Tagged: sweden

in 1891 tretorn was founded by henry dunker in helsingborg, sweden, setting the stage for one of the most enduring success stories born from the late industrial revolution. dunker's devotion to both business and his "extended family" of employees is legendary. well ahead of his time, he offered his work force free health care and instituted day-care and a kindergarten on-site. not surprisingly, this foundation of good will and good work continues to bear impressive results.

rich in heritage, tretorn's past is important to what the brand is today. From the early days as a tire maker to its glory days as the shoe of choice for avid tennis players, the past provides an authentic framework for everything that defines tretorn. and it is with this foundation that tretorn ensures its commitment to high quality rubber manufacturing for generations to come.

our sell through on tretorn is always exciting and fast. heading into the last weekend before school starts for 2010 we were thrilled to see boxes & boxes of tretorn boots come through the doors at still life this morning. we're offering our girls two styles to head back to school with: the classic skerry vinter in a sassafrass brown (more burgandy than brown) as well as the beautiful and tall skerry reslig in an autumnal olive. still open until 8pm on fridays we'll be open regular store ours throughout the long weekend.

urbanears is a collective out of scandinavia, motivated by a common interest in global relationships and shared involvement in the relevance of the living brand. urbanears promotes a deeper connection to color, form and people while providing the freedom to transcend individuality and unify the sound experience.

urbanears was created by a number of individuals with very different traits gathered around a belief in the concept. the crew is made up out of entrepreneurs, industrial and graphic designers, tech nerds, former retailers, salesmen and business men - most of which can be described with more than one of these traits. they come from backgrounds in fashion, electronics and design based in stockholm, sweden.

we've moved our fair share of headphones out of still life boutique over the years, and we're more than thrilled to start offering urbanears to our friends in victoria. matt & jordan have been sampling a couple pairs over the last month and they're killer. we've got a very small starting run of the scandinavian-designed headphones and don't expect them to sit long on the shelf - come in soon to check them out and keep updated on our facebook page to know when more and more show up.

our third drop of fjallraven backpacks showed up at still life bright and early this morning and our beautiful display wall is complete once again! we've got another great colour break from the swedish adventure company: army green, oxblood red, burnt orange, a heap of blues, greys & navys, and the yellow!

these ideal summer lake/pool/camp packs are made of vinylon f, the functional fabric that has made the kånken daypacks seemingly immortal for the last 25 years. though a synthetic fiber, vinylon f has many of of the positive properties of natural fibers - swelling like a natural fiber when wet, the weave becomes more dense when raining, causing the pack to absorb moisture better than any other synthetic fiber. this gives the fabric waterproof qualities by construction eliminating the need for a coating.

these bags have been flying out of still life over the past few months: they're functional, individual, cute and super wearable. pop by the shop this weekend, grab yourself a new bag, and hit the beach/lake/pool.

here's a preview of the fantastic range of items being offered by our dear friends at nudie jeans co for fall/winter 2010. by the looks of it we'll be seeing some rich, dark, heavy-dyed denim, garments & accessories from the swedish jeans company to take us into the cooler months.

typically at still life we stick to the classic, raw/untreated denim that nudie does so well - but after seeing some of these options back in january in nyc and checking them out again here styled and layed out in a proper collection, the washed out/treated offerings are looking mighty tempting! matt & jordan have been rocking their treated/washed out nudies a heap this summer and the look is dead on.

stay tuned for more aw2010 previews on the blog and on our facebook page.

ps: happy canada day

in the early 1950s, backpacks were simply bags that you carried on your back. a 14-year boy from northern sweden was not satisfied with this solution for carrying his equipment and took matters into his own hands.

the story behind fjällräven began in 1950 when åke nordin, a 14-year-old boy from örnsköldsvik in northern sweden, was about to go for a trek in the mountains. åke, who spent more time outdoors than indoors, did not like the backpacks that were available at that time. they always ended up like small, uncomfortable, pear-shaped bags down around his rear so he decided to take matters into his own hands and built his own. during his debut trek with his new backpack he met some sami people who were very curious about the square backpack. after trying it on, they asked åke if he could make a few for them and bring them up next time he passed by. this request marked the start of a production line in the basement of a house in the small town of örnsköldsvik. the basic principles for the design of the traditional backpack were formed.

straight backs are happy backs. the kånken was launched in 1978 to spare the backs of school children. back problems had begun to appear in increasingly younger age groups and shoulder bags were popular. the kånken offered many simple, clear functions and the idea of using a backpack at school quickly spread, as did the kånken. it is just as popular today, and an excellent choice for school, outings or biking to work. the kånken is made out of durable, lightweight vinylon f (the functional fabric that has made kånken daypacks seemingly immortal for the last 25 years). the large main compartment with a large opening makes it easy to put in/take out items. two side pockets and a zippered pocket in the front. handle at the top, narrow, supple shoulder straps, sitting pad in the pocket in the back and logo that doubles as a reflector.

this is easily one of our most excited new lines to introduce to victoria this spring, and the bags' arrival this weekend marks the official start to spring 2010 outdoor treking season for us at still life. matt & jordan stopped by the new fjällräven storefront/shoeroom in new york this past january and began dreaming of a future still life swedish hills excursion where the fjällräven team could outfit us head to toe in the best outdoor gear we've ever seen.

come check out fjällräven at still life and get outside.

founded in stockholm in 1996 by four creatives, acne’s ambition was to create and develop a lifestyle brand through desirable products. acne was one of the first brands to see the space in the market for denim and used this forward thinking to create 100 pairs of unisex jeans. they were featured in swedish elle magazine and soon, sweden’s leading boutiques wanted to carry the characteristic jeans with bright-red stitching. these are the foundations of acne. 

with confidence from the success of the jeans, jonny johansson acne's creative director, branched out into other design genres. the first full collection was launched in 1998, and it set the tone for the brand – the subtle luxury and understated items originates from the ethos that the clothes should feel like someone’s wardrobe. cool and personal. the result is that nothing dominates anything else, yet every piece is effortlessly stylish. 

with stores and projects across nine countries, acne is today recognized internationally as a creative collective, unique for its corporate diversity in fashion, graphic design, film production and advertising, as well as product, business and concept development. 

today the full team reaches over 200, each as enthusiastic about the brand as the original four creatives.

we get through a lot of premium denim at still life. in a city like victoria a great pair of jeans will last you all day every day for years and years. our women's denim display is currently overflowing with denim styles for all our girls ready to get into a new pair of jeans for spring 2010.

for us, spending a little more on jeans works when you realize the fit and longevity a pair of premium denim is offering you. thousands of hours go in to designing the fits offered by denim companies like joe's, acne or nudie, and the quality of construction will have you returning for another pair once you realize you've worn a new jean for 2 weeks straight. getting into premium denim on the women's side we're seeing about 2-3% stretch material woven in with all denim to ensure a nice, snug fit on the thights & bum and allowing for give in the jeans without bagging out and looking frumpy after only a couple of wears.

this spring we're seeing the takeover of the denim legging! joe's jeans and genetic denim are both offering denim legging options at still life, with even more stretch fabric woven through to allow for an ultra snug fit to be styled with an oversized boyshirt or cropped up with a pair of flats or gladiators come summer.

click through our images here to see some styles currently on the rack at still life boutique in beautiful (and sunny!) victoria, bc.

the velour story started back in 1997 when per andersson rummaged through the store of his grandmother's old ready-to-wear shop. he decided to make use of this asset and opened a shop with friends to sell through the dead stock clothes together with re-makes, art and design. the shop's creative customers inspired the velour team to, in 2002 take the step towards designing their own clothes; and the first velour collection was launched in 2005.

velour is offering a perfect fit and beautiful details, leaving it up to the wearer to create his or her own individual style, offering key pieces or a whole wardrobe.

the overall design concept of velour springs out of a classic preppy look with traditional garments redesigned in a new stylish, yet effortless, way. the style has swedish west coast influences and addresses curious individuals who have an interest in trends but strive for individuality. they appreciate genuineness and are, by velour, offered an alternative to the ordinary fashion brands through everyday icons such as cardigans, check shirts, parkas and trench coats. colours are sober – like marine blue and brown – with colourful accents. these colours together with the prints and patterns are carefully created where every pigment, image and square has its place. all joined together in a perfect fit.

spring 2010 is still life's first season with velour and we're thrilled to be introducing the brand to the women's side of the store. a small selection of a half dozen styles fill out our spring batch - the first ladies leather jacket of the season from velour is amazing, as is the super soft denim dress. come by soon and try some of our favorite new swedish line out of gothenburg, velour.

wesc - WE, ES, SI - that's how they say it, that's how we say it, that's how you say it.

wesc, founded in stockholm, sweden in 1999, is a fantastic casual brand we move through quick here at still life. the folks at wesc involve themselves heavily in the skate, music, design culture and as a result have a loyal group of weactivists around the globe. from legendary skateboarder steve berra to film & tv star jason lee (a legendary skater in his own right), the weactivists campaign for the brand under a banner of style, friendship, and casual lifestyle within their respective creative communities. wesc works hard within these communities, resulting in some great collaborations that end up in the hands of their loyal fanbase. headphone collabo's with steve aoki, the boys at ed banger records, and most recently the berrics crew and shoe collabo's with adidas show the brand's desire to push creativity forward and work together on compositions.

this spring/summer we've got a great new batch of styles from wesc: a variety of headphones, denim, accessories, shirting and some of the first shorts & swimsuits we've seen for summer are here.