About me – and the dreams behind Nordlichttraum

Some memories stay with us for a lifetime.

When I think of Scandinavia, furniture, tableware, or home accessories are not the first things that come to mind.

I think of the summers of my childhood.

Of Finland. Of Lake Pielinen, whose water seemed to stretch out between forests and hills to the horizon. Of the silence of that landscape, the small towns, and the infinite vastness of nature.

We spent our vacations there several times. Our holiday home was simple, but it had everything we needed. In the center of the complex there was a restaurant, surrounded by forests, lakes, and roads that were often still unpaved.

I remember picking mushrooms, the mountains in the Koli region, and the small village shops that had an astonishing selection of fishing rods, fishing gear, and knives.

The people lived in harmony with their nature. Without making a big fuss about it.

This landscape was so different from the Egge Mountains of my home. Wider, quieter, more pristine.

And then Denmark.

The endlessly wide beaches in the north of the country. The special light, the expanse of the sky, and the wind that was always blowing. You would find a sheltered spot on the beach while the North Sea air whistled around your ears.

I remember small shops, fish and cheese, and the unfamiliar Danish specialties.

And, of course, the ice cream.

It tasted somehow sweeter there than it did at home. My father treated us to one every evening.

A small memory that still brings a smile to my face today.

Perhaps my love for Scandinavia began right there.

Not at a design fair and not in a shop.

But with the feeling of being in a special place where life seems a little simpler and more carefree.

The love for beautiful things ran in our family

Back home, too, Scandinavia was never far away.

My father was an entrepreneur and a designer. He admired Scandinavian design, and our home was defined by this clear, timeless aesthetic.

My family had been involved in glassmaking for over six generations. Beautiful objects, materials, and the question of what makes a good design were therefore a natural part of my life.

My father had a special flair for shapes and proportions. He knew that an object does not become beautiful through as much decoration as possible, but because its design is coherent.

This sentiment has shaped me.

Perhaps you cannot always explain why you immediately like a certain product. You look at it, hold it in your hands, and feel: everything here just fits together.

There are things that accompany us for many years without us ever growing tired of them.

And there are things that bring us a smile the very first time we see them.

Both have their own unique value to me.

Having breakfast like Pelle and Tjorven on Saltkråkan

Many years ago, I wrote about tableware from Rörstrand:

“Having breakfast like Pelle and Tjorven on Saltkråkan.”

Perhaps you know the stories by Astrid Lindgren.

If so, you might now be picturing a small summer house in the Swedish archipelago. A set breakfast table, children who have already been up to mischief, and the water sparkling in the morning sun.

A summer day where time doesn't really matter.

Who wouldn't like to sit there sometimes?

Perhaps we will never realize this dream. Perhaps we have neither a summer house in the archipelago nor the opportunity to live on a Finnish lake for weeks at a time.

But we are allowed to dream about it.

And sometimes, a beautiful mug on the breakfast table is enough to transport us to such a place for a moment.

I believe that beautiful things can do exactly that.

They remind us of a vacation, a loved one, or a moment when we were simply happy.

And sometimes they give us a small dream we didn't even know we had.

The people behind the beautiful things

In 1998, a new chapter began for me with Scandinavian-Lifestyle. My enthusiasm for Scandinavian design became a profession that would accompany me for over two decades.

During this time, I got to know countless products, visited manufacturers, and met many extraordinary people.

People whose ideas, enthusiasm, and personality live on in their products.

I think, for example, of Ole Flensted, whom I visited in Frederiksminde on the Danish island of Funen.

In an old school building, those wonderful mobiles are created, moving with the slightest breath of air. They seem so light and natural, as if they could not possibly look any other way.

But behind this lightness lies a great deal of experience, a special sense of balance, and great design diligence.

Or Bo Bendixen, whose unmistakable drawings have accompanied me for many years. His motifs possess humor, joie de vivre, and a very unique signature style.

My meetings with Helena Nobel, the founder of Wildlife Garden, also remain in my memory. During a visit to Sweden, I saw the attentiveness with which she observed her surroundings and the people around her.

Such encounters have shown me time and again that behind particularly beautiful products are often people who have their own vision of the world.

Sometimes you can recognize this personality immediately in their designs.

A small hand-carved bird, a lovingly designed gnome, or a mobile that floats seemingly weightlessly in the room – each in its own way can tell a little story.

And it is precisely these stories that interest me.

Fifteen minutes of vacation from everyday life

In my former shop, I once told my sales staff:

“If we manage to make our visitors feel like they’re taking a fifteen-minute vacation from everyday life, then we have already achieved a great deal.”

I wanted people to enjoy coming to us.

That they would look around at beautiful things, discover something, perhaps smile, and forget their everyday worries for a little while.

Of course, we were happy if they bought something afterward.

But first, that good feeling had to be created.

Because I believe that we all yearn for a slightly simpler, kinder world sometimes.

For a small house by the lake. For a summer morning in the archipelago. For a long walk on an almost deserted beach.

For the feeling that, for a moment, you don’t have to be anywhere else.

My father had a phrase for this that I have never forgotten:

“A peaceful world is always in demand.”

The longer I work with beautiful things, the better I understand what he meant by that.

It’s not about life always being carefree.

But that is precisely why the little things that bring joy are so good for us.

A bit of color. A friendly face. A beautiful memory. An object you look at and spontaneously think: How wonderful!

I never wanted to lose that feeling.

A new beginning – Nordlichttraum

After many years in retail, the moment came for me to start something new again.

I had experienced how markets and manufacturers were changing. How small companies became large brands, how some retained their unique character while others lost it over the years.

And I had learned that the most famous names do not always make the most beautiful products.

Sometimes you find the most compelling ideas at small manufacturers whose names are barely known outside of Scandinavia.

But what could still thrill me just as much as it used to was that one specific moment:

I discover a product and immediately think: This is it!

Perhaps it is an illustration that tells a small story. An unusually beautiful shape. Or a loving idea that just makes me smile.

I wanted to put that feeling back at the center of things.

And I wanted to let go of many things that had accumulated over a long entrepreneurial life: unnecessary, complicated processes, an oversized product range, and tasks that took me away from the actual joy of my work.

I wanted to be able to decide freely again.

Not to become as big as possible, but to create something of my own that perfectly matches my vision.

That is how Nordlichttraum was born.

A small, personally managed online shop with a carefully curated collection and professional shipping logistics.

I select the products myself. In doing so, I am aided by my decades of experience in Scandinavian specialty retail, my knowledge of materials and production, and my personal relationships with many suppliers.

But experience alone is not enough for me.

A product must also move me.

It must possess something that goes beyond its practical utility.

Its own character. A special charisma. Or simply the ability to put a smile on someone’s face.

A small piece of the dream of the North

When I look through the Nordlichttraum collection today, I rediscover much of what fascinated me as a child.

The proximity to nature. The joy of simple, beautiful things. The love for stories that transport us to another world for a moment.

A Moomin mug might remind you of the wonderful fantasy world of Tove Jansson.

A hand-carved bird brings a small piece of nature into your home.

A soft wool blanket lets us dream of a cozy evening while the wind blows around the house outside.

And a mobile can make us simply stand still for a moment and watch.

Of course, none of these objects can replace a vacation.

But sometimes, they can preserve a piece of the feeling we take home with us from a holiday.

The tranquility of a Finnish lake.

The light on a Danish beach.

The memory of a summer that should never have come to an end.

Or of an ice cream that your father treated you to every evening.

Perhaps that is the most beautiful thought behind Nordlichttraum: that we can bring a piece of our big dreams home with us through little things.

If you forget your everyday life for a few minutes while browsing my shop, discover something that makes you smile, or let your mind transport you to a beautiful place, then I have achieved exactly what I hoped for.

I cordially invite you to dream a little of the North.

Yours,

Andreas Walther
Founder of Nordlichttraum