Ulla Bjerne

The author Ulla Bjerne was an eccentric in her own right, less extravagantly so than Luisa Casati Stampa (below), however visually striking and controversial as she would favour men's clothing, smoke a pipe and look like a garçonne a decade before the style was popularized in the 20's.

She wrote some 30 books between 1916 and 1958, all of them dealing with the same theme: a woman's (or a man's) right to choose her (or his) own way of living. There is a constant stream of gender playfulness and provocation in her texts

Above is her portrait painted by Swedish artist Isaac Grünewald 1916. This painting was the first modernist acquisition by the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and caused an uproar among conservative art lovers. (The painting is now part of the Moderna museet collection.)

Luisa Casati Stampa

A portrait by Man Ray of La Marchesa Luisa Casati Stampa, taken at the Hotel Ritz in Paris and said to be one of the most important surrealist images.

La Marchesa rented Munthe's Villa San Michele between 1912 and 1927, much to his annoyance and wonder it seems.

Sometimes referred to as the only female futurist - even though the futurists were overtly antifeminist - the Duchess was perfectly eccentric, walking pet leopards and monkeys at dinner parties all over Europe, possibly once sporting a tiny snake as a necklace.

I love the idea that her paths may have been crossed by my grandmother's cousin Ulla Bjerne (1890–1969) at the Capri town square around 1920.

Here is my kind of poetry.

Friday Oct 9

Stockholm - Copenhagen: 10.21 am – 3.31 pm

Copenhagen - Munich: 6.53 pm – 8.57 am

Saturday Oct 10

Munich - Bologna: 9.31 am – 4.11 pm

Bologna - Naples: 4.25 pm – 8.46 pm

Sunday Oct 11

Naples - Capri: around noon. I think.

What is this thing called blog?

Blog is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment.

Also, it demands quite a lot of editing.

The Fuhre Design office in Gothenburg

has now closed.

Fuhre Design is setting up office in Gothenburg.

If you walk past the food market on Kungstorget in Gothenburg today, which I expect a good number of my English speaking friends will, be sure to take a look at the big Hotel Avalon window opposite the yellow brick building ((the Saluhall). Inside, in a comfortable jean blue armchair, I have found a perfect space for the Gothenburg branch of Fuhre Design.

Today I'm wearing my dreamy look, sipping Thé vert à la menthe Nanah, watching people minding their Saturday shopping business. (Oh, The Marching Show Band of Göteborg just waddled by.)

I was born to stay at hotels. My father, grandfater and grand grandfather all ran stadshotell along the Norrland coast.

For sure I will miss the waterfall shower and the Kusmi tea bags of this place. I won't miss the ambient music or the over designed decoration. (Isn't good old muzak grossly underrated these days?)

I never would have guessed this was in Gothenburg. Very handsome building, on Avenyn at that.