Sofie Ödmann

Välkomna på besök!

2011-11-29T02:42:00.001-08:00

I övermorgon torsdag har vi vårt traditionella Öppet hus i affären. Kom gärna förbi, det brukar vara trevligt och mycket folk. Och mängder av intressanta och vackra föremål-kanske något för önskelistan..

If any of you from abroad would happen to be in town on Thursday evening; do drop by for a drink!
Welcome!

New in the shop

2011-11-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

This super charming table is one of our latest additions. And it´s so small it will fit in anywhere, really.
The table is a gustavian corner piece from ca 1780 and it has a marble imitation top that may be original and white and gold paint that is early 20th century. I´ve actually refrained from scraping it as I think it´s great as it is. And you never know how it will end up otherwise...
If you have any questions about the other items, in the photo, just let me know.
Soon I will show you a baroque wall cabinet with old grey paint and a rarity indeed- a late 18th century chest of drawers in original paint. And not red but bluish grey, one never sees that anymore!!Right now I´m deciding if I want to keep it for myself or sell it. As I haven´t seen one in years it´s not an easy decision!

Here is a peak at the baroque cabinet:

To be continued..

It´s been a long lovely summer..

2011-09-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

..without any new posts but we have had a lot of press during this time of recuperation.

You may have seen us in Sköna Hem where our stool was on the cover (yes I know- not very significant in that shot, no..). It was a lovely story from Gotland, where I actually spent these last two months, and the Villa Muramaris, well worthy of your visit, I can tell you!

Here´s the whole image

http://w ww.muramaris.se/

http://www.skonahem.com/inspirerande-hem/hemreportage/antikt-pa-muramaris-1/

Gods och Gårdar (which, sadly, doesn´t have a website yet so I can´t show you all the photos) borrowed a lot of stuff from us for stories in two consecutive issues. The first one was styled by Inger Wachtmeister and I think it was shot by Anna Kern. To the right is a fantastic rococo desk and to the left one of a pair of ladies working tables.

The other issue is styled by Cathrine Lindberg and shot by Martin Cederblad.

Here is a portrait of one of the lovliest pieces we have ever had. And yes, it is sold.

And yes, I am sad.

It´s one of those "If this was a person, we would be friends" pieces.

Next time I will show you my favorite pieces from the Quality Auctions last spring.

Until then,

Enjoy!

Welcome!

2011-06-13T01:12:00.000-07:00

This is what it looks like after we fixed uo the shop a little.
We spent a long time getting that pale warm blue color and were surprised to see how well it worked with almost everything!

And being crazy about color we laughed about how even the antique chips took up the colors of the cushion next to it...

I love these dark bronzes against the cream white of the mock tile-oven cabinet. It´s Napoleon and his son the King of Naples.

This is a rather large gustavian mirror with a very beautiful glass, the arms are later, really simple for this elegant mirror but they bring charm and history to it.

My favorite Strömbäck urn and a rare Marieberg ceramic.

And just look at this beauty! Talk about color! Its all original paint of such a rare shade. One of the most beautiful chest of drawers we have ever had. Or that I have ever seen!
And the chairs next to it are also original and look almost grey in comparison but they actually have a greenish shade to that grey. Exquisite condition with great foot endings, the part that is almost always worn down on rococo chairs which strongly changes their apperance.

It was difficult to photograph this outstanding drop leaf in the shop which is so crowded at the moment. It has legs of a slightly darker, almost turqoise shade and the top is pale blue with paint all over and in absolutely fantastic condition. I will do a post about it later because it has some very special details as well......
The plate is a rare one from Marieberg.

This single rococo arm chair is of that unusual cream yellow. It has everything one might want from a chair of this type and the patina is to die for. A truly wonderful piece. And it´s not mine,!
It´s my business partner Mats Freidenfelt´s! We now share the shop and he has brought some fantastic items, the mock tile cabinet is his as well.

I have a soft spot for botanicals.
This is part of a large collection by a woman who spent 60 years of her life collecting plants and flowers not only in Sweden but in Greece, Germany, Spain and other Euopean countries.
Common for all of them are the meticulous presentation and attention to detail.
And she also used acid-free paper so the condition of them are excellent.

A set of rococo saltines from London.
Don´t you think that the contrast of silver on such a rustic table top is just the thing?

It´s not easy getting colors right with my camera- just look at the difference of the shade of that wall in these two photos.
But I assure you that is is truly wonderful. As is the clock of the best Stockholm quality.
And the chest of drawers as well, although it actually isn´t from Stockholm which is why it is not allowed for export, being a rare example of gustavian provincial carpetry of great quality.
And isn´t the rococo lady a great personality whe way she firmly holds that blue umbrella.
And the frame is the original one too.

I collect these bonnets. They are so sculptural and I am also a sucker for antique emboidery.
And again- that shade of pale green silk...

A single lovely rococo chair of Stockholm quality.
Original paint of course!

As I said before- so well presented!

This is the back of a small mirror you have seen on the blog before. I just love that décor.

My set of four Wedgewood plates an one of two demi lunes with original marble-imitaion tops.
In the background is a delicious silk embroidery.

An elegant gustavian clock, unfortunately without the actuall clock inside. I am looking for one but it´s not easy to find one as it must fit with the holes on the face of it.

We are not going all vintage here but we couldn´t resist this color again and the military fur is actually "original color" and makes me wonder what kind of soldier was allowed that shade which wouldn´t have been created to blend in- quite the opposite!

This dress is hand embroidered and from the early 20th century. A dream!

Our little wood bird looking out..

These troughs are from the Kinnekulle area in Sweden and hand carved in sand stone. They were originally meant to hold food for animals and were made in the second half of the 19th century.

A favorite of mine- a baroque box with exquisitely printed leather and original metalwork.

This is also Mats- a wonderful tray table with original paint except on the top which is retouched.
It had just the right rococo curves, not too much and not too little.

A decorative set of empire coffee cups from France.

And a tole tea-urn which you can read more about in an older post. Love it!

Well this was one massive post, I hope you have enjoyed it!

If this was a person we would be friends too..

2011-05-20T01:23:00.001-07:00

We have spent the last weeks painting and getting the shop ready for a new start and it has never been so beautiful!
So here´s a sneak peak, more photos coming soon..
And this cabinet is also a start on a series on my theme "If this was a person , we would be friends". Antiques to me are so much more than just things.
Some of you might remember the first post about that.

I´ll be back soon with more!

New treasures in the shop

2011-03-20T12:58:00.001-07:00

I have a weakness fore tole objects. This is a lovely samovar with a strong chinese influence in shape and form, just look at the legs and that pagoda-shaped tap!
It´s not so common to find one with all parts remaining and it is also a nice stately size- around 45 cm high.

Once I hesitated just a bit too long and missed out on a pair of 18th century shoes and there and then I promised myself that this would never happen again. So I instantly grabbed these exclusive embroidered empire shoes when I found them although they were more expensive than most of my own...

Another of my favorite areas are boxes and objects covered in red leather, so called maroquin named after the origin of the fine quality leather, namely Marocko.
This is a lady´s sewing box from the beginning of the 19th century. In the lid you can see a print on silk with an exotic motive. During this time travel literature was becoming very popular and with this came all kinds of prints from exotic places. Although I have never seen this motive in a sewing box before. Look also at the little needle book made with so much care.

This is an urn made at Höganäs pottery works in Sweden. I have had one unglazed object from them before but they are not so common.
This one uses Thorvaldsen´s motive "Night" and "Day" on each side. There is some small damage to the handles but I just found it soo charming!

Day..

I also found a set of four Wedgewood plates with the acorn pattern that I love.

and four small jugs in the green ceramic from Skåne which is another passion of mine; I buy all I can find!

Finally a tole tray with a lot of patina. I am always on the lookout for red objects as they work so well with the pale colored furniture I have.

Fresh and French

2011-03-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Just a seductive shot of some French tulips, my favorite kind, in front of a recent purchase; a fantastically faded beauty which I guess is French.
And, yes, my post about the fair IS coming soon, I just have some problems with my photo archive...

The 2011 Antique Fair in Stockholm

2011-02-17T00:10:00.000-08:00

This years Antique Fair is the première for my collaboration with Mats Freidenfelt and his beautiful antiques. We are now sharing both the shop and our stall at the fair.
We were asked to participate in a newscast on TV4 sending live from the fair yesterday morning. The theme was "Provenance" so we decided to talk about my cabinets with provenance from Forsby Herrgård.
As I participated in a similar newscast 2 years ago we thought it was time for Mats to go through same ordeal...

Take a look

At the time of the shoot we were far from ready with loads of work to do. We finally finished about 15 minutes before the opening. I will hopefully have time to take some photos today and post them asap.
Until then, enjoy Mats' performance!

Breathtakingly beautiful embroidery

2011-02-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

We recently did a photo shoot in the shop for Gods och Gårdar and here are some fantastic pieces, beautifully photographed by Anna Kern and styling by Cathrine Lindberg with me as assistant.
Most of the purses are from a museum, Kungliga Myntkabinettet, and some of the other pieces are from me or from Willborgs here in Stockholm.
As I am very pressed for time right now, we are perpairing for The Antique Fair here in Stockholm (we move in tomorrow) I will let you read all the information about the photos in the last issue of Gods och Gårdar.

I seriously advise you to see this!

2010-12-03T04:14:00.000-08:00

Lars Sjöberg, who most of you probably know about, is on TV tonight!
It´s a documentary made by IngaLill Snitt; the photographer who has collaborated with Lars on so many projects, most recently the book " Nio hus och en kyrka", see below, and it is also the basis for the film. The book is available in English.
Thank God for passionate people!

Photo by IngaLill Snitt

The book is absolutely wonderful and it manages to capture the essence of this passion for old buildings and antiques that is not about value or stylish interiors but a deeply felt interest in history and origin.

Photo by IngaLill Snitt

Photo by IngaLill Snitt

Don´t miss it! Neither the book or the program!

Here is the link to SVT:
http://svt.se/2.123486/1.2240670/en_kompass_mot_skonhet?lid=puff_2249238&lpos=lasMer

Also if you haven´t read my post named "If this was a person, we would be friends", please do to get my take on this passion for antiques.

http://sofieodmann.blogspot.com/2010/03/if-this-was-person-we-would-be-friends.html

I have started collecting...

2010-10-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

Over the years we have had some fantastic single rococo chairs, all slightly different and in different shades of that beautiful rococo yellow color.
And it dawned on me that if i had kept them for myself I would have had an amazing set by now!
So it´s time for me to start my own collection and these two are my first.
The pale one is by rare Stockholm chairmaker Carl Sandberg, and it´s actually a transition model with some baroque elements in the design. The other one is darker with a very rich yellow almost orange tone and it´s also from Stockholm but I haven´t figured out by whom yet.

A glimpse at the shop in October..

2010-10-14T01:06:00.000-07:00

This is what´s on display in my window at the moment: A composition with some of my personal favorites!
On the left is a fantastic handpainted wallpaper with a fantasy landscape inspired by China and Turkey. The bench is very beautiful with great carvings and bluish grey original paint. On top of it are two Marieberg faiances; a basket shaped bowl (not allowed for export) and a magnificent large plate. Then comes a ladies mirror with original paint and underneath are my favorite pair of 18th century slippers and a handpainted tole tray with a motive from the Bay of Naples.
To the right is an armchair with carvings like nothing I have ever seen before, also in original paint, of course and on the seat are a pair of exquisite parisian coffee cups and to the far right a gorgeous Gustavian canopy (I think it´s called?)

This little mirror you have seen before but it is so photogenic that I use it all the time in different still lifes! It´s from the home of a collector and probably from the Swedish island Gotland. The condition is all original and just the way I like it. And reflected in the glass you can see one of a pair of rococo pewter candle sticks and the background are one of three wall panels saved from a rococo house torn down in the 70´s.

The shop is really small which makes it very difficult to photograph as the shots tend to look very messy, but this will have to do...
Under a late empire chandelier is one of a set of four Gustavian chairs in fantastic condition. On the also Gustavian drop leaf table are some Wedgewood plates, a Rörstrand urn, some very nice pewter candle sticks, 18th century glass and a spiral carafe.

My favorite late baroque table, also from the home of a collector. Just look at the painting in gold on that leg! The box is also great, dated 1820 and from Västergötland.

This dear little painting is probably Dutch and depicts ladies (!) and gentlemen at leisure fishing.
On the chair is a lime stone box meant for butter.

Thanks for stopping by!
Next time I will show you a great drop leaf table, large and with the best original paint...

Help us win the Book Of The Year Award!

2010-09-03T01:39:00.000-07:00

The book about antique dealers in Sweden has been nominated for the Book Of The Year Award and we who have been involved in the project are very proud. ( see my previous posting here )
And rightly so as the book is great and really fills a void on the market.
It´s also an important book as we antique dealers, often small family businesses, struggle against the powerful PR campaigns of the auction houses and Tv shows.

And there is not much time! Apparently the voting was supposed to end on the 30th of August but has been extended somewhat.
So please vote for the book Swedish Antique Dealers!
Thanks!

Here´s the link Now the page is in Swedish and the voting process is very thorough: Just go to the book and tick the box "rösta här", then go to the bottom of the page to enter your email adress and then you will receive an email that you need to respond to in order to verify your vote.
A little complicated but probably for a good reason so don´t let that stop you!

I´m back and the shop is open again!

2010-09-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hello!
I know it´s been a long time but finally I´m back in town and in the shop.
And on the blog!
Summer has been just the best and all my intentions of blogging just floated off on a wave.
It´s great to be back in business again though and I have a lot of new fantastic aquisitions that I will show successively.

And this weekend is going to be so exciting as we are having a celebrity visit to the shop!

I´ve been away shopping...

2010-05-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

..and, truly, I can see how it all would look wonderful in my summerhouse on Gotland. But no way Sofie! Being a dealer is a lot about finding stuff but also about letting go... So (I´m sorry to say though I shouldn´t be) all the items are for sale. Well, except the green bottle that is already sold.
In my summerhouse I have sort of a green theme and this french wooden basket would be a great addition. If I kept it I would use it for firewood or even better- for lots of blankets to bring out for the long after dinner sittings we often have on chilly Swedish summer evenings..
I have also seen one like it filled with orchids in the middle of a table. See it here or from another angle.
In the background you can see a part of an amazing wall panel that was once part of a rococo house in Västervik. Sadly the house was torn down in the seventies but fortunately the panel was rescued by a collector and when his estate was sold I was fortunate enough to buy it. It´s one of my most treasured pieces.

On this shopping trip I was looking for simple yet special items and this black stool thing that is more a podium or shelf caught my eye immediately! It´s not more than 15 cm high and has the most lovely patina. You will see it in some of the following photos as it works so well with the other things I bought.
In this shot is also a french apothecary´s bottle with hand painted text in white and red reading " chloramine" and a black wooden cabaret-style bowl with small compartments that is unlike anything I´ve ever seen.
Here´s my demi lune with original paint and on top is a wonderfully carved fragment from a sofa. I´m thinking north of Sweden. The center fan-like shape is in original paint and the surrounding white areas are later with the original color underneath.
If it was mine (which it is but you know what I mean) I would use it over a door or straight on a wall as an object in itself.

Here´s my podium again. This time together with a couple of vellum books from the 16th century resting on it´s faded top and a black tin cylinder that I wanted to buy in february but resisted and now finally gave in to " why not? love it-buy it!"

When it comes to glass I really love it when it is tainted due to the composition of the material and my favorite shade is magenta. So I put together wine glasses, a gorgeous cloche and an 18th century plate: all with shades of magenta.
The plate is a faiance made probably by Marieberg with a pattern called "flower of hops"
Here´s the cloche. Not so easy to see the shade. But it´s there and it´s great. Promise.

I am feeling really grumpy..

2010-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

..as Spring can´t seem to get a hold here in Stockholm.
This weekend I´m going to our summerhouse on Gotland (more about that on another occasion)
and the prognosis is very bad. 25 mm of rain. In one day.

So this is what I dream about now!

Photos from ngoc minh ngo,, another site that I´ve forgotten-sorry! Mäster Henriks and Mikkel Vang

Enchanting cream ware..

2010-05-08T06:08:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a set of six utterly charming custard cups that I just had to show you! (even though the sold immediately)
I haven´t even had time to do any research on them.
They don´t have any marking on them so I ask you for help! Has any of you seen this model before? Or anything like it?

In my dreams...

2010-05-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

this is my secret garden.. But it´s not, is it! It belongs to Michael Trapp who is an antique dealer and interior designer with a fantastic talent for creating environments that really rocks my boat.

To me these images convey a serenity and feeling of having been invited into a fairytale.

So Sofie, time to wake up!

On display this week

2010-04-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

At this time of year when the daylight lasts well into the evening it´s difficult to get a good shot of the window in the shop...

We have a new fantastic demi lune with a original paint in a beautiful greenish grey shade. These are not easy to find these days when most demi lunes have been heavily patinated...
And on top is a very charming box from Västergötland with decorations of a wreath and a very unusual provincial version of the Swedish Shield, two different sets of 19th century glasses and a carafe of turbine model.
Under the table are a group of botanicals where the flowers are not taped to the paper which usually is the case but carefully stiched in place!

At the other end in front of a pale blue baroque door is a gorgeous armchair in white original paint with the most fantastic carvings. I have never seen anything similar to this. A personal favorite indeed! Placed on the seat are two silver saltines from the rococo period. They are dated 1750 and 1752 and are made in London. So graceful.
This month we are also featured in Gods och Gårdar so I placed the magazine in the chair as well, the photos in the article are beautiful. Unfortunately it´s not possible to link to the magazine, they really need to update their website...

And from China to Japan...

2010-04-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

to see some amazing photos of cherry trees in bloom!

The photos are by Narumi who has a very inspiring blog that really makes me want to go to Japan.
I found Narumi´s blog via great blogger Pia Jane Bijkerk.

Chinoiserie...

2010-04-20T00:06:00.000-07:00

..is something I really have a weak spot for.
These two ladies easily found there way into my home where they hang on opposite walls always looking at me in a slightly puzzling way..

Water

2010-04-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

I have a very deep love of the sea. If I´m too far from it for long it hurts. Once I lived in Germany for a year, in Düsseldorf by the Rhine, and it was like the river was making fun of me. Because it was just flowing by on its way to the sea.
I´ve been away for a while nurturing my soul on this beach. It was great. I want more.

Now let me introduce you to Hiroshi Sugimoto. In my opinion he is one of the most interesting contemporary artist around. This is his text about his project Seascapes:

"Water and air. So very commonplace are these substances, they hardly attract attention—and yet they vouchsafe our very existence.The beginnings of life are shrouded in myth: Let there water and air. Living phenomena spontaneously generated from water and air in the presence of light, though that could just as easily suggest random coincidence as a Deity. Let's just say that there happened to be a planet with water and air in our solar system, and moreover at precisely the right distance from the sun for the temperatures required to coax forth life. While hardly inconceivable that at least one such planet should exist in the vast reaches of universe, we search in vain for another similar example.

Mystery of mysteries, water and air are right there before us in the sea. Every time I view the sea, I feel a calming sense of security, as if visiting my ancestral home; I embark on a voyage of seeing."

-Hiroshi Sugimoto

From Hiroshi Sugimoto´s series Seascapes

2010-04-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

From Hiroshi Sugimoto´s series Seascapes

The Swedish model..

2010-03-26T00:51:00.000-07:00

is the name of the armchair, well not the chair itself but the design with the typical back and carvings of a rose. a shield or as in this case a flower at the top.
This armchair is new in the shop. It has been restored and now reveals its layer of lovely bluish grey original paint. And I love this early gustavian design with the rococo armrests!

This is also new. It´s a beautiful bench from the western part of southern Sweden.
It looks really cool with it´s square powerful lines and rough surface. A personal favorite!
As all my items are really as I only buy what I like myself. The trauma of being an antique dealer...

Antik och Auktion.. just det ja!

2010-03-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

Jag hade faktiskt glömt att Antik och Auktion var på besök i butiken, det måste vara ett år sen!
Men när telefonen började ringa och folk frågade om reportage kom jag ihåg..
Charlotte Breimer Törnqvist, fotografen Milis Smith och jag stökade runt i den trånga butiken under några roliga timmar och resultatet blev ett gäng härliga bilder!
Här ovan är några av bilderna från tidningen.

The Swedish magazine Antik och Auktion did a photo shoot in the shop over a year ago. And now it´s out! I had completely forgotten about it..
Here are some of the images featured in the article.

Tack för igår!

2010-03-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Till mina kära vänner som, utan att tala med varandra innan, valde varsin av mina favoritblommor. Och gav till mig! Ranunklar i en härlig purpurton, det fantastiska rutiga underverket kungsängslilja och ståtliga franska tulpaner tillsammans med en ljuvligt vårlik kvist. Tack ni söta med stora själar!

Our March window

2010-03-15T03:08:00.001-07:00

This is what we have on display at the moment. Beautiful isn´t it?

Little humor, Many happiness

2010-03-09T03:21:00.000-08:00

One of the things that is important to me in life is actually not a thing but a state of mind and that is CURIOSITY. Which is what these little grassy-green alternative post-its inspire to!
What new, fantastic knowledge is marked by that little sprout?

I found them on the great blog automatism and the company called Yuruliku also has its own website which you must check out! here

A secret garden

2010-03-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

With spring ever so far away in a Stockholm covered in ice and snow this is where I would like to be..

photos from Elle Décor

IF THIS WAS A PERSON WE WOULD BE FRIENDS

2010-03-07T03:40:00.000-08:00

"What is beauty?
When we call a chair or a house beautiful, really what we are saying is that we like the way of life it´s suggesting to us. It has an attitude we´re attracted to: if it was magically turned into a person, we´d like who it was."

From Alain de Botton´s "The architecture of happiness"

Cabinet from Lief

Welcome to the Fair!

2010-02-18T00:54:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to show some photos from my stand at the fair.
But it is also a very busy time so I will let the photos speak for themselves for now.
Enjoy!

Welcome to the Fair 2!

2010-02-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

The book about Swedish Antique Dealers

2010-02-13T02:04:00.000-08:00

This is the press release from the publisher, only available in Swedish at the moment I´m afraid.But the book is in both English and Swedish.
You can order it by sending me an email, see details and price (which is way lower than the recommended so don´t hesitate..) to the right.
I know the text is in very small size but just click on it and on the images as well to get a better look.

Rococo chair

2010-02-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here is one of the six rococo chairs I will be showing at the fair. A beautiful model and personal favorite.
Tomorrow I´ll show you an armchair of the s.k "Swedish model".

Until then; enjoy!

Meet Birdie

2010-02-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

Right now life is very hectic as I´m preparing for the largest and most important fair of the year:Stockholm International Antiques Fair.
I´m bringing some very special pieces; a PAIR of cabinets from a Swedish manor house, six rococo chairs, an amazing wall panel and much more, I will post a new blog as soon as I can get some decent photos.
But, as always, time is getting very short and today was not a very good day!

Until I found this.

It´s a faience made for serving butter from and I´ve always wanted one. And now I have this!
It´s a wonderful piece with lots of personality which is difficult to capture in a photo, you really have to see it.
Now comes the ever thrilling search for information, history and origin which is such an interesting, fun and important part of collecting antiques.

Here´s a photo of the bottom part. If any of you can tell me anything about it please send an email or post a comment.

Photo session for the book

2010-02-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas we shot these photos for the book "Svenska Antikhandlare/Swedish Antique Dealers" that is coming out next week.
My idea was to do uncluttered straight forward photos in an environment that had a contemporary feel to it rather than do it in the shop. So much more fun but also SO much more work! Weeks of preparations and then just a few hours of daylight to do the shoot.
But if was worth it, I think.

Thank you, Magnus, thank you Dad (who is 78 and by bad planning had to do a lot of the carrying by himself, Sorry!) and thanks to photographer Per Myrehed.

I will do a new post shortly with the pressrelease and you will also be able to by the book here on the blog.

New acquisitions 1

2010-02-06T07:32:00.000-08:00

This lovely gustavian stool is one of my recent acquisitions. It´s round, unusually large and has been restored to it´s original grey-blue paint. Because of it´s proportions and that it retains most of it´s foot endings it looks extremely light and graceful.

The stool is standing on a rococo desk which is on the website and in the background is a fantastic baroque door. I would really have liked to see the cupboard that it once was part of. But, using ones imagination is part of what antiques are about, I think

One of my intentions with this blog is to be able to present new items quicker than on the website ( We actually take our photos for the website in the shop and thus have to remake it into a studio. Those of you who have visited us will understand the difficulty involved in such an undertaking!)

THE ARCHITECTURE OF HAPPINESS; ANALYZE THIS!

2010-02-02T01:20:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting book by Alain de Botton. Questions like these made me curious and excited about what was to come:

"Will minimalism make us happier than ornaments?"

"Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures?"

For those of us who spend a lot of our time around objects, design and interior architecture a study in aesthetics could be a read well worth while.
Alain de Botton makes you look at architecture and objects from a psychological point of view and has a quote from Stendahl to help him:

"There are as many styles of beauty as there are visions of happiness."

That is very true and having read the book I look at rooms and houses I find ugly in a completely different way- what strange inner need made somebody make them? What kind of happiness did they feel? Analyze that!
These few lines make me happy by the way they point out how basic and uncomplicated we can be if analyzed:

"We depend on our surroundings obliquely to embody the moods and ideas we respect and then to remind us of them. We look to our buildings to hold us, like a kind of psychological mould to a helpful vision of ourselves. We arrange around us material forms which communicate to us what we need-but are at a constant risk of forgetting we need-within.
We turn to wallpaper, benches, paintings and streets to staunch the disappearance of our true selves."

And this:

"The fear of forgetting anything precious can trigger in us the wish to raise a structure, like a paperweight to hold down our memories. We might even follow the example of the Countess of Mount Edgcumbe, who in the late eighteenth century had a thirty-foot-high Neoclassical obelisk erected on the outskirts of Plymouth, in memory of an unusually sensitive pig called Cupid, whom she did not hesitate to call a true friend."

Enjoy!

A visit to the shop

2010-02-01T00:36:00.000-08:00

Today I decided it was time for some photos from the shop.
As we don´t have this kind of images on the website a lot of you don´t know what it looks like.
Most of the items can be found on our site but some are new; the bedpan cabinet in the window for example. The screen we recently restored to it´s former glory. It´s my personal favourite at the moment.

Fantastic colour!

2010-01-27T23:36:00.000-08:00

I was in London recently and one of the things I really wanted to see were The Devonshire Hunting Tapestries in the textile collection of the V&A.

And they were truly stunning! The colour, the composition, yes everything. It´s not often I feel I like to own something but these tapestries I would like to live with and see everyday. Fantastic!

Do read the info on the V&A site if you have time, it´s really interesting.

And as the photos on their site weren´t so good I found these here.

Gudrun Ödmann Antikhandel in Italian

2010-01-27T12:17:00.000-08:00

We were asked by the Italian magazine ANTIQUARIATO if we could help them with photos of high quality gustavian furniture for an article they were doing.
So we picked out a handful of pieces in great condition with original paint; things we were really proud of!
Here are a few of them and they will be featured in the February issue.
All of these are now sold but I can´t help asking myself over and over again why on earth I sold that lovely light blue table with inlays. Why? Stupid me but lucky Magnus! Check out his blog and see some enviable items!

All photos on this post by the fantastic photographer and my brother Johan Ödmann

WELCOME!

2010-01-27T02:35:00.001-08:00

Hej and welcome to my blog!
My name is Sofie, as you can see. I have an antique shop in Stockholm; Gudrun Ödmann Antikhandel. My mother Gudrun opened the shop over twenty years ago and filled it with the very best 18th century baroque, rococo and gustavian furniture she could find. That is; if they were in original condition, unique and had enough charisma to knock you off your feet!
Three years ago I took over the running of the company and have continued in the same tradition but, being an artist I have added a dose of drama to our selection.
My mother now resides in the Gustavian part of Antiques Heaven where everything is in original paint and nothing is fake!
I write in English because we have so many foreign visitors on our website and all you Swedes are so good at English anyway.

I intend to write about my adventures in the world of antiques and also of contemporay art and design and about anything else that catches my fancy actually!