operates withinScandinavia of course, but is also bringing Danish fashionto the UK and beyond.

Selling on line are exclusive and unique clothing, jewelleryand accessories. Sofie believes everyone is an individualwho wants to stand out from the crowd, “so our site letsyou put together a style which is well and truly your veryown.” Brands featured include Bllack Noir, Rikkemai,

Noir, Hanne Bloch and Day Birger et Mikkelsen. There isalso exquisite jewellery from Marlene Juhl Jørgensen.

“As you can see, we are only selling the very best,” saysSofie. This ebullient young woman is based in Herning inDenmark, where she lives with her partner Daniel, aprofessional ice-hockey player who is on the nationalteam. They are expecting their first child in August: “wecan't wait to meet the little miracle.” Previously Sofiespent four years in international shipping, and livedvariously in France, Singapore, the Netherlands, andSweden. But there was no single internet site that let herkeep up with Danish fashion, and its contemporarybrands. “The world needed a one-stop shop for Danishfashion and that's why I've started Danish Bazar only forthe hottest and most original brands. Every single item isvery special, and some are very hard to come by anywhereelse.”

Danish Bazar: +45 51 15 20 62; www.danishbazar.com

Danish fashion hits the webBy Barbara Chandler

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 29

30 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Design | Advertorial

LACK side tables/each

£7.82**Prices valid until 27th July 2009

EXPEDIT TV storage unit

£106.68*

Wood is one of the most important raw materials forIKEA. It is an excellent material from a quality andenvironmental perspective, as long as it is legallyproduced and comes from responsibly managed forests.

IKEA does not except wood that is illegally logged or thatcomes from intact natural forests. Our long term goal is tosource all wood for IKEA products from forests certifiedas responsibly managed.

We have our own forest specialists who work in the field,close to both suppliers and forests. We have developed acode of conduct for our suppliers called ‘IWAY’ - the IKEAWay on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products. This codeof conduct puts minimum requirements on suppliersincluding the sourcing of the wood. We have also initiatedseveral forestry projects working together withorganisations specialising in forestry management,conservation and education including WWF, TheRainforest Alliance, State Forestry Administration ofChina, World Resources Institute/Global Forest Watch,The Sow a Seed Foundation, and the Swedish AgriculturalUniversity.

IKEA believes in using the fewest resources to make thebest possible products, without having a negative impacton their appearance or functionality. When we use wood,the principle is always to make as much use of thematerial as possible to get the best return from the wholetree. This means that along with using wood sourced fromsustainable sources, we are also clever in how we use theraw material itself. In addition IKEA is working proactively

towards using as many renewable and recyclablematerials as possible in our products.

The LACK and EXPEDIT range at IKEA uses a productiontechnique known as ‘board on frame’. Board on frame isa lightweight sandwich construction consisting of aparticle board frame with a recycled cardboardhoneycomb structure in its centre and thin hardboardsurfaces. Using this process, we have created entireranges of furniture such as LACK and EXPEDIT. Theyrequire a minimum amount of raw material and everytransport load can be maximised because the productsare flat packed and light weight.

Economising on resources is part and parcel of the IKEAapproach to product development. Working with newproduction techniques helps us not only use less rawmaterials, meaning less trees from forests, but it alsomeans we minimise the costs involved in the production ofour products.

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 31

Scan Magazine | Design | Advertorial

Wood is good!By IKEA

32 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Travel | Gram Palace

Built in the 14th century Gram Palace (Gram Slot) offersa unique insight into the history and culture of SouthJutland. In its beautiful setting, it creates a uniquelocation for a holiday where organic farming, nature andluxury all go hand-in-hand.

Spending your holiday at an original 14th century palacemay sound like something you would only dream about,but actually it does not have to stay at that. In Denmark’sscenic South Jutland, Gram Palace, one of the onlypalaces to have survived in the region, invites you to takepart in its historic and yet modern everyday palace life.

The castle and its residents

The main building of the red-bricked palace is beautifullyplaced in the middle of the palace lake, south of which thebig palace garden is spread out and continued by a natural

grove. The palace consists of three wings, one of which isthe home of the castle’s owners Svend and SanneBrodersen and their four kids. The other two wings, whichhave four ballrooms, each with room for about 70 persons,are used for conferences, weddings and much more. “Wehave various kinds of activities here at the palace:conferences, parties, concerts and talks. We always havesome kind of event going on and that, too, makes it aunique place to live,” explains Svend Brodersen.

On the other side of the lake is the main building of thepalace’s estate which has been completely restored andconverted into four very exclusive holiday apartments, allwith a direct view of the lake and castle. When staying inone of the four 130-150m2 apartments, you will bewelcomed by one of the castle’s owners or employees whowill give a historic tour around the palace and its grounds,

Gram Palace– Experience the nature and history of Jutland first handBy Signe Hansen | Photos: Gram Palace

Gram Palace seen from the park. Top: The ballot box from 1920, Bottom: Gram Palace’s park.

ending with a glass of wine in the wine cellar. “GramPalace is unique in this part of the country because therest disappeared back in 1500. This means that GramPalace has a very special position in the area andcommunicating its history, nature and culture issomething we put a lot of effort into. We want to vitalise allthe qualities around here,” says Svend Brodersen.

All of the apartments have their own kitchen, 3-4 bed-rooms and, of course, their own spa; they can be rented ona weekly or daily basis.

Experiencing the area

Living at the castle not only gives you the possibility to re-lax and dream yourself back in time, it also gives you an op-portunity to explore the different attractions of today’s Jut-land. Within a short driving distance you will find the NorthSea with its white, dune-covered sand beaches; small towncity-life; and not least Denmark’s famous Legoland.

However just a short walk provides you with differentoptions; the palace is just on the border of the beautifulvillage, Gram, in which you can enjoy activities like a tripto the local cinema or bowling centre. The area also hasits own inn “The Old Inn” (Den Gamle Kro), located just ahundred metres from the estate, where a wide variety oftraditional inn dishes are served.

For those who want to stay in their historic countrysidebobble and just enjoy the palace, its history and natureoffers a rich opportunity to do so. “We have some ofDenmark’s best potential for fishing in the palace lake andclose surroundings. Many also come to hunt in the area.They live at the palace and go hunting in the morning andevening,” Brodersen explains.

The apartments are often shared by two or more couplesor by families who come to give themselves and theirchildren a special experience. “A lot of people appreciateit when they look through their windows and see theirchildren just outside in the garden with a fishing rodhaving a great time,” says Brodersen.

Organic farming and sustainability

The most unusual thing about Gram Palace is maybe thatit does not just give you a stay at a historic palace but alsoa view into the buzzing life of a modern, organic farm. Thefarm, which is partly situated on the palace grounds, isrun by the Brodersen couple and their 20 employees. “It isa very alive business where we have plenty of animals:cows and calves which you can experience at close hand.A lot of people really value that they can get inside thefarm and they can even help milk or feed the cows in themorning,” Brodersen says.

Most of the farm is organically run and the palace also hasa hydroelectric power station. The history of the dam,which is used for the power station today, is believed to goas far back as 1554. Back then, the first dam at the loca-tion was used to power water mills, as it is today for thepower station, something which shows how modern daylife and history exist side by side at the palace. “If you wantan unforgettable, all-round experience where a lot ofthings supplement each other like the tours that we makefor our guests, the house you live in, the area and the gar-den you can pick your vegetables in, you will love GramPalace,” says Brodersen. “It is the complete experiencewhere history, quality, cultural heritage, organic farmingand sustainability go hand in hand!”

Scan Magazine | Travel | Gram Palace

Many events and parties take place at

Gram Palace throughout the year.

Apartments are priced from 4,785 DKK to 8,750 DKK per week (Approximately £562-£1029)

For more information: 0045 74 82 00 40; www.gramslot.dk

34 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Food | Midsummer Magic

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One of the most celebrated and treasured times of yearin the Scandinavian calendar is Midsummer. All over theNordics, each country celebrates the longest days of theyear in its own special way, whether it’s jumping arounda pole pretending to be a frog, burning witches at thestake or running around a rye field with your bum out.

Back in the days of the Viking forefathers, the power ofnature on 22nd June, the longest day of the year, washighly respected and was one of the most important daysof the pagan calendar. Midsummer, also known asSummer Solstice, was the day and night where magiccame to life and medicinal plants were at their mostpowerful.

Little frogs and evil witches

Sweden’s celebration of Midsummer is probably one of themost prominent, the festival being only second inimportance to Christmas time. The Swedish Midsummerhas strong links to pagan fertility rituals, which explain theuse of the Maypole (‘Majstång’), an old Northern Europeanfertility symbol. People gather at large parties, feast anddrink and then dance around the pole, pretending to be alittle frog with no ears. Nobody really knows the origin ofthe tradition of jumping around like frogs, although aftera few sips of aquavit, not many care and just join in.

In Denmark and Norway, Midsummer is usually referredto as St Hans (St John) and although Midsummer hasbeen celebrated since the Vikings, its name stems fromthe times when Denmark and Norway were Christianised.Back in those days, people lit large bonfires to ward off

evil spirits on the light night while during the 16th and 17thcentury witch hunts, St Hans also became the night whenwitches were burnt at the stake, sending them off to aplace called Bloksberg in Germany to dance with the devilfor all eternity. Today, straw figures depicting old witchesare made to go on the fire, their bodies stuffed with firecrackers, as a remembrance of those times.

Also in Finland, the tradition of bonfires is still goingstrong; the event used to be called Ukon juhla after theFinnish God Ukko, but after the Christianisation of theevent it is now largely referred to as Juhannus (after StJohn). In Finland, many old rituals are rooted inMidsummer, for example running around a rye fieldnaked, trying to ward off the Devil’s spirit.

Midsummer smorgasbord

Despite regional variations of Midsummer celebrationsacross Scandinavia, one thing is certain no matter whereyou celebrate it: there’ll be food, drink and merry people.It is all about celebrating the gifts that Mother Naturebrings. June is a fruitful month even in Scandinavia: thefirst new potatoes appear, the berries ripen and theScandinavian smorgasbord, with all its regional variations,is at its absolute best (usually helped along by a few sipsof traditional aquavit and a few cold, crisp bottles of beer).

One of the nicest things you may encounter on thesmorgasbord is the traditionally cured salmon, referredto as “Gravadlax” or “Gravlax” – cured in dill and served onits own or with soft bread and a lovely, tangy mustard anddill sauce. Gravadlax used to be cured by fishermen during

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 35


MIDSUMMER MAGIC By Bronte Blomhoj

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the middle ages, who used to bury the fish above the hightide line. From there stems the name, “grav” literallymeaning “grave”, to dig, and lax meaning salmon: Gravlaxis basically buried salmon, although today nofermentation is used in the process and the “grav” refersto burying the fish in dill, sugar and salt. It’s a joy to eatand not that difficult to make.

Serve your Gravadlax on a smorgasbord buffet full ofsummery dishes, from pickled herring to Scandinaviannew potatoes tossed in dill or parsley butter. Don’t forgetthe meatballs, the dark rye or crisp bread and a goodselection of cheeses, with perhaps a layer cake, made withdeliciously succulent wild strawberries, to finish off themeal. To complete your Scandinavian smorgasbord andMidsummer event, we recommend sampling some niceAquavit with some close friends and jump around a pole,pretending to be little frogs until the wee hours of themorning. Before you know it, you’ll be a convert andmaybe even consider changing your name to Björn.

Recipe of the month:Dill Cured Salmon (Gravlax) – serves 15-20 people

1 side of salmon, bone-free (or for a super piece, use thecentral part only). App 1.2-1.5kg250ml – 300ml sugar125 – 150ml sea salt2-3 bunches of dill1-2 tablespoons freshly crushed white pepper

100ml water (this is optional, but helps the mixture to getin everywhere and we find this method works well)

This is how you do it

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Rub half of themixture into the fleshy side of the salmon and put thewhole thing in a plastic bag and then pour the remainingmixture over it. Give it a good shake. Leave the bag in thefridge for a minimum of 2 days and make sure to turn itover at regular intervals (at least once a day).

When you can’t wait any longer, open the bag and take outthe salmon. Discard the mixture and pat the fish dry witha paper towel, although make sure you go easy onwhatever is remaining of the mixture on top of the fish asthis both adds flavour and helps with the presentation.Cut the flesh off the skin and slice the fish very, very thinly.Serve with Hovmastarsas – a dill and mustard sauce (orwith a light mustard/dill vinaigrette).

Hovmastarsas (Dill and Mustard sauce)

2 tbs Swedish mustard (sweet mustard)1 tbs dark Dijon mustard3 tbs sugarJuice from ½ lemon1 tbs red wine vinegar1 tbs dark soy sauce½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper1 tbs water350ml rapeseed oil (substitute 50ml oil with water for alighter version)1-1.5 bunch of finely chopped dillWorchestershire sauce or Tabasco sauce (for the non-purists) can be added to taste, but is optional.

Whisk all ingredients except oil and dill together till thesugar has dissolved properly. Add the oil slowly – just aswhen making mayonnaise or aioli – while whisking. Usewater to dilute if the sauce is too thick (should be theconsistency of a creamy dressing).

36 | Issue 9 | June 2009


Bronte Blomhoj is Danish and is part founder of Scandi-navian Kitchen in London www.scandikitchen.co.uk, anice place that stocks plenty of salmon, herring and allthe things you need for Midsummer. Except little frogs,you need to pretend to be one of those yourself.

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Scan Magazine | Column | Is it Just Me...

Who feels huge pressure when going tosee other people’s babies for the firsttime?

Last week I went to see one of my girl-friend’s newborn, and it wasn’t without alot of nervous fidgeting and anxiety.

You see, were I to follow my instincts Iwould look at any baby and go “Oh, he’ssweet” or “Blimey! He’s tiny” – and that’sjust not good enough. Parents expect waymore than that.

Words like “Magnificent”, “Adorable”and “Beautiful” are what usually greettheir baby’s bald head, so clearly “sweet”and “tiny” doesn’t really do it.

I personally find that the baby in itself isa miracle and therefore I really don’t seethe need for further superlatives. And to behonest, “beautiful” is just not the first wordthat hits me when I see a newborn.“Wrinkly” is often more correct.

I only once saw a truly beautiful babyand that got me into trouble as well. I co-incidentally met an old acquaintance andhis wife who proudly strutted along with ashining new pram and immediately Icringed, foreseeing the embarrassing si-lence that would occur when the parentsintroduced me to their newly born girl. Es-pecially since this couple is geneticallychallenged with mutual protruding frontteeth and alarmingly bristly ears. So I gavea short, fearful glance down into the pramand saw an unbelievably pretty baby girl. Ihad to look twice, before I, almost yelling,exclaimed “But… She’s … She’s beautiful”with way too obvious surprise.

This is why last week, I had preparedmyself carefully. I had specifically re-hearsed the word “sweet” so as to give it anotch up, giving it a lot more positive ring,and all the warmth of a “beautiful”. Luck-ily my preparations were made redundant.

My friend was lying with her baby boy inher arms. When she saw me she eruptedin a big, radiant smile and said: “Don’tworry. I know he’s ugly – but look… isn’t hejust amazing?”

Finally I could let out a sigh of relief, say-ing, relaxed and honest: “Yes. THAT he is”

Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading femalecomedian. She invites you to laugh alongwith her monthly humour columns. Sinceher stand-up debut in 1992, Mette hashosted the Danish versions of “Have I GotNews For You” and “Room 101”. Mettecurrently lives in London.

IS IT JUST ME... By Mette Lisby

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38 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Danske Bank Group has been present in the UK since1983, and now, following the acquisition of NorthernIreland based Northern Bank in 2005, it is expandingfurther into the UK market by offering both privatebanking and corporate banking for small and mediumUK businesses (SME) through the newly establishedLondon branch. Private Banking is headed by DanishHenrik Skriver and the SME team by local Ian Stockdaleand together Northern Bank is now ready to spread itsreach in London.

The blue and white logo of Danske Bank is recognisedeverywhere in Scandinavia, and since last year it has alsobeen more visible in the UK where Danske Bank Grouphas bought Northern Bank with its 95 branches inNorthern Ireland. Northern Bank’s logo now carries thesame characteristic colours as Danske Bank and the

ambition is that the new addition to the Group will helpmake the logo familiar throughout the UK.

Doing it the other way round

The offices of Northern Bank’s newly opened PrivateBanking section in London are located at the sameaddress in King William Street in the City as Danske BankGroup’s corporate banking and capital market teams.However, Northern Bank aims to bring some completelynew business to the place. Henrik Skriver explains: “Uptill now Danske Bank has only been taking care ofScandinavian corporate clients with activities in the UKmarket. Now we would in addition like to service UK basedcompanies, especially those with Scandinavian interests.”

Henrik himself has worked for Danske Bank for 18 years.Last year he came to London, leaving his position in Luxem-

NORTHERN BANK – Danske Bank’s New AmbitionBy Signe Hansen | Photos: Northern Bank

Northern Bank had a successful London launch at 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) in 2008. Henrik Skriver, Head of Private Banking.

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 39

burg where the Danske Bank Group services Private Bank-ing clients living in more than 100 countries. “I was broughtin from Luxemburg to set up the new proposition here in Lon-don, as I knew the Group’s products and services,” says Hen-rik Skriver adding: “We now share many very wealthy clientswith offshore accounts in Luxemburg, but the idea is that wewould like to grow as a UK bank servicing wealthy indi -viduals living in London regardless of their origin.”

A special service for special clients

Generally, Northern Bank’s private clients are high earnersmostly working as CEOs or in the financial industry. Theseclients get a personalised service with allocated advisors ininvestment management, housing loans, funds, bonds, eq-uities and tax optimising. Allocating personal advisors, whoknow the client’s circumstances, is part of the bank’s PrivateBanking approach, says Henrik Skriver. “But there are dif-ferences between the way banking is done here and in Scan-dinavia. Some of it lies in the regulation of the system, whichseems to be much tougher in the UK. In Denmark you willhave one adviser to deal with more areas, but here advisorsmust have authorisation to advise in each specific area andthat sometimes makes things more complicated.” At themoment, the bank’s private client base is made up of Britishnationals and Scandinavians who will be familiar with thebank through their company and thereafter be invited to be-come a private client or who are already doing their bankingactivities with other parts of the Danske Bank Group .

But the Nordic composition of the bank’s team isattractive for the non-domiciled, who can, says HenrikSkriver, benefit from the fact that their advisors are awareof their special status in the UK.

“As an example we can help clients optimizing theirpensions or savings via Danske Bank in Luxembourg bybringing that off-shore. We always take the tax-status ofour clients into consideration; not all UK banks would dothat automatically. We try to differentiate ourselves bythinking in line with our target clients.”

A local and international platform

Northern Bank’s clients also benefit from the Group’s setupin other ways, which are especially valuable to persons withcross-border interests or newcomers in the UK. One of thebenefits is the Group’s IT platform. “The Danske Bank

Group platform means that, if you have activities in othercountries, you can make transfers cross borders withoutloss of value dates and without any cost. A lot of peopleliving here still have activities in other countries and it isvery easy and quick to do it online,” says Henrik Skriver.

For clients of Danske Bank Group moving to the UK,Northern Bank can also spare them the often verytroublesome credit check that have given UK banks a badreputation among foreigners. “A lot of people complainthat getting a bank account or a credit card in England isalmost impossible. We will transfer people’s credit historyand save them all the trouble,” says Henrik Skriver.

But the aim is not only to grow the Scandinavian sectorbut also to use Northern Bank’s solid position on the UKmarket. “The idea is to grow both the Scandinavian teamand our UK team to fully exploit the experience from boththe Group and the local market.”

The growth has, of course, been stalled a bit by the currenteconomic climate, which has meant that some clients havelost jobs or wealth and thus cut down their bankingactivities. Although the timing may be a bit difficult, it isnot enough to bring down the mood of Henrik Skriver. Heis completely reassured that there will continue to begrowth areas for the bank. “There are of course still peopleearning money and who need help managing their wealth,but they are now more cautious so we try to focus on lowrisk investments and tax optimizing. We are one of the fewbanks who still lend out money for purchase of bothresidential and investment properties here in London, so Ibelieve that we have many areas to grow our business.”

It may be a hard time to be testing new waters, but itseems that if anyone can survive in the current climatethat test should confirm hope for even more success whenthe economic storm clears off.

• Northern Bank was established in Belfast in 1809• Northern Bank has over 1,800 employees• In 2005 Northern Bank was acquired by Danske Bank Group • Danske Bank is the largest Bank in Denmark• Danske Bank is the only Danish Bank doing private and personalbanking in the UK

• Danske Bank Group employs about 23,000 staff worldwide.• Danske Bank was established in 1871

Scan Business | Business Profile | Northern Bank

40 | Issue 9 | June 2009

“I don’t know why on earth anyone in their right mindwould start up a business;” these are the words ofDanish Jeppe Leth Hansen who, maybe a bit surprisingly,runs his own business which helps people set up newbusinesses.

Still Hansen has a CV that proves that he knows what heis talking about. Just a kid when he started up his firstbusiness selling Christmas trees at his local home onThurø, he later supported his university studies by settingup and managing his own real estate agency. After theDanish gymnasium (secondary school) Hansen went tothe USA where he set up another business and thatinspired him to do what he does today. “When we weretaking the company public in the USA, the 90s crashcame. We struggled, but still raised the money for thecompany, and it made me think how inefficient the systemis and how little control you have.”

Avoiding the common mistakes

Ten years ago Hansen decided to do something about theproblems he had experienced and started his owncompany, Bridgehead, to counsel new entrepreneurs. Hebegan organizing the process of setting up a business andbegan building a system to make starting a business lesspainful, more efficient and less risky. “Initially it seemedvery complicated and at first glance it is, but when you getto the details you start discovering how simple mostthings can be,” he says adding: “It does not mean itdoesn’t take a lot of effort and coordination however.”

He should know because not only has he run his ownbusiness for years, he has also grown up in a family witha long tradition of entrepreneurship. His father,grandfather and great-grandfather were entrepreneurs,and he therefore experienced the stress and challengesthat setting up a new business can put on the family. “It

BRIDGEHEAD Giving new companies a fair chance

By Signe Hansen

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 41

concerns me to think about how many new companies fail.The human tragedies first of all make me sad, particularlywhen I believe most can be avoided,” he says.

Many of the problems new businesses experience occurbecause most entrepreneurs do not have any experiencewhen it comes to hiring people, accounting, taxconsequences, marketing and branding. “We havestrategic partnerships with all the right players, who knowwhat they are doing; the best patent lawyers and bestaccountants for instance,” Hansen says. “They have doneit over and over again and are not going to fail, whereasthe new entrepreneur is likely to make costly mistakes, orcould even fail.”

When somebody seeks out Bridgehead for help with a newproduct, idea or technology, the first step Hansen and hiscore team of 12 experienced entrepreneurs take is toevaluate the business concept. After that it is, saysHansen, actually quite simple. “If we like the businessconcept, then building the company is a matter offunctions and different pieces. It is like a puzzle, you haveto have all the pieces of the puzzle to become successful.”

It may sound too good to be true, but Hansen has somestrong credentials to prove that his ideas are valid. In theUSA he has been, and still is, advising the Government ona number of different programmes to help entrepreneurs.His government work was also the reason he, a year ago,decided to move part-time to the UK, where he wassummoned by David Miliband to help the Government withits Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) aimed atattracting businesses of exceptional interest.

A new system to sort out the mess

At the end of this year Bridgehead, will be ready to launchthe result of many years of research and hands-onexperience; a complete system covering all areas ofsetting up a new business. But the work behind thesystem actually goes back even further, says Hansen:“Before setting up Bridgehead, I worked for MorganStanley, Merrill Lynch and other big companies where Ihelped finance and structure companies on all kinds oflevels for many years. Every time I was doing that, I tooknotes and now it is all being incorporated into the systemthat we are rolling out.”

The system will help provide ways for early investors to selltheir shares and exit without having their funds locked upuntil the company is floated or sold, and improve methodsfor them to analyse businesses before investing. It will alsofree the entrepreneurs for all the routine functions that, ifnot handled properly, can mean the end of a company. Be-sides, it will help develop cost effective and scalable growthmodels and will include everything related to starting youown company like computer systems, investors, functionsand strategic partners. “As it is now, there is not one placeyou can go to when you are starting up a company. Youhave to talk to a lot of different people and maybe they willinvest and maybe not. The whole process of starting acompany is very complicated,” Hansen says.

The complete scale of the new system makes Hansendefine it as a holistic and hands-on approach. When thelast details have been completed, it will be ready fortesting in the UK and USA and after that, the hope is thatit will be used world wide. “We are refining the concept inthe US and UK and are building it in a way so that it is easyto roll out on a global plan. Hopefully we will have a globalsystem within a decade.”

For more details visit: www.bhgltd.com

Scan Business | Business Profile | Bridgehead

Jeppe Hansen has helped the American government with it’s

entrepreneurial programmes and through his work met Bill

Clinton.

42 | Issue 9 | June 2009

The Swedish currency exchange company FOREX hasmoved across the Channel and opened its first office inthe UK. Scan Magazine went on a visit to see how thebusiness has been welcomed.

With more than 100 branches spread throughoutScandinavia, FOREX has gone a long way since its humblebeginning in 1927. Back then, the first exchange office wasopened at Stockholm’s Central Station by the Swedishbarber Gyllenspets as a response to his customers’ needto exchange money.

Today Forex has around 1,000 employees, a turnover of 42billion Swedish kronor and has just opened its first officeoutside the North, more accurately in Baker Street, London.

Here a team of young and dedicated Scandinavians areready to show Londoners why FOREX is so popular in

Scandinavia. One of them is Swedish Oskar Svensson whois the country manager for the UK and Iceland. Hebelieves UK customers deserve to experience theScandinavian way of doing currency exchange. “TheScandinavian approach to customer service is verydifferent from the English. In Oxford Street many of theexchange services are just a hole in the wall and that isnot comfortable or safe for the customers,” he says,adding “We do not aim to make as much profit on thecustomers the one time they come in but aim to makethem come back.” One of the reasons for customers tocome back is that FOREX, contrary to many otherexchange services, does not charge any fee for theexchange. But do people really use an exchange officemore than once? Maybe not the tourists, but they are notthe only potential clients in the UK, explains Svensson’sDanish Colleague, Branch Manager Per Middelboe.

Scan Business | Business Profile | Forex

FOREX – Money for sale By Signe Hansen | Photos: Yiannis Katsaris

Branch Manager Per Middelboe and Country Manager Oskar Svensson in front

of FOREX’s new branch in Baker Street.

All FOREX’s young employees are from

Scandinavia.

Scan Business | Business Profile | Forex

“Many people exchange their money outside the UKbecause it is more expensive to do it here. We want tochange that and thus aim for both the UK market andthe tourist market. Many people also exchange in theairport before travelling, but they can save 10-15 percent if they exchange with us instead, so everybody gainsif they exchange at FOREX, before they leave,” he says.

This may sound almost too good to be true, but actuallyit is the other way round, says Svensson; it is the Eng-lish competition that is too poor to be true. “In Englandpeople are used to paying a high spread. In Scandinaviathere is no more than a couple of per cent difference be-tween the buying and selling prices whereas in the UKit can reach as high as 20-30 per cent. In that way thecompetition in Scandinavia is fairer to the customers.”

But while competitors may have reason to worry, theoutlook is bright for the two Scandinavians and FOREX,which plans to open 6-8 branches in London before theOlympics in 2012.

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France_Loire Valley_Half Page:Layout 2 29/5/09 17:26 Page 1

44 | Issue 9 | June 2009

With a yearly turnover of US$2 billion and more than5,000 employees, Stolt-Nielsen S.A.’s CEO and DirectorNiels G. Stolt-Nielsen, 44, is a very busy man.Nevertheless, he recently took time off to show ScanMagazine around the company’s corporate office inLondon and to have a chat about the significance of beinga family-operated publicly listed business and theopportunities and challenges facing the successfulcompany.

When Mr. Stolt-Nielsen’s father Jacob founded thecompany in 1959, it was with just one time-charteredparcel tanker. In the 50 years that have since passed,Stolt-Nielsen has become the world’s leading provider ofbulk liquid chemicals logistics services, with a global fleetof more than 140 deep-sea, coastal and inland tankers.Along the way they expanded the business beyond tankersand into terminals, tank containers and even fish farming.Throughout the last half century, SNSA has been steered

by the steady hand of Jacob Stolt-Nielsen and his familywho still control the majority of the company, which istoday listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

SNSA’s corporate office is in London, where CEO NielsStolt-Nielsen is based. “We are a family controlledbusiness with Norwegian roots, but at the operationallevel Stolt-Nielsen S.A. is very much an internationalbusiness. London has a strong banking community and itis an excellent location for the head office of a globalbusiness like ours,” he says.

Because of its worldwide activities, the office in London isbusy throughout the day. In the morning it follows theoperations in the Asian markets, in the middle of the daythe European and in the evening the American markets.“We offer our customers a global transportation solution,combining deep-sea tankers, smaller regional transportsand a worldwide network of storage terminals and tank

Scan Business | Business Profile | Stolt Nielsen

STOLT-NIELSEN – Keeping a Steady CourseBy Signe Hansen

Sneland | Photo: Harald M. Valderhaug

Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen

Jan Chr. Engelhardtsen

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 45

container services,” says Mr. Stolt-Nielsen. “That is ourcore business. In addition to that, we have Stolt Sea Farm,where we have pioneered much of the sophisticatedtechnology required to successfully farm such species asturbot and sole, as well as sturgeon and caviar.”

Facing challenging times

While the diversity and global scale of the business havealways demanded long working hours, the challenges ofthe current economic crisis have substantially ratchetedup the pressures on management. “Our parcel tankerdivision has been hit the hardest, because of the dramaticdecline in volumes of chemicals being shipped world wideas inventory levels were drastically reduced during theinitial months of this year.”

Stolt-Nielsen’s extensive industry experience has alreadyproved its value in dealing with the crisis. Though the nextcouple of years are expected to be very tough, the downturndid not come as a surprise to Niels Stolt-Nielsen. “On thecontrary, we were surprised that the strong market in ship-ping lasted as long as it did,” he says. “Shipping is a cycli-cal business. We typically have two to three good years fol-lowed by three to four weak years. During the last upmarket, we saw five strong years, with enormous worldtrade fuelled by growth in Asian markets, strong consumerdemand and low-cost credit. Yet, despite the strength of themarket, we started to hold back a bit toward the end.”

While the company continued to expand, it did so at a moremodest rate and began to take steps to prepare for theinevitable downturn.

Stolt-Nielsen’s Chief Financial Officer, Jan Chr. Engel-hardtsen, explained the company’s strategy: “From a fi-nancial perspective, our major accomplishment was thatwe obtained financing for all of our capital expendituresjust before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in Septemberof 2008. After that, the door to obtain financing slammedshut. Granted, it took a while to formally conclude some ofthose arrangements. But all of our financing is now se-cured, which is very significant given the current situationin global credit markets.”

Stolt also accelerated its timetable for the recycling ofolder ships, in order to reduce the size of its fleet in an-

ticipation of the expected decline in demand. Though thepain will be mitigated, the effects of the downturn cannotbe wholly avoided. When asked, Engelhardtsen anticipatesa 20 per cent decline in the company’s yearly turnover from2008 to 2009. And a sustained recovery, he adds, will beslow to materialize. “We provide transportation and stor-age services to the world’s leading chemical companies.For the recovery to start, we will need to see the creditcrunch resolved and renewed growth in consumption, notonly in Europe and the US, but in the Middle East and Asiaas well.”

Keeping it in the family

The company has weathered significant challengesbefore, and Niels Stolt-Nielsen has already proven hisabilities as CEO. After he became a Director in 1996 andwas appointed CEO in 2000, he led the company througha financial crisis in 2003, followed by a victoriouslandmark battle against the U.S. Department of Justice.Although Jacob Stolt-Nielsen has handed over the reins tohis son, he continues as Chairman of the SNSA Board ofDirectors. Niels’ brother, Jacob B. Stolt-Nielsen, is also aDirector and has held a number of senior managementpositions in the company.

According to the CEO, being a family operated businesshas both its advantages and disadvantages. “With a familyowned or operated company, there are no doubts aboutthe leadership’s commitment, not when the companybears your name. But, of course, it is a challenge for anyfamily. You know what they say: the first generation buildsit up, the second generation maintains it and the thirdgeneration throws it away. ”But he is optimistic andbelieves that the company will continue to benefit frombeing in the Stolt-Nielsen family’s hands. “I do hope thatone of the children from the next generation will find theinterest to take over. But they are still young, the oldestone is 20 and the youngest just one, so I still have to workfor some time before retiring,” he smiles.

With his father’s impressive, classically furnished officejust around the corner from the CEO’s more modernquarters, it is hard to imagine anything but a smoothtransition when the 44-year-old is ready to retire.

For more information visit: www.stolt-nielsen.com

Scan Business | Business Profile | Stolt Nielsen

46 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Business | Recruitment | Campbell’s Column

Campbell’s ColumnBy Malcolm Campbell | Photo: Magnus Arrevad

Account Sales Executive – Nordic MarketsReference: SCAN126

Our client, a leading international organisation operating with thetechnology industry is currently looking to recruit for an AccountSales executive fluent in Finnish OR Danish OR Norwegian ORSwedish. This is an excellent opportunity to join a very successfulinternational organisation. The salary is negotiable.

Please send your CV for the attention of Leigh to [email protected] and state your salary expectations.

Historically the British have always talkedabout the weather. This is because theUK does not have a climate, just weather.

Currently however the topic has changed.Now we speak only about expenses and inparticular the expenses of our parliamen-tarians, be they Peers or Members of Par-liament. Trying to find something positiveabout this shameful episode, all I can sayis that it demonstrates that British cre-ativity is still alive and well.

If anyone is thinking about engaging aHead Hunter, I would suggest they too lookat the “small print” in the Head Hunter’sContract to see how they deal with ex-penses. There are also some in this pro-fession who see “expenses” as a “legiti-mate” way of padding out the fee toenhance profitability. So make sure youare comfortable with the way expensesare charged.

Returning to the topic of parliamentarianexpenses I must not tar them all with thesame brush for I recently benefited from thekindness of a noble Peer. Counting out mychange at the Interval in a theatre to see if Icould afford a coffee, I was approached by acomplete stranger who offered me a coffee,explaining that he had purchased too many.He brushed aside my attempt to pay himsuggesting instead a donation to charity. Irecognised him from his TV appearances asLord Baker, who as Minister for InformationTechnology introduced computers intoBritish schools which led to the current highdegree of computer literacy in the UK. I amquite confident that coffee will not figure inany expenses claim –a pleasant man.

I am obviously perceived as a deservingcause as on arrival at the theatre I was of-fered a partially used car park ticket by adeparting motorist. My colleagues tell meit is a sign that I need a new suit.

The same colleagues tell me I shouldexplain the phrase “tarred with the samebrush”. I believe it is derived from thepractice of “tarring and feathering” mis-creants centuries ago, and is the sort ofpunishment our MPs might have hadmeted out to them if times had notchanged.

Malcolm Campbell is Managing Director ofExecutive Search and Selection companySTC Partners Limited, 33 St James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JS Email: [email protected] Web: www.stcp.co.uk

Proof-Reader – Finnish SpeakingReference: SCAN130

Our client, a leading international company, is currently recruitinga Proof-Reader with fluent Finnish language to work in theiroffices in East Sussex. The role will involve proof reading computer text to verify that thegrammar and spelling is correct and modify and errorsaccordingly. Salary: £6.04 plus £0.73 pence holiday pay.

Please send your CV for the attention to Lucy to [email protected].

Translator with Scandinavian Languages Reference: SCAN125

Our client is a specialist translation/localization company. Due tosubstantial growth they are looking for Translators withScandinavian languages (Swedish or Finnish or Danish orNorwegian) to join their in house translation team inCambridgeshire.

Please send your CV for the attention of Leigh to [email protected] and state your salary expectations.

Administrator with NorwegianReference: SCAN127

Our client, a leading American company is currently recruiting foran Administrator with Norwegian to join their office in NorthLondon. The ideal candidate for this role also has anunderstanding of Swedish and Danish and is able to demonstratean ability to successfully manage a busy and demanding workload.Starting salary is £19500.

Please send your CV for the attention of Leigh to [email protected].

Appointments

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 47

The UK tax system can sometimes seem overwhelminglycomplicated, particularly when overseas aspects areinvolved. As a result, taxpayers may be tempted toignore various aspects of their tax affairs, perhapsthinking “how would HMRC ever find out”?

The answer to that is that HMRC can fairly easily find outa wealth of information if they care to look for it. A followup question is therefore often “but why would they beinterested in me?”

It is of course true that HMRC do not have the resourcesto audit everyone. They do, however, have a number ofmethods by which they can obtain information in order torisk-assess individuals, to help them pick cases for en-quiry. Overseas assets can be such a risk factor. The newremittance basis rules applicable from tax year 2008/09will also assist HMRC in its search for information rela tingto non-domiciled UK residents. As referred to in previouscolumns, unless their unremitted overseas income andgains are below £2,000, from 2008/09 non-domiciled UKresidents will have to pay tax in the UK on the worldwidearising basis unless they make a formal claim to be taxedon the remittance basis. Therefore, assuming that a taxreturn is filed, HMRC will either receive actual details of in-come and gains which they can then look into, or if the re-mittance basis is claimed they will be aware that overseasincome and gains exist and are sufficient to justify suffer-ing the cost of using the remittance basis. This can in-crease the risk of being picked for enquiry.

The tax returns of expats and remittance basis users willalso be handled by specific tax offices, which are wellequipped to understand the risk factors and planningmethods used by people in these categories.

HMRC are also going directly to banks and financial insti-tutions in their search for the details of UK residents whohave accounts in overseas banks. Some years ago, the“big five” British High Street banks were forced to provideHMRC with details of the UK-based customers of their off-

shore subsidiaries. HMRC have now widened this ap-proach to building societies and foreign-owned banks withUK operations, and it is understood that several hundredinstitutions will be contacted, starting with the largest. Thefirst wave of information requests to the UK banks resultedin an “offshore disclosure facility” being launched in 2007,which was designed to enable account holders of thebanks concerned to disclose their undeclared offshoreincome to HMRC in return for a reduced penalty of 10%. Ithas been confirmed that a new disclosure opportunity willbe offered in the autumn of 2009, although the fixedpenalty on offer is likely to be higher than the 2007 oppor-tunity. After this initiative, HMRC are likely to take a hardstance against any taxpayers who are subsequently foundto have undisclosed offshore income.

Those who are still tempted to ignore the need to look overtheir tax status should also be aware that the penalty sys-tem has now been changed, and unless the taxpayer canshow that he or she has taken reasonable care to getthings right (including seeking help where there is some-thing they do not understand), the resulting penalty may inmany situations be higher than what would previouslyhave been the case. Information on this is available onHMRC’s website under www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/new-penalties. A tax adviser will be able to assist in makingsure that everything is up to date.

HMRC seeking information By Tax Columnist Helena Whitmore | Photo: Yiannis Katsaris

Email: [email protected] Web: www.mcguirewoods.com or www.gmrlaw.com

Scan Business | International Services | Tax

Even on the hottest day of midsummer you can beabsolutely sure of being served an ice cold drink atClarion Collection Hotel Twentyseven in Copenhagen.The hotel has its own ICEBAR CPH, the only one inCopenhagen, and that is not the only special treat youwill be offered when staying at this newly reopened,unique life style hotel in Løngangstræde.

With its magnificent location the hotel offers you access toall the best parts of Copenhagen; just around the corneris Rådhuspladsen (the main square in Copenhagen) withthe beautiful old town hall. Take a turn to the other sideand you will find yourselves strolling along the romanticcanals while viewing the Danish Parliament buildingChristiansborg. For those interested in history and art thesurrounding area also offers a wide variety of museums in-

cluding the National Museum and the famous Danishsculptor Thorvaldsen’s Museum.

If some of this or maybe the many shops of Copenhagen’sfamous pedestrian shopping street, Strøget, tempts youto stay out and on your feet all day, you can be sure thatthe relaxed atmosphere of the hotel will help bring backthe zest. “The hotel is very different compared to otherhotels, it has a very relaxed atmosphere and anuncomplicated setting,” says Jette Schjøtt, Sales Managerat the hotel, which reopened in April 2007 after a completerefurbishment.

One of the things which you do not have to worry muchabout when staying at the hotel is where to eat. The hotelhas breakfast included, complimentary afternoon tea,

48 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Clarion Cellection Hotel Twentyseven

Chill out at

Clarion Collection Hotel TwentysevenBy Signe Hansen | Photos: Clarion Collection Hotel Twentyseven

coffee and fruit, and a light dinner buffet. This can beenjoyed in the hotel’s restaurant, The Wine Room, whichalso has 40 different wines displayed on one of its walls.The wines are all served by glass, giving the guests thepossibility to explore new names and do a little tasting.

After dinner, those who want to kick back can have a drinkin either the restaurant or laid back in the Honey RyderCocktail Lounge which is open every day from four in theafternoon to one in the morning. During the summer daysyou can also choose to enjoy your drinks in the hotel’ssmall Rhum:ble Courtyard where you can chill in one ofthe huge, comfy basket chairs. That is, of course, if theunpredictable Danish summer weather allows it; if not,you may as well put on your warmest clothes and ventureinto the famous and mysterious ICEBAR CPH. TheICEBAR is made up by pure ice bricks from the SwedishTorne River which have been decorated with the river’soriginal inhabitants: fish. The theme for these eye-catching decorations is purity with a Twist, but there is noneed to worry, as like everything else, the fish arecompletely frozen.

At ICEBAR you can enjoy everything from sparkling drinksserved in solid ice glasses to the bar’s own Arctic snackswith meat, fish or sweets – on the rocks of course. No won-der that the bar, which is open to everybody, has attracteda lot of positive attention. “Everybody comes to visit ICE-BAR, both tourists and Danes. We have everything frombachelor parties to team building events here,” says JetteSchjøtt adding: “Right now it is the cruise ship guests whostop by here when they are in port to see Copenhagen.”

Adding everything up, the Clarion Collection HotelTwentyseven in Wonderful Copenhagen definitely offers agood deal for everybody looking for a chilled getaway thissummer.

Scan Magazine | Hotel of the Month | Clarion Cellection Hotel Twentyseven

Clarion Collection Hotel TwentysevenLøngangstræde 27 DK-1468 København K.Contact: +45 7027 5627 or More details: www.hotel27.dk

Room prices from DKK 895 to DKK 2.995

Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, or SCA, might not seemlike a household name to you at first glance, but millionsof us use the company’s personal care products, tissuesor packaging every day. Patrik Isaksson, Vice Presidentof Environmental Affairs at SCA tells us how SCA,through its environmental policy and its size, is makingthe world a great deal greener.

SCA is a huge company. Can you give me some examplesof your most successful brands?

SCA has two global brands with sales of more than 1billion Euros annually respectively, Tork soft tissue and

Tena incontinence care. Tena is world leader with 27% ofthe global incontinence market. Regionally we have manyvery strong brands. In the Nordic countries, for example,we have Libero nappies, which has over 60% marketshare, Libresse and Edet.

The nature of many of your products is that they are dis-posable, for example nappies, sanitary towels and papertowels. This doesn't seem very sustainable. In what waysis SCA sustainable with regard to your products?

The raw material is renewable and could be recycled manytimes. The fibres in a paper towel may have been used inseveral other paper products before. Being the owner of

50 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Business | Regular | We Gotta Do Something

We Gotta Do Something!

WIPING THE SLATE GREENBy Rikke Bruntse-Dahl | Photos: SCA

2.6 million hectares of forested land we can also do muchwhen it comes to responsible forestry. For nappies andsanitary towels, a lifecycle analysis is a practical tool todetermine how a product affects the environment fromproduction to waste. It can help in choosing the rightmaterials or to motivate weight reduction.

What do you do within the company to be greener?

We have three environmental targets, which include mostof what we do to be greener. The goals include a decreasein CO2 emissions, control of raw materials and improvedwater usage. To take a concrete ex-ample of what we do, at the momentwe're working with Norwegian powercompany Statkraft in a SEK 16 billioninvestment in wind power.

Where do you get your raw materialsfrom?

About half of our production is basedon recovered fibre, which we gatherourselves or buy on the market. Whenit comes to so-called "virgin fibre", SCAis the world's second largest privateforest owner and we cover about 50%of our needs from our own FSC certi-fied forests. When we buy externallywe make sure it comes from non-controversial sources.

Are the production processes particularly sustainable?

We do work in an energy intensive business, so there is al-ways much to be done. But there has been a very positivedevelopment in recent years with investments in recoveryboilers and combustion plants for production waste orrubbish, making many plants self-sufficient when it comesto energy and in some cases even producing an energysurplus. SCA also works hard to save energy in allprocesses, to reduce waste going to landfill, etc.

SCA has been recognised as one of the world's 100 mostsustainable companies by Innovest and Canadian Corpo-rate Knights for the fifth consecutive year, which is agreat achievement. Why did you as a company decidethat being more sustainable is important?

We believe that being sustainable is necessary to besuccessful. We believe that it makes us more competitive,

more attractive to investors, helps us recruit the bestemployees and strengthens the SCA brand.

SCA exports to many countries in the world. Are thereany countries in which the sustainability of your productsis more important than in others?

Sustainability is a global trend - especially environmentalconcerns - and there is interest from all regions. Somecountries may stand out in this respect, e.g. UK, US, Aus-tralasia and the Nordic countries. We believe the trend willcontinue with increased focus on these issues ahead, one ex-

ample is the new regulations within EU,stipulating 50% of public procurementshould be "green" beginning 2010.

What is the company's biggest envi-ronmental achievement to date?

It is hard to say, often great achieve-ments are made up by many smallsteps. But looking back to our first En-vironmental Report from 1998, it is verygood to see that we identified and choseto focus on the right issues, like carbondioxide, water and sourcing of raw ma-terials early on. As early as the first En-vironmental Report we identified cli-mate change as the major issue during

the years ahead. Our wind power project with Statkraft isa big thing, but it's still just a part of a bigger achievement,the long-term commitment to reduce CO2 emissions.

Do you have any plans to become more sustainable in thefuture?

Continual improvement is the only way forward.

If you could give our readers one piece of advice on howthey could become greener, what would it be?

An important principle within SCA is to make the effort toimprove minor things that may seem petty. Applying thatthinking to oneself would be my advice.

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 51

“We Gotta Do Something!” is a regular feature in Scan Magazine.It gives Scandinavian companies the opportunity to tell aboutinitiatives they take to conduct business in an environmentallysustainable way. Are you doing something?Email [email protected]

Scan Business | Regular | We Gotta Do Something

Patrik Isaksson

Scan Business | Column | How was your day?

Marjo Sanderson is the Managing Direc-tor of Guild Travel

Isn’t it amazing how we Londoners travelto work without knowing what is happen-ing around us? We do not see or hear any-thing whilst sitting in the tube, thinkingour own thoughts, reading a book or in mycase often even sleeping. For one hourevery morning I can have “me time”: no-body speaks to me, the phones are notringing, I just sit there totally on my own,even if I am surrounded by hundreds ofother commuters.

This morning I did not go straight to myoffice. I had, once again, the pleasure ofguiding a group of Finnish tourists. It isgreat to be able to show the visitors thiswonderful city, its architecture, its histor-ical sights, the parks: you couldn’t wishfor a better place to work as a guide. Ihave been guiding in London for over 30years, and still I am not tired of London orlife.

I snatch a quick lunch before I get backto my office to work on the tours TravelTeam is planning. Our Agatha Christietour has been sold out; we need to organ-ise another to accommodate everybody.The tour takes visitors first to Torquaywhere the writer was born and then backto London, the home town of Poirot. Thisyear, Travel Team will organise more than20 different Finnish-speaking tours cov-ering Scotland, Yorkshire, the Cotswolds,Cornwall and of course London.

The rest of my day is devoted to GuildTravel, our outgoing travel services. Weare in the process of improving our web-site and changing our logo. There are a lotof discussions before the final decisionsare made. The travel industry has chang -ed dramatically in recent years. Instead ofselling just cut price flights, we offer thebest knowledge of Finland and we offerpackaged tours not only to Finland butalso to its neighbours. In today’s meetingwe are concentrating on development of

new products for business travellers, be-cause we know that an action-packed visitto rural Finland will have a lasting im-pression on any visitor.

Tonight I will attend a reception organ-ised by the Finn-Guild at the Finnish Am-bassador’s Kensington residence. TheFinn-Guild is a charitable organisationwhich looks after Finnish culture in theUK. If you can see a halo over my head inthe enclosed photo, it is because all theprofit we make at Guild Travel supportsthe work of the Finn-Guild!

How was your day?

These are our busy lives! We ask aScandinavian businessman or businesswoman the question: How was your day?The answer is never that straightforward.

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Issue 9 | June 2009 | 53

Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

Summer Cocktail Party “Despite our Nordic heritage, we do thrive best in the warmth ofsummer.”

Summer brings that energy and light we have all been missingduring the winter. We, as northern Europeans, tend to take extrajoy in spending every bright hour of the day outside, in our gar-dens, in cafés or wherever there is life and good company. DUCCand H.E. the Ambassador of Denmark, Mr. Birger Riis-Jørgensenthus take great pleasure in inviting our members and guests tothe DUCC SUMMER COCKTAIL PARTY AT THE AMBASSADOR’SRESIDENCE on 8 July 2009

The Summer Cocktail Party is one of the highlights of our socialcalendar and it provides the opportunity to meet with fellowmembers in beautiful surroundings and enjoy the view from theroof terrace. Although in the centre of Knightsbridge, you willhave a rare and unique opportunity to overlook one of the green-est spots in London, Cadogan Place. Come and enjoy when sum-mer finally hits our part of the globe and take a well deservedbreak from the long and cold winter.

The Summer Cocktail Party begins at 6.30 pm and you can signup on [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

Joint Nordic Event at the London Stock Exchange: "GreenShoots? Raising capital in a challenging market." – 22 June 2009Networking Event for Danish business professionals atBrasserie Blanc in Leeds – 25 June 2009DUCC Summer Cocktail Party – 8 July 2009

The 103rd Annual General Meeting was held on 14 May. It was fol-lowed by a presentation by Stein Iversen, Minister Counsellor forPress & Cultural Affairs at the Royal Norwegian Embassy inLondon. The UK has been selected as the pilot country in a Nor-wegian Public Diplomacy initiative. The common challenge is howto put Norway on the map, how to create an image and brand thenation, and the role of Norwegian UK based companies. Re-search suggests sustainability as a core theme: “Norway – Pow-

ered by nature”. In the quest to put the message into practice,plenty of activities are in the pipeline creating numerous businessopportunities. The Embassy wishes to engage businesses asactive partners, and to collaborate beyond traditional sponsor-ships.

At its core, the NBCC is about connecting business people andbusinesses. Through the Aberdeen chapter, NBCC hostsWednesday drinks for the Norwegian-British business commu-nity in and around Aberdeen. We welcome both members andnon-members to take part on 10 June at KPMG.

The annual Thames River Cruise will be held on 18 June. We planfor sunny weather - but have booked a fantastic double-deckerboat just to be safe. This is the perfect occasion to entertainguests!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Aberdeen Wednesday Drinks – 10 JuneThames River Cruise – 18 JuneNordic Thursday Drinks – 25 June

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7259 6795 | Email: [email protected] | www.ducc.co.uk

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7930 0181 | Email: [email protected] | www.nbccuk.com

54 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

The Swedish Chamber is looking back on a busy and very interest-ing Spring. We had the pleasure of welcoming many new Membersand look forward to welcoming many more in the coming months.

Not a single chair was empty when Patron company McGuireWoods(formerly Grundberg Mocatta Rakison) invited all Members for abriefing on common challenges in the new business environment on14 May. On 5 June many Members gathered for the One Hundred AndSecond Annual General Meeting at The Dorchester with guest of ho-nour and keynote speaker Roland Rudd, Chairman, Business NewEurope.

Before the summer break we look forward to the Midsummer Golfand Dinner with the Royal Swedish Golfing Society, MidsummerCelebrations and Picnic in the Park on Hampstead Heath. Save thedates in the calendar below and go to our website to read more andsign up.

The Chamber also looks forward to an exciting autumn with severalSwedish EU Presidency related activities. Keep an eye on the web-site as we will soon post more info.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Midsummer Golf and Dinner – 12 JuneJCC Midsummer Celebrations – 20 JunePicnic in the Park on Hampstead Heath – 4 July

Go to www.scc.org.uk to read more and sign up.

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7224 8001 | Email: [email protected] | www.scc.org.uk

An Economic Update seminar was organised by the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce at J-M Capital on 14 May. Theseminar programme gave an insight into the current economicclimate in the UK, Finland and Scandinavia. The event brought to-gether an audience from different industry sectors to hear thelatest news and forecasts; it was the third event of this kind thatthe Chamber has organised.

Sampo Bank’s Senior Economist Pasi Kuoppamaki summed upthe outlook as weak, but it is expected to stabilise in the near fu-ture; in 2010 the global outlook should be improving. In Finlandconsumer confidence marginally improved in early 2009, but re-mains the weakest since the depression of the early 1990s. How-ever, industrial confidence has fallen fast and every major exportindustry has faced a shrinking order book.

The seminar programme also provided some useful tips on howto survive the down turning economy. Management ConsultantTerry Irwin from Tcii Strategic and Management consultants re-minded us that many companies hadn’t prepared to face thechallenges. In this kind of situation it is remains important toanalyse the businesses: what is truly important and essential.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nordic Networking Drinks at Deep Restaurant – 25 June

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 8741 6352 | Email: [email protected] | www.fbcc.co.uk

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Scan Business | Business Directory

56 | Issue 9 | June 2009

How did they do it? Scan Magazine hits ONE!By Ian Welsh | Photo: Yiannis Katsaris

The first 12 months of promoting brand Scandinavia havebeen a steep but exciting learning curve for the ScanMagazine team.

It might be hard to believe, but it’s a whole year since yourfavourite magazine about all things Scandinavian firstappeared. Scan Magazine founders Thomas Winther andMads E. Petersen took time out from putting together theJune issue to highlight some of the fun and games in theScan Magazine office over the past 12 months.

In fact, the Scan Magazine story begins about a couple ofyears ago. As a Danish ex-pat living in London, Wintherrealised there were many UK-based Scandinavianshungry for their own publication. “There are 300,000 of usin the UK – and we need a magazine,” he says. And beyondthat, there is a great deal of connection between the Britsand their north-eastern neighbours. Winther says: “Ahuge segment of the UK consumers have an interest inScandinavian travel or design.”

And so the idea for Scan Magazine was born. Accepting

that he had no experience in starting up a magazine,Winther approached seasoned publishing veteran MadsE. Petersen for some help, who jumped on boardimmediately. “I thought it was a great idea. As a six-yearex-pat myself, I realised I wanted to read what Thomaswas proposing, and with 15 years in the industry I couldsee how the magazine would take off.”

The early days were not easy for Scan Magazine’s dynamicduo. Winther explains: “I promised my better half that Iwould leave my ‘real’ job only when the magazine was asuccess. This meant I had to arrange the first advertisingand set up the distribution network from the toilets of atop City accounting firm, where I was working as aneconomist.” Things have moved on, happily, and Winthernow is able to make calls from a proper desk, in ScanMagazine’s smart offices surrounded by six colleagues,and without a hand dryer in sight.

Petersen also had to juggle work for his own graphicdesign company – Liquid Graphic – with helping get ScanMagazine up and running. “As with starting any business

Scan Magazine’s Management Team. From left to right: Emelie Krugly, Mads E. Petersen, Thomas Winther, Ture Damtoft, Helene

Oxfeldt Lauridsen and Signe Hansen.

we needed to be very focused on our targets. Also we werecertain from the start that it was crucial we set top-qualitystandards in editorial content, design and photographyand get in the right team to do this,” he says.

Unlike many start-ups, Scan Magazine has grown organ-ically with no external financing or demanding sharehold-ers for the management team to worry about. In a tougheconomic climate, this lean model is one that many otherbusinesses should take note of. An indicator of the pace ofsuccess is that the initial plan was to produce a quarterlymagazine – but sustained demand allowed this to movefirst to six issues a year and then rapidly to every month.

Winther says: “While we are very pleased with the waythings have gone, we know we need to keep our feet onthe ground. There is always room for improvement and weare hungry to keep achieving the success we know is vitalfor the magazine.”

Over the past year, Scan Magazine has benefited from thesupport of many top Scandinavian brands and companies.

Winther says: “We owe everything to our advertisers andwe need to make sure they are getting the right exposure.”While setting up the London distribution was straight -forward for Winther and the team, it was having themagazine available in the only Swedish café in Hull, forexample, or in the staff canteens of Scandinaviancompanies with UK sites that has made the difference.“We hope we bring unique value to our advertisers,”Winther says.

So what’s next for the all-conquering Scan Magazine?

As a taster, Winther reveals that he has a couple ofsporting megastars lined up to appear on upcomingcovers, including Danish football hero Peter Schmeichel.Another top name he has his eye on and hopes to profilesoon is Formula One’s Heikki Kovalainen.

But it’s not just about getting the biggest names andbrands. “We’re going to keep listening to our readers.We’ve been amazed at the number of comments and thefeedback we keep getting – and we’ll try to keep giving ourreadership what they want.”

Scan Magazine | Scan Magazine hits ONE

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Gram Slot Ad_Half page:Layout 1 29/5/09 16:52 Page 1

58 | Issue 9 | June 2009

Scan Magazine | Scan News

Having opened their first shop in theUK just six months ago in Croydon, theSwedish retail giant Clas Ohlson isready to expand further into the coun-try. A new shop has just been opened inThe Arndale Shopping Centre in Man-chester and judging by the queue onthe opening day, Manchester and ClasOhlson will get along just fine.

“We were in the local newspapers onWednesday night and had a special offerfor the first 500 customers: a portableDVD player for £19.99, which meant thatwe had over 500 people waiting outsidethe store on Thursday morning and soldall of the DVD players in no time,” com-mented Mark Gregory, UK Managing Di-rector of Clas Ohlson.

The customers were invited insidethe store, which covers 2,500m2 overthree floors, at 10.00am, after an inter-nal ceremony for team members andinvited guests. Inside the shop, the newcustomers enjoyed browsing aroundClas Ohlson’s huge and varied assort-

ment of goods. “When people visit thestore there is always a lot of interest.They enjoy finding their way around andfind the mix of range and products veryinteresting,” says Gregory. Clas Ohlson’sproducts are divided into five categories:hardware, home, electrical, multimediaand leisure.

It is almost guaranteed that cus-tomers will find at least one thing,among over 10,000 different Clas Ohlsonproducts, which they never knew existedbut definitely need. Amongst the moreunusual products are scrubbing glovesfor potatoes and the traditional Swedishpainted Dalecarlian horses in varioussizes.

The new store has around 40 em-ployees, 12 of whom are full time andhave completed Clas Ohlon’s traditionaltraining programme. New employeesare flown to Clas Ohlson’s headquar-ters in Insjön in Dalarna, Sweden. Herethey are trained in the company’s his-tory, culture, products and service toensure that they carry on the famous

Clas Ohlson customer service spirit.“Another thing that is quite nice to thinkabout is that we have been able to re-cruit staff from some of the stores thathave had to shut down recently in Man-chester, such as ILVA and Woolworth’s.That means we have been able to takeon some really good quality staff fromthe local area and provide them with anew job and excellent career prospects,”says Gregory.

Apart from the great offers, theopening of the Manchester store alsogave guests a little glimpse of Swedishculture as a team of traditional Swedishfolk dancers from Dalarna was broughtin to entertain customers throughoutthe day. This is a treat that many morearound the UK can look forward to asClas Ohlson continue their mission tospread the Clas Ohlson spirit. In 2009/10Clas Ohlson plan to open four to eightnew stores.

Fore more details visit: www.clasohlson.co.uk

Clas Ohlson – giving Manchester a treat

SCAN NEWS Edited by Emelie Krugly

If you have a news story for Scan Magazine you can contact Emelie on: [email protected]

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 59


On 1 July 2009, Sweden will take overthe Presidency of the EU for the next sixmonths. The Embassy of Sweden inLondon has joined forces with the Cityof London Festival to celebrate.

The inaugural week of festivities will in-clude a concert at the Guildhall by theNordic Chamber Orchestra featuring theworld renowned trombonist and con-ductor Christian Lindberg. At Hamp-stead Heath there will be a concert fea-turing amongst others ‘The BennyAndersson Band’ (of ABBA fame), whilstthe Barbican will screen an extensiveseason of Ingmar Bergman films.

As global climate change is high onthe agenda of the Swedish EU Presi-dency, 2009 will bring a number of

“green” features promoting environ-mental sustainability. Sustainability isalso the topic for debate which is held asthe opening event of the Presidency atthe Swedish Ambassador’s Residence.

A Swedish/Czech Jazz-evening will

celebrate the end of the Czech Presi-dency and the beginning of the Swedishone, on a ship appropriately named HMSPresident.

Source: The Swedish Embassy

Two life-long friends, Minna Korjonenand Minna Angiolini, have set up aScandinavian inspired childcare serv-ice, Nordic Child Care, in the UK. Theservice has quickly expanded in bothclients and employees.

The two Finns felt the time was right toset up on their own when, after havingworked for many years in childcare, theynoticed a gap in the market.

“After working as a Nursery Nurseand an Early Years Practitioner for manyyears, the idea of working on a moreone to one basis with children appealedto me,” says Minna Korjonen.

She also has a background in politicsin Finland and has worked as a teacherfor children with special needs.

Minna Angiolini is a youth counsellorwith an ongoing Doctorate degree inPsychology and is also a registeredChildminder.

“I had already had the same idea fora long time and was running a similarbusiness with my sister. She is now

based in Finland and is recruiting stafffor us from there,” she says.

“Our main focus is on the children,they are our customers. We aim to pro-vide a highly professional, timely and ef-fective service aimed specifically at fam-ilies coping with a busy city lifestyle.”

The business started in 2007 with aflyer distributed at The Finnish Churchand took off very quickly. Today the com-pany has 6 nannies and 15 baby sittersonboard in the UK and offers nannying,au pair and temporary baby sitting serv-ices and light domestic work.

Sixty per cent of the staff is Scandi-navian and the Scandinavian aspect isthe key when new staff is hired.

“We’re interviewing people everyweek but I’m very selective. The intro-duction period is very essential, and weteach our non-Scandinavian staff aboutScandinavian culture and traditions,”says Minna Korjonen. “We like lookingafter our staff and are organizing weeklytrips and evenings with special culturalthemes for all our nannies. We want

everyone to feel welcome. London is notan easy city to live in and one can easilyfeel lonely”.

Future plans for Nordic Child Careare to set up a maternity service offeringsupport during pregnancy and afterbirth.

Nordic Child Care is based in southwest London but is offering services inthe whole of the greater London area.

www.nordic-childcare.co.uk

Sweden turns EU green

Childcare Scandinavian style

Christian Lindberg. Photo: Mats Bäcker, www.tarrodi.se/cl

60 | Issue 9 | June 2009


The duo behind the Swedish-inspiredcoffee shop, Småland Coffee, are aboutto launch their new business venture,Småland Photography.

Swedish Eva Regin-Johnston and KevinJohnston from South Africa are part-ners in business and life. The entrepre-neurs have successfully run a Coffeeshop situated near London’s WaterlooStation for five years, where they havealso been displaying their photographicwork. Now they feel the time is right toset up something new. The main focusof Småland Photography will be on wed-dings, but also portraits, nature and

documentary photography.“This is something we’ve been

dreaming of doing for a long time. Weare very passionate about photographyand have been documenting the worldaround us for the last ten years. We haveplans to work in Sweden and SouthAfrica as well as the UK as all thesecountries are homes for us.”

Eva’s background is in Photographywhile Kevin is self taught.

“I have always held a fascination forDocumentary and Wildlife photography;growing up in a rural area of SouthAfrica afforded me a lot of opportunitiesto pursue my favourite pastimes. I still

tend to follow a more photo journalisticapproach to my photography.”

Eva’s photographs are more intimateand personal. “I like to describe peoplein their daily life.”

Kevin and Eva work as a team, as-sisting each other where they can.

“I think that our two styles comple-ment each other, creating a fantasticend result. Even if we sometimes pho-tograph from the same angle, the pic-tures will come out totally differently.That’s what makes our service unique.”

http://photography.smaland.co.uk

Småland Coffee sets up new business venture

The Danish UK Chamber of Commerce(DUCC) celebrated its 20th anniversarywith an Annual Dinner at the Instituteof Directors in Pall Mall. More than100 members and guests joined thecelebrations and the Danish Ambas-sador Birger Riis-Jørgensen was theguest speaker.

Per Troen, one of the founders of theDUCC and the current Chairman ex-plains:

“The DUCC was set up in 1989 by asmall group of influential business peo-ple with support from the then DanishAmbassador Peter Dyvig with the pur-pose of creating a place where busi-nesses and professionals could net-work and debate issues promotinginvestment between Denmark and theUK.”

During the 20 years the member-ship base has tripled and in its an-niversary year the finances of theChamber are better than ever. TheDUCC’s position as an independentsource for reliable information regard-ing trade between Denmark and Eng-land has been established.

The DUCC council is predominatelyfocused on creating stronger links withthe City of London which is reflected inthe composition of the council. This is

primarily in recognition of the impor-tance of the capital markets for the An-glo-Danish business community.

The DUCC puts a strong focus onthe Nordic chambers and the Anglo-Nordic business community at large.“We would like to thank the much olderNordic chambers for their support overour first 20 years of growing up and ouraim in the immediate future is continuestrengthening our links with Nordicchambers to the benefit of our respec-tive businesses,” says Per Troen.

The DUCC also took the initiative tocreate Nordic events in London, ofwhich the flagship is the joint Nordicevent at the London Stock Exchangewhich this year takes place on 22 June2009.

Danish UK Chamber of Commerce Celebrates its 20th Anniversary in 2009

Per Troen at the Annual Dinner. Photo: Magnus Arrevad

Issue 9 | June 2009 | 61


Emil Lager and Sara Lewerth are anextraordinary performing duo. Theyhave been unofficially crowned the“best Swedish duo in Paris” and after asuccessful tour in Spain and Sweden,they arrived in the UK.

Having recently completed their showdates at The Blue Elephant Theatre,Camberwell, Scandimaniacs, as the duois named, is now planning to carry onspreading love and humour nationwide.

The two vibrant performers first gottogether four years ago in Paris whenthey were studying physical theatre, mu-

sic and improvisation at the renownedInternational Theatre School Lecoq. Intheir student flat they both composedsongs and jokes whilst Emil played theguitar. They soon became popular en-tertainers among their friends and atparties, and even had fans listening out-side their window on the street. Thepair’s antics soon turned into a cabaretshow performed in French with a suc-cessful residency at the Chat Noir.

“It was humour and a sense of mad-ness that brought us together,” EmilLager explains. “A genuine friendshipwas born through endless conversations

about life. This is the reason why wework so well together, not only do welaugh at the same jokes but we are se-rious people too.”

Scandimaniacs’ show, Take me toHollywood, is a fresh take on Cabaretmixed with absurd humour and a di-verse and eclectic array of influencessuch as Bob Dylan, Outkast, Shake-speare and Ingmar Bergman to name afew.

“We are criticizing society, but in aloving way and most people seem to rec-ognize themselves. We are two down toearth Swedes travelling the big wideworld and would like to say that we rep-resent a new type of Swedish Theatre,”says Sara Lewerth.

Excited about being in the UK, theylook forward to meeting a new audienceand are confident that their social real-ism will warm many new hearts.

“We share a similar sense of humour.There is a reason why The Office workedso well in Sweden and not in France.We share the same cynical and sarcas-tic sense of humour. What makesSwedish Theatre stand out is probablyits seriousness. You could say that theSpanish and French are extrovert andthe English are ironical and we Swedesare dead serious. I think that’s whatmakes us interesting. We hope we arehere to stay for some time.”

scandimaniacs.googlepages.comwww.myspace.com/scandimaniacs

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62 | Issue 9 | June 2009


The Royal Danish Lifeguards debuted ata prestigious Tattoo at Windsor on 15May with Her Majesty Queen Elizabethas the guest of honour.

The 67 guards were introduced with thewords: “Take good against the regiment,which operate at our side in Helmandprovince in Afghanistan,” whichprompted great rejoicing and applausefrom the 7,000 spectators waving theirBritish flags.

The Royal Danish Lifeguards is theDanish equivalent of the British FootSoldiers.

The Lifeguards chose to parade in asimple style, an exercise accompaniedby music from the Tambourkorps.

“It was a very conscious choice. Weintended to make a classic, traditionalcontribution to the tattoo, “explainedMajor Korsholm, head of the GuardCompany. While A. Garder Kjærsgaardadded: “It is a great honour to be per-

mitted to act for the Queen.“ The Tattoo takes place in an arena

erected in the park behind Windsor Cas-tle, and is attended by various membersof the British royal family. On the open-ing night it was the Danish-bornDuchess of Gloucester, who representedthe royal house. She invited ColonelLasse Harkjær and his aide to a VIP din-ner before the show, which they viewedfrom the Royal Gallery.

Source: http://forsvaret.dk and www.windsortattoo.com

Attention! Royal Danish Lifeguards parade Windsor Tattoo

Per Kirkeby – a private viewing

Per Kirkeby: The Siege of Constantinople 1995Tate © The artist, Oil on canvas, 400 x 340 cm

The Danish Club is organizinga private, out of hours viewingof the Danish artist PerKirkeby’s survey exhibition atthe Tate Modern on 19 June.

The exhibition spans the pastfour decades, exploring the ex-ceptional diversity of Kirkeby’swork by focusing on key mo-ments in his career. Having firstrisen to international promi-nence in the 1980s with large-scale semi-abstract paintings,Kirkeby has persistently resis-ted the notion of being tieddown to any one medium orstyle, working instead as apainter, sculptor, architect,print-maker, draughts man,film-maker and writer. The ex-hibition includes his pop-in-spired sculptures of the 1960s,a series of lesser-known black-board works, as well as the

monumental canvases he isbest known for.

Per Kirkeby is a householdname in his native Denmark,and remains one of its bestknown contemporary artists.His lush, huge paintings, full ofcolour and movement, drawyou into mystical surroundingsand an abstract world.

The event, which takesplace between 9.00-10.00 am,is free and if you are interestedyou will need to book before 10June; the maximum number ofguests is 20. The exhibition isopen from 17 June until 6 Sep-tember 2009.

Website: www.tate.org.uk andwww.thedanishclub.com.uk.

To make a reservation, email:[email protected]

Scan Magazine | Music

What's new in the Nordic region of themusical world? Let Scandipop tell you!

Guess which legendary song-writing duohave come out of retirement to pen an-other collaboration…Björn Ulvaeus &Benny Andersson of ABBA! They've writ-ten a song called Second Best To None,made a video for it, and released it as adownload: all as a promotional campaignfor Benny's boutique hotel in Stockholm,Rival. The song is sung by the hotel staff,and the video sees each of them trillcheerfully to the camera. It's a thoroughly

charming piece of work that sounds like itcould have been lifted from one of ABBA'searlier albums. You can find the video onYoutube by searching under 'Rival Hotel'.Here's hoping that it will be the first ofmany new pop gems to be written by theduo in the near future!

The Girl & The Killer Track

The reigning queen of scandipop in theUK, Robyn, is making a return to theseshores in mid-June. Her mind-blowingcollaboration with Royksopp, The Girl &The Robot is released on 15 June. Thestunning work of electronic wizardryhears a demented sounding Robyn berat-ing her boyfriend for leaving her at homealone and comparing him and his affec-tions to that of a robot. It's a rarity in adance track where the lyrics are just aspowerful as the melody and backing track.

Sweden comes to London via Chicago

Swedish pop gent Mans Zelmerlow is

heading to London's West End at the endof the year to take on the role of Billy Flynnin the musical Chicago. Favourite with 'theladies', Mans first found fame in Swedena few years ago on the Idol televisionshow. He didn't win, but has since gone onto release two well-received albums overthere. His latest album MZW was releasedthe month before last and is well worthchecking out.

September in July

Finally, September has announced thatshe'll be releasing her first UK album atthe end of July. After having a mammothhit over here last year with Cry For You, andanother smash earlier this year with Can'tGet Over, we'll be getting an album of newsongs, as well as some of the best trackscherry picked from the three albums thatshe's already released in Scandinavia.

www.scandipop.co.ukEmail: [email protected]

Scandinavian Music By Karl Batterbee

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64 | Issue 9 | June 2009

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Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

JUNE/JULY

Equinox festival featuring Arktau Eos (12 June)The Equinox Festival provides a cross cul-tural platform for the exhibition of cre-ative and innovative approaches to spiri-tual discovery. The festival presents,produces and commissions art and mediafocused on theoretical and practical ap-proaches to new forms of spiritual self-expression.

Finland's Arktau Eos utilize electro-acoustic musical instrumentation andother media; the vision woven together isunsettling and ultimately beautiful. Conway Hall and Camden Centre, London. www.EquinoxFestival.org

Scandipop (18 June)Live DJs play Scandinavian pop music to adance floor of friendly revellers on the 3rdThursday of every month. Lots of pop,dance, and schlager, with cheap alcoholflowing all night! Dance to music youwon't have heard anywhere else in theUK! Zen Bar, Denmark St, WC2H 8LP 8.30pm-3am. £3 entry or free for students.www.scandipop.co.uk

BP Portrait Award Exhibition 2009 (18 June – 20 September)The Portrait Award, now in its thirtiethyear at the National Portrait Gallery, isthe most prestigious portrait competitionin the world, highlighting the very best incontemporary portrait painting. London-

based Norwegian artist Natalie Hollandhas been picked to showcase her paint-

Scandinavian Culture Calendar– Where to go, what to see? It’s all happening here!

‘Agnes’ by Natalie Holland. Photo: Natalie Holland

Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

ings that tackle controversial issues suchas self-mutilation, religious extremismand plastic surgery.

Traditional Swedish Midsummer Cele-bration (20 June)Midsummer Celebrations in SouthwarkPark. Meet in the park near the Seamen’sChurch to dress the midsummer pole anddance. Celebrations starts at 3.00 pm andare expected to end 6.00pm.www.swedishchurch.org.uk

Ingmar Bergman Film Season (21 June – 12 July)Enjoy a series of films by Sweden’s great-est director, including The Magic Flute,Bergman´s historic production ofMozart’s masterpiece. Barbican CinemasBarbican Centre Silk Street London EC2Y8DS For bookings please visitwww.colf.org/book-now.cfm

Traditional Finnish Midsummer celebra-tions (22 June)Tasty midsummer food and drinks andlive music by the Finnish band Midsum-mer Magic. Men's midsummer saunafrom 15.00 - 16.30 and women 16.30-18.00. Celebrations will start at 18.00.33 Albion Street, SE16 7HZwww.finnishchurch.org.uk

Midsummer Party at the Danish YWCA(23 June)The Danish YWCA will be hosting their an-nual Midsummer party. As per tradition

their original Danish hotdog stand will beopen and there will also be a large saladbuffet. The event will be held in their spa-cious garden where a large bonfire will belit at approx. 10pm to the tones of theDanish “Midsommervise” and the tradi-tional bonfire speech. Although thespeech and song will be in Danish all na-tionalities are of course welcome. Theprice for the evening is £6 per person.The evening starts at 8pm. Beverages canbe purchased but not brought along.For bookings please visitwww.kfuk.co.uk.

Jan Garbarek at St Paul’s Cathedral (23 June)Renowned Norwegian saxophonist JanGarbarek once again joins forces with oneof the world’s finest vocal groups, the all-male British quartet the Hilliard Ensem-ble, for a concert in St Paul’s Cathedral aspart of the City of London Festival. StPaul’s Cathedral, Ludgate Hill, LondonEC4. Book online at www.colf.org

Conductor Susanna Mälkki (25 June)Susanna Mälkki conducts the MahlerChamber Orchestra with Pierre-LaurentArmand on violin.The Programme: Haydn:Symphony no.60 'Il Distratto'; Symphonyno.101 'The Clock'. Ligeti: Ramifications;Birtwistle: Slow Frieze for Piano and En-semble.Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape, Suf-folk IP17 Telephone no: 01728 687 110

Presidential Jazz (30 June)A groovy Swedish/Czech jazz-evening witha spectacular view over the river Thames.The evening will celebrate the end of the

Czech EU Presidency and the beginning ofthe Swedish one. For bookings please visit www.colf.org/book-now.cfm

Gala Opening and Concert (1 July)The grand official London opening of theSwedish EU Presidency at the historicGuildhall in London. Enjoy a world-classmusical experience with the NordicChamber Orchestra featuring renownedtrombonist and conductor Christian Lind-berg. For bookings please visitwww.colf.org/book-now.cfm

Sweden on Stage (4 July)A unique Family Fun Day with an environ-mental theme on Hampstead Heath.Sample some of the best on offer fromSweden including The Benny AnderssonBand. Try some Swedish ecological foodand take part in a variety of innovative ac-tivities for all ages.

The Danish Club presents: A programmeof events for June/JulyOut of hour viewing of Artist Per Kirkeby’swork at Tate Modern, 19 June, free entrybook early.Charles Dickens, A talk and Q&A withRobert Slater, Monday 8 June, free entrybut book early.Father’s Day Club open for Roast BeefLunch and Danish Buffet, 21 June, tradi-tional fare, children welcome. Jazz Evening, Swing Time with AngusMurray, 17 June, Jazz in the restaurant! Stambord DABGO -Danes Abroad Busi-ness Group Online, online meeting, 1 Julyand first Wed of every month thereafter,join a great network of Danes worldwide.Venue: The Danish Club 40 Dover streetLondon W1S 4NP Contact: Lizette Bang, [email protected], 07545 11 9339 Website: www.danishclub.co.uk

Angus Murray. Photo: www.jazzswing.co.uk

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Scan Magazine | Issue 9 | June 2009

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