“Objects with Actual Personality”: Posters, Patterned Fabrics, and More at Fine Little Day
by Margot Guralnick
Swedish artist/photographer Elisabeth Dunkel was finishing her masters’s in design when she began posting snapshots of daily delights: pine needles, paper dolls made with her kids, a collage of photo booth portraits, a pink cuckoo clock. Fine Little Day, as Elisabeth dubbed her blog in 2007, quickly attracted a lot of fans. And led her to start producing and selling some of her own prints and fabrics. Finding too many hours of her fine little days spent packing orders, Elisabeth soon wanted out.
When she asked Ulrika Engberg, an entrepreneurial design school friend, to buy her business, Ulrika instead proposed teaming up. That was 15 years ago and together Elisabeth and Ulrika have grown Fine Little Day into a thriving housewares business that celebrates, in Elisabeth’s words, “colors on the walls, patterns in every corner, and objects with actual personality.” They produce their own lines of posters, home textiles, and interior accents designed by Elisabeth and a stable of artists and makers. Their test lab is their showroom in a converted historic mill building outside of Gothenburg, Sweden. Join us for some browsing.
Photography by Elisabeth Dunker, unless noted, all courtesy of Fine Little Day (@finelittleday).
Above: Fine Little Day is located in the 19th century brick Spinneriet building, a former spinning factory in the countryside in Lindome, Sweden. Photograph by Hilda Grahnat.
Above: A model of 1990s creative reuse, the building houses a number of indie design stores, a combination record shop/recording studio/cafe, and its own restaurant.
Above: How to live the Fine Little Day way? The gallery serves as a guide. Among the FLD designs shown here: a Bouquet Linen Tablecloth; $214, Large Water Lillies Wool Blanket, $266; and Colors Poster, $90.
Fine Little Day wares are also available in boutiques around the world and from the brand’s online shop. The company is sustainability minded and tries to stick with natural materials. Its designs are produced by workshops all over—the blankets, for instance, are listed as “woven in the EU of Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Woolmark, and Wool Integrity NZ-certified New Zealand new wool.”
Above: Elisabeth’s approach to creating a poster wall: “No rules. Just layers, accidents, things that refuse to match but somehow still do.” The prints shown here include the Orange Red Leaf Poster, $48; Sun Poster, $69; Own Strokes Poster, $51; and Kristine Thenman Makros Poster, $63,
Above: The sitting area is anchored by local artist Linnéa Andersson’s companion designs: her Leaves Large Wool Blanket, $266; Bloom 1 Poster, $48; and Leaves Cushion Cover, $86.
Above: Evelina Kroon’s Field Cushion Covers, $86, from Fine Little Day’s large selection,
Above: A Leaves Linen Tablecoth in Sand, $203, and Leaves Linen Runner in green, $71, in the in-house dining room.
Above: Linnéa Andersson’s made-in-India Leaves Embroidered Cushion Covers in blue and lime, $80 each.
Above: The shop kitchen was given a makeover by 35-year-old designer/carpenter Carl Martinsson, Fine Little Day’s art award recipient of 2024. Elisabeth says, “The award recognizes practitioners in art, design, and craft, and Carl’s work is a perfect example: every detail is considered.”
Above: Martinson, who is based in Gotland, uses the centuries-old wood inlay technique of intarsia to create his 1970s-esque landscapes. The Elisabeth-designed Bird Tray, $51, is part of Fine Little Day’s large collection of laminated birch plywood serving pieces. (See more in 8 Favorites: Scandinavian Trays, a Midcentury Design Star that’s Back on the Table.)
Above: Fine Little Day co-directors Ulrika E. Engberg (L) and Elisabeth Dunker (R). They’re both wearing tops made of Fine Little Day linen: Elisabeth’s Rutig in Blue/Black, $110 a meter; and Evelina Kroon’s Field Linen in Blue/Plum, $80 a meter. Photograph by Cecilia Magusson.
Above: The Fine Little Day team. The company’s motto: “creating, discovering, and spreading the word about art, design and sustainable products since 2007.” Photograph by Cecilia Magnusson.
The Spinneriet building is located at 2 Spinnmästarevägen in Lindome, Sweden, just south of Gothenburg.
We recently spotlighted Elisabeth’s Gothenburg family apartment: go to Making a Rental Your Own.
10 Easy Pieces: The New Nordic Sofa
by Alexa Hotz
A lineup of notable sofas from the successors of Scandi designers such as Børge Mogensen, Carl Hansen, Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, and Bruno Mathsson. Here’s a look at our favorite sofas, the new Nordic edition.
Above: Newer brand Feld is founded by Jeppe Christensen of Blēo, Reform, and Common. Based out of Copenhagen, the Feld sofa is available in various configurations (shown in Two Seat/Side) available in canvas or bouclé fabric.
Above: The Normann Copenhagen Softy Modular 4-Seater Sofa is made with FSC-certified wood that is fully upholstered. Available through Normann Copenhagen retailers.
Above: The Muuto Connect Modular Sofa 3-Seater is designed by Anderssen & Voll; $6,449 through Muuto.
Above: Space Copenhagen’s Fly Sofa SC2 is a frame of smoked, oiled oak, available in three colors of upholstery or with a custom fabric; available through &Tradition.
Above: Claesson Koivisto Rune’s Continental 3-Seater Sofa made for Swedese sits on a black steel base and comes in a range of upholstered fabric or leather. Available through Swedese.
Above: From Swedish designer Monica Förster, the Savannah Sofa is a wooden frame with saddle leather sides and hand-sewn cushions in different upholstery options. Available through Fredericia.
Above: While it’s an older design, the 1970s Erik Ole Jørgensen EJ 315 2.5-Seater comes in a beech, oak, walnut, or stained base; $11,735 at Danish Design Store.
Above: Folke is a newer brand from Christoffer Immanuel. The 2-Seater Sofa-Bed (photographed here in his Danish cabin) comes in 10 different colors and made with a recycled poly cover; about $1,485 USD at Folke.
Above: Above: The Night Couch is a sofa bed designed by Gesa Hansen, founder of the the Hansen Family where it’s directly available. For more on Gesa, see our post A Scandi Furniture Designer at Home in Paris.
Above: Designed by Space Copenhagen, the Spine Lounge Sofa is $10,140 at Danish Design Store.
On the hunt for more sofas? See our posts:
- 10 Easy Pieces: The Perfect White Sofa
- 10 Easy Pieces: Midcentury-Style Sofas Under $2,000
- 10 Easy Pieces: The Pink Sofa
- 10 Easy Pieces: Sleeper Sofas
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 30, 2016.
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