Mother Nature's Dramatic Nature

We all knew it would rain when I took this picture of the sky above Hamra Krog last Thursday. What should have been a very busy night for all of us ended with hundreds of people hurrying home to escape the rain, thirty thousand lightning strikes flashing through the sky and the whole of Gotland without electricity. 

Not your average thursday night! 

Live Music

 One of the things Hamra Krog is famous for is their impressive list of live performances you can come enjoy all through the summer, 

but even in Ainas Ateljé you might get some live music ...

not tonight though - tonight I close early & will be part of the waiting staff in the restaurant.

The organic tea that makes everyday life more beautiful :)

It felt a lot like Christmas yesterday when my Løv tea finally made it to Hamra Krog!

I got to open and unpack 13 boxes filled with the prettiest tea tins in the world and showed them around to everyone who wanted to see (guess how happy that made me? :D).

Today I spent a large part of the day putting up shelves (made from an old pallet that was the exact size I needed the shelves to be!) to display those glorious tins and now my shop smells like a proper teashop - a delightful mixture of chocolate & vanilla, red fruits, mint, rooibos, earl grey, ginger & lemon, roses, jasmin, apple, caramel, and herbs.

Luxury!

The Perks of the Job

I thought today was already a fabulous day when I went treasure hunting on the beach and came home with more treasure than trash ... (maybe material for tomorrow's post)

But then we got invited for pancakes AND a little boat trip by the Hamra Krog-sisters Karin & Linnea and their dad.

They took us to a tiny little island where we went fossil hunting (supervised by about a dozen of curious seals!)

And after reassuring me that it's not illegal to pick fossils and sell them I started brainstorming about what to do with them ...

Earrings? Bracelets? Necklaces? All of it?
I think it's time to add yet another project to my list :)

Preview - Ainas Ateljé

Here's a little preview of how my shop now looks! Or one corner of it anyway :) 

Today was Sweden's National Day which of course meant that the postman had a day off - so I'm still waiting for my paint and my tea :) Good thing there's lots of other things to do!
I struggled with my bookkeeping program about half the day but managed to figure it out in the end, I sowed some more seeds in the hope it's not to late in the year for cilantro and chives AND I (almost) finished my first creative project (will be revealed soon).

We managed fixed our internet connection so I hope we'll stay connected for a while now - I feel so lost without news from the outside world!

News like this for example: I passed my exam!!

I got an e-mail from school saying I should call to discuss my grade. 

Didn't sound very promising now, did it?

Apparently that's Canadian humor :) I got 84%!

I tried to call you mum - thought you should be the first to hear - but there seemed to be something wrong with your phone ...

Rikskändisar!

See here my first appearance in a (local) Swedish newspaper together with Luqaz and my latest "loppis fynd" :) 

I gave the journalist my card because I thought he really should write about my shop but apparently he decided against it :p 

Oh well ...

I guess this is a good start anyway :)

Today I was a bit of an all-rounder @ Hamra - cleaning rooms and peeling potatoes (10kg!!) - but I also got loads done in my shop - I put up shelves and window blinds pretty much all by myself - and even though none of it is exactly straight I'm still pretty proud of my work!

This is going to be a great summer!

F&B - Fabulous & Beautiful :)

Yesterday I ordered 5 colours of Farrow & Ball paint I'll be working with this summer.


All Farrow & Ball paints are water based, eco friendly and comply with the latest EU environmental legislation regarding the VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) content of paints. In other words: sustainable & perfect for my workshop :)


I've worked with F&B paint before since that's the paint my mum uses in her tree houses and around the property in the South of France. She's remodeling soon so be sure to keep an eye on the website to discover the changes!


I won't reveal my choice of colours just yet. You'll see once I get them and I get started!

And then there was TEA

This little lovely bird will be featured all over my shop in a few days from now.
Pretty last minute, but today I finally made up my mind and ordered 11 different but equally wonderful kinds of Løv organic tea - a selection of black, green & herbal whole leaf teas in reusable tins in irresistible colours.
I had my final exam yesterday and if all went well I am now a Registered Holistic Nutritionist - which means I'll be able to tell you all the health benefits of every single tea I sell :)
... and I thought my studying days were over ... :p

Feeling almost professional ...

Business Cards!!

There's a point where you just have to make up your mind and stop making changes and I definitely reached that point this morning! 

It took a lot of time and a lot of frustration but now my business cards are ordered for print (on recycled paper!) and although I probably could have spent more time (and frustration) on it, I'm pretty happy with the outcome :)

Honest opinions are always welcome!

One more week of studying and I'll finally be able to focus fully on my shop at Hamra Krog. 

Exams are exhausting! I'll be so happy when it's over!

Loppis Glädje

Nobody should have to study Chemistry all day. That's what I though when I decided to go for a little treasure-hunting.
Farbror Fynd it was! I was actually out for flower pots to plant my seedlings in but found some great decorative items for my future shop at Hamra Krog too!
I don't want to post pictures of everything because lots of it is of course "raw material" and needs to be beautified but here's a preview:

Random things that caught my eye today - cute metal cans, tools, fabrics, frames, a sweet little tray, and an old school Kodak camera! They (almost) all fit very nicely in the toolbox I found at another flea-market not too long ago. No idea who he is/was but Ingvar Carlsson made me happy :)

My seedlings seem happy in their new pots ... and I think I'll have a hard time parting with that sweet little tray when the time comes ... 

And that was all for today! I'm going back to my books for some Biology!

Love,

Aina

Stage one: what do I have to begin with?

I'm so excited to get started on the painting and furnishing of my little room at Hamra Krog!

I got all kinds of leftovers to start off with and in the spirit of sustainability I'm making plans on how to use what is there ... 

Pretty much everything will find a space here - all it needs is a little sandpapering, some paint maybe, a touch of creativity and a whole lot of love :)

I keep on writing lists of things I want to buy, things I want to make, and things I want to sell and although it's a little overwhelming at times I'm having so much fun with it!

So this is how it looks like right now ... curious to see my progress?

I know I am! :)

In Other News ...

I just got my very first official link!

Welcome visitors from the Hamra Krog website!

I have now dedicated an entire page to Hamra and even though there's not much to see yet, that will soon change!

First day at the office :)

Today we went for an other visit to Hamra Krog. Perfect weather, perfect company, perfect pancakes for lunch, and very interesting discoveries!
Thanks to all of you who have shared your ideas with me. I haven't completely made up my mind yet but your input was of great value! I'm so excited about this little project of mine that I'm having trouble sleeping and get up several times a night to jot down new ideas :)

To be continued!

Brainstorm Request

Finally our plans for the summer are taking shape! Luqaz got a job as headchef at what seems to be a very very cool place.

Burgsvik will be our home over the summer!

Hamra Krog, a “household” name on the island, has been around for 20 years and is now getting a complete make-over and will be opening in June with Luqaz behind the stove! 

The 2 sisters who own it now are bubbling with energy and their vision of their business got us bubbling too :) 

I’ll be a bit of an all-rounder, or a helper in need, but I'm mostly excited about this: 

I got my own office!

The little building in the picture has been everything from jewelry shop to garage and now it's up to me to make something of it.

So here are two questions for all you people:

What would you do with a space of roughly 25m² (keeping in mind that it should make at least a little bit of money)?

But perhaps more importantly:

If you were on holiday and you stumbled upon this amazing restaurant/bar where they had live music every night and a energetic team of young inspired people taking care of you, what would you expect to find in the little workshop right next to it (visible from the main outside terrace)?

I have some ideas of my own of course, but as to keep your imagination flowing I’ll keep those to myself for now ;)

I’d very very much appreciate your input – so feel free to comment or drop me a line :)

Looking forward to hearing from you!