Ad // Editorial Campaign For Harper and Brooks

Today I finally started on wrapping this years Christmas gifts, however as soon as I started, I realized I was missing my Christmas craft box. Over the years I have filled a huge box with wrapping papers, tools, ribbons of various colors and texture, name tags, ornaments, almost everything I would need in any occasion. Unfortunately I am in the country right now and my huge box is in Oslo. Kind of ironic really, if I was in Oslo I would just purchase what I would be missing, but here choices are limited when you are in a hurry. But if there is something the country has, is natural ingredients in abundance so I decided to theme this years presents with rustic simplicity. And really, it doesn’t get more scandinavian than this. Simple ornaments,  fyr, leather, twine and a cup of coffee and we are ready to go. First to wrap, a watch from Harper and Brooks ( I made an Autumn Winter editorial for them here and introduced them, if you are curious to read more about the local Oslo brand with incredible values that I am very fortunate to be working with). I am not going to presume you dont know what your loved ones would want for Christmas, but honestly every time I have gifted a watch it has always been received with high marks.

Two years ago my mom actually cried when she opened the box , as it appears her own had just broken down a couple of weeks ago and she was missing telling the time terribly. Not the one to spend on herself , she had halfway decided to see if she would be able to live without a watch, suffice it to say she lets me know how happy she is almost every time I call home. Seeing my mom cry for something as simple as gifting a watch was really a moment I will never forget, not to mention now I know how much it means to her. Last year I also gifted my sister in law with one, and once again it hit high marks. This time it was rather fashion that was the issue, all her watches were huge and clunky (remember the really big ones with the big bracelets we used to wear years ago?). So when I gifted her with a delicate 28mm watch (as seen in this post) she was just stunned, it appears she had been looking to buy one for herself yet haven’t decided on which one. She is so sweet about it, even after all this time she makes sure to tell me how much she appreciates it, although she still thinks it cannot be a coincidence I knew exactly what she wanted and the timing, and that possibly my brother had tipped me off!

I am sure I won’t hit that sweet spot where someone literally was on the market for a new watch every time, but again this year I am gifting one Harper and Brooks watch and I already know it will be extremely welcomed. Sometimes, the obvious, is the greatest choice for a gift, why resist it ?

As a Christmas offer,Harper and Brooks have created a selection of limited edition gift sets. Have a look at their best selling wool models and get 15% off ! For me, having the choice to change from a steel mesh strap to the super comfy wool one for a more cozy look is perfect combo, I always buy extra straps when I gift a watch!

// Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima

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The post :  Simple Christmas wrapping , appeared first on Only Deco Love

Styling and photography by Katerina Dima unless otherwise stated.

There is something magical about Scandinavia, and it’s not just the beautifully snowed streets among the stunning old buildings (see my snowy Oslo views here on my Instagram account) . Its the atmosphere the scandinavian people create, and again most popular hygge aside,  everything is warm and cozy, a delight to walk around in the city but also when visiting friends and relatives homes. Since I have been quite sick last few weeks it has been hard to join into the festivities and create new memories for myself, so I thought maybe I should look back today and hopefully in a few days I will be able to put pneumonia aside and finally start decorating for the year! Under every photo you will find a caption of when it was taken and why, I think it is quite interesting to see where we were last few Christmases before going forwards with this years!

Photo above : The very last Christmas of 2017. I had just moved to Oslo a couple of months ago and the house was still half empty, I remember I mostly decorated with a few brass accessories, candles and pine branches. I did however wrap presents early enough and photographed the progress in time to post (this year it will come a little bit delayed). I had just discovered all sort of amazing craft stores in Oslo with so many ribbon and wrapping paper options, I was in wrapping heaven!

Photo above : Christmas 2016. Remember all the beautifully wrapped presents with simple brown paper you see on Pinterest? I had been looking for something equivalent for years until I found it a few months before christmas even, in the most unlikeliest of places…at the paint store. Yes thats not wrapping paper you see, that is just a roll of brown paper, the one painters usually lay on the floor before they paint. It looks exactly how I wanted it to look though and best part is that is costs almost nothing. If you are also looking for brown paper, thats the best tip I can give you. You can also see it in the photo below, where I wrapped the pot with it as well! Oh and another tip, if you dont want a full blown christmas tree, this kind of small spurce I think is a great solution with small ornaments!

Photo above : Christmas 2015. I had just discovered that in Norway (and all over Scandinavia), Amaryllis was one of the plants that you bought when only an onion in a pot mid November, then watered it and waited for it to bloom just in time for Christmas. Another favorite for the same reason is Hyacinths (the smell is just amazing), very popular as well although I feel tall Amaryllis is so much more elegant. I decided back then to leave one of my Amaryllis in the bathroom and it became one of my most popular photos on Pinterest! Who knew?

Photo above : Christmas 2015. Guilty of wrapping very little that year, mostly however because presents came wrapped so beautifully I didn’t want to undo that. Like the ones shown above , Byredo perfumes for my sisters in law, I thought the packaging looked great as it was. I contemplated changing the ribbon to black but I ended up leaving them exactly as they were. Small detail, the marzipan chocolates in the bonbonniere. Another Scandinavian custom I was introduced to when I moved to Norway, marsipan love. You can’t have Christmas without marzipan in some form, usually along with chocolate. I resisted at first, but now I can’t imagine this time of year without it!

Photo above : Remember when I said I had just moved to Oslo and didn’t have many christmas decorations in the house? These were part of my Brass Christmas 2017.And really, few holiday flowers, some brass, twinkle lights, it doesn’t take a lot to create a festive mood!

Photo above : Not sure which year this was, but up until then we had bought trees that would just die on us a few weeks later. We decided to buy a potted tree that would last throughout the year so we could use it again next Christmas. That was the plan , of course in reality we took the tree out and snow and cold promptly burned it. By the time we realized, it was too late for it. A good idea if you are confident in your plant management!

Photo above : Christmas 2014. Here we go, my first Hyacinth ! Not bloomed yet, ready in its pot. That year I used my kubus candleholder for the advent calendar. Another Scandinavian tradition (or might be in other parts of the world just not in mediterranean ones), we light one candle every Sunday before Christmas. So when November ends, last Sunday, the first candle will burn, then every Sunday after that and until Christmas one more will be added. I wrapped a little spruce around the base, and while it looks great in the photo in reality you should know they need to be changed every 3 to 4 days or they will all shed on the table. Beautiful to watch, but quite tiring to maintain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Photo below : Christmas 2013. I am so fond of this one. You can see how old the photo is since back then I had just started the blog and the resolution I used for photos was quite low. I was wrapping presents with the best I could find being I didn’t know back then where to shop for things like these! All wrapping paper and threads are from the local supermarket, not that it turned out bad though! And I think you can also see what I meant when I said above that I was looking for brown paper that would be just right? The only official brown paper I could find back then , anywhere, it was this thin wrapping paper that had a little bit of  texture based on horizontal lines. Did it look bad? Certainly not, it was just not what I was looking for. I also used some plants from outside to further decorate the presents. Some fared well with time, some didn’t. Live and learn!

// Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima

Find me on Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook | Bloglovin | Feedly | Snapchat | Etsy

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The post :  All My Scandinavian Christmas , appeared first on Only Deco Love

Styling and photography by Katerina Dima unless otherwise stated.

Some Christmas inspiration from IKEA , who never fails to deliver good ideas that everyone can follow for every occasion. Be it colorful or not, simple or extravagant, I like all their ideas for one reason or another. I find there is always something I can keep and make my own, adapt and use. Usually I rely on my XMAS Pinterest board ( find it here ), where I keep all the ideas I find along the path, feel free to check it if you need some help yourselves!

// Photos Via Ikea

Ad // Editorial Campaign For Harper and Brooks

I am lucky to be working with a Norwegian watch company Harper and Brooks, on producing some editorials for them and their very beautiful range of classic watches. For the Autumn Winter 2018 editorial I decided to use only materials that nature provides us this time of year abundantly, anything that characterizes the passing from season to season. This is very close to Harper and Brooks ideology and the values of the company :

We design products that we love ourselves. We always strive for the highest possible quality. We care about the world around us and work with sustainable and thoughtfully considered materials.

Swiss mechanics, diamond-cut Sapphire Crystal glass and 316L surgical Stainless steel are core components at Harper & Brooks. They take pride in using locally sourced materials like vegetable tanned leather from Tärnsjö Garveri in Sweden and organic wool material from Scandinavia.

I personally really love the classics, their wool collection is very unique and I really like that everything is locally sourced. In this way , I am really proud to be working with a Norwegian brand with such strong values, I believe we should be supporting everything local if we can and most importantly Norwegian Design.

This week and until Friday, everything on the Harper and Brooks webstore is marked 30% down and many of favorite designs are marked 70% down. If you are also looking to support Norwegian Design and on the market for a watch, this is really a great opportunity. I chose a few designs to showcase today, but do visit the webstore to find more of the range and all the great sale opportunities ( like the gift section where you can find a watch and an extra strap). There is free International shipping with all orders so you dont need to live in Norway to take advantage of this great opportunity.

// Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima