The Summer of Pink & Vintage IKEA
The Summer of Pink & Vintage IKEA
Where to buy Barbie-approved pink paint, elevated capri suns, and the Skojig Cloud Lamp.
June 6, 2023: Where to buy Barbie-approved pink paint, elevated capri suns, and the Skojig Cloud Lamp.
Construction of Barbie’s dream house in the Barbie movie releasing this summer nearly caused a shortage of pink paint in the film industry.
Fortunately, Backdrop Paint collaborated with Barbie herself and created a perfectly-hued pink paint for your home.
Prepare yourselves for a trip to Asteroid City this month. If you are new to Wes Anderson films, I recommend starting with The Grant Budapest Hotel promptly followed by The Life Aquatic in a double feature.
Olipop’s new Watermelon Lime Soda is as refreshing as a Capri Sun was on the hot playground, and the packaging is much cuter.
Vingården in Södermalm, Stockholm by Gustaf Westman creates a playful landscape of colorful outdoor furniture.
Found in the O’Brien Home! I’m eager to break the news that I sourced brand-new silverware for our meals. I found a sea-glass meets retro diner cutlery set via Amazon for $41.49.
IKEA’s 80th birthday prompted a new release of vintage IKEA pieces. Despite being mocked occasionally for the pictorial instructions and difficult assembly, IKEA remains an international staple of design. Innovative, unique, European, and perhaps most unique it has remained affordable and approachable.
The new colorful collection inspires a brief look at the history of the company, and a few standout, revolutionary designs.
The History
Swedish founder, Ingvar Kamprad, was given a small sum of money from his father for doing well in school in 1943. Ingvar used this money to create a company he named IKEA, “an abbreviation of Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd (the family farm), Agunnaryd (the local parish).” He was just 17 years old.
He began as a mail-order business in Sweden and faced heavy backlash. Due to a tight market, his low furniture prices were seen as a threat to competitors. In 1950, IKEA released its first magazine. In 1958, the first showroom opened in Älmhult.
Shortly after, IKEA began implementing flat mailer boxes and self-assembly — and the business began to take off.
The sixties ushered in the iconic IKEA restaurant and expansion into Norway and Denmark. The seventies and eighties offered greater expansion across Europe and exciting new designs.
As of 2021, there were 445 IKEA stores across the world.
Need-to-Know Pieces
If you are in a situation where you need to quickly impress someone and recall a vintage IKEA piece, I’d like to have a list for you for your reference:
1993: Vilbert Chair by Verner Panton
These early nineties color block folding chairs are now selling at $1,600-$2,500 at auction online.
1990s: Skojig Cloud Lamp
These lamps are selling for $50-$100 online currently.
1989: Ry Table
This space-age-style side table is currently selling for $184-$500 online through resellers.
1986s: Oti lounge chairs, by Niels Gammelgaard
“The Danish designer was born in Copenhagen in 1944. Studied industrial design under Erik Herløw at the Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) in Copenhagen, graduating in 1970. In 1978 Gammelgaard co-founded with Lars Mathiesesn Pelikan Design, which has designed and seen in production literally hundreds of products ranging from small pencils to children's tricycles to hospital beds.” - 1stDibs Seller
The midcentury wire chairs now sell for $500-$1500 online.
1983: Moment, by Niels Gammelgaard
“The world’s first flat-pack sofa was called MOMENT seating furniture. It adorned the front cover of the 1985 IKEA catalogue, and it was given spreads and full pages for a further four years.
Production and sales of the sofa went so well, that Niels later designed two other products made with the same production technique: the GUIDE shelving unit in 1985 and the MOMENT table in 1986.” - IKEA
Moment sofas now sell for $1,500+ online.
Tea of the Week: Sunrise Glow for a hibiscus boost
Fresh Playlist: Ambience for Writing
Inspiration: This Chinese restaurant in New York has an INCREDIBLE website
Shopping: A summer poolside snack bag
Artwork: This Littlest Pet Shop reminder
Hot tip: Use Notion for planning everything ever
My sincerest apologies to the beloved Feeling! Magazine readers for a delay in publications throughout May. My husband co-writer and I were moving into our new lakeside cottage after a 3 month stay with our dearest friends.
After a February quarter-life crisis (together) we felt simultaneous intensity about reducing our living expenses to prepare for…what? We still don’t know!
Sidebar: We both feel incredibly passionate about this magazine concept…perhaps we will be able to invest more into it with fewer expenses at home. That was a huge, motivating factor.
Our apartment (like most apartments in 2023) was increasing rent a third time, and therefore we were about to be incredibly tied down to it. After tears, strategy, and deliberation — we decided to reroute and search for a new home. Until we found it, our friends graciously invited us to stay with them.
Just this Monday we moved everything, finally, into our new rental — a perfect cottage near a lake. The bathroom has green and pink tile and that did it for me!
Ever feel like you have so much going on you can’t breathe? That was May for us. But we survived and we have very few (pesky) boxes left to unpack.
Dear readers, thank you for believing in this concept. It’s still very new, and we are so eager to pour more into it and grow it into a magazine we (and you!) are even more proud of.
Sincerely,
Jenna O.
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