Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Founders of the Swedish East Indiaman Gotheborg III ship project: Jan-Erik Nilsson (right), Anders and Berit Wästfelt (left). They’re standing with Stefan Andersson (in 18th century attire), who provided the main entertainment for the ship’s homecoming party.
Photo JE Nilsson and CM Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2009

Definition of Hönsafest by Västsverige

It was with their lives that sailors put out when they set sail to China during the 1700s aboard the Swedish East India Company vessels from the port of Gothenburg. Crew members had to endure storms, pirates, shipwrecks and sudden death. The attraction for them were money, adventure, the smell of warm spices and the possibility of a romp or two with exotic women from distant lands. All crew had to pay a mandatory hösapengen or homecoming money once the vessel reached the Equator. This money went into a big party when they came home again. Perhaps it was the idea of this feast, which lasted for three weeks, that kept up the spirits for the sailors when their teeth fell out in the aftermath of scurvy.

It couldn’t have a been better time to throw a staged homecoming party for the Swedish East Indiaman vessel Gotheborg III than in the wintry months of Sweden, when the ship is safely tarpaulined and docked.

Looking like a large white Christmas package at dockside, guests to the Hönsafest i juletid event that began in late November and continues through December 2009 in Gothenburg, were first invited for refreshments at the main warehouse before boarding the ship.

Continue reading “Hönsafest i juletid 2009: homecoming party aboard the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg III ship” →

Cushioned hearts, reflecting a theme in Christmas decorations in Sweden.
Photo for CMC © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro Nilsson 2009

Kronhuset in the true middle of the old City of Gothenburg, being a 17th century armory, is in itself a place-of-interest for most tourists. Built in Dutch style this was where all artillery and other military supplies was kept for the defense of the City of Gothenburg. Eventually it occasionally did came in handy, but that is a different story. Today, Kronhuset is both museum and a concert hall, owing to its pillar free groundfloor construction that lends ample space for it to be used for most any event.

The Christmas Heart, hanging cushion.

There are several year-round tenants of the place, everything from a glass workshop, a café, an interior design company, to a chocolate store that sells handmade candy and chocolate truffles. So come Christmas season, this place is transformed into a bustling Christmas market, with all activities taking place within its compounds of the East and West wings of the main building.
Continue reading “Handcrafted, at Kronhuset’s Christmas market, Gothenburg 2009” →

A piece of stainless steel jewellery.
Photo for CMC © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro Nilsson 2009

Scandinavian jewellery (particularly Georg Jensen) has always been an attraction to me, even before I arrived in Sweden. So I became quite engrossed with what I saw at one stall at the Haga Christmas market that displayed stainless steel jewellery bound together with leather bands, and glass art rings and pendants.

What I appreciate about Scandinavian jewellery is that it’s often elegant with thick clean lines sweeping through the piece. If heavy, glossy and statement is what you wish to convey, then Scandinavian designed jewellery is perhaps an avenue you might wish to explore. Silversmith Wiwen Nilsson for example, whose designs are perhaps highly influenced by Japanese aesthetics in the early 1900s even though he trained in Germany, Denmark and France, has had a strong influence on Scandinavian jewellery design in general. Vintage pieces from him are still highly coveted because of his modernist take on shapes in relation to function of the item, which render them timeless.