IKEA meatballs are famous all over the world and nearly 2 million meatballs are consumed every day at 340 stores around the world.
To produce that many meatballs, a massive amount of meat is required, which has an enormous impact on the environment. Producing meat requires a lot of water and contributes to forest wreckage as well as global warming.
At their innovation lab, Space10, IKEA’s scientists have been trying to find sustainable materials and ingredients for years. Some of the ingredients they have tried so far are lab-grown meat, algae, nuts and the latest ingredients is not something you would usually expect – bugs.
“To change people’s minds about food, to inspire them to try new ingredients, we can’t just appeal to the intellect — we have to titillate their taste buds. Which is why we’ve been working with our chef-in-residence to come up with dishes that look good, taste good, and are good for people and planet.” Space10 writes on their website.
Space10 is calling their new meatball the Neatball, and one version of it is made with mealworms. But don’t worry about losing the ultimate Swedish experience eating the Neatball – Space10 actually recommends eating them with mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry sauce.
And If eating mealworms don’t sound too appealing, you might prefer the other version of the Neatball, which is made with root vegetables, carrots, parsnips, and beets.
None of the Neatball versions will be available in IKEA’s stores anytime soon. Space10 is IKEA’s test kitchen, and while they are constantly coming up with new, innovative solutions, their products aren’t quite ready for the market yet.
The Dogless Hotdog.
Space 10 also introduced other potential dishes, such as the Dogless Hotdog with a spirulina bun; the Bug Burger made of beetroot, parsnip, potatoes and mealworms, and also a salad made entirely from hydroponic-grown microgreens, sprouts, and herbs.
Join us for this month’s YP event! SACC Chicago’s new Vice President of YP, Natalie Söderberg, is excited to introduce herself and share her plans for YP members this year!
When
Thursday, 22nd of March, 2018
Where
Point and Feather, 113 W Hubbard St., River North
Happy hour at Point and Feather includes:
– $5 draft
– $5 wine
– $5 gin and vodka cocktails
– 50% off small plates
Both members and non-members are welcome. Hope to see you there!
Did you know that in 2016, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid, a gap of 20 percent?
In Sweden, if a woman works an 8-5 job, she starts working for free at 4.02 pm. As a way of explaining the wage gap between men and women, the Norwegian financial trade union created a video on the subject in honor of International Women’s day.
World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report shows the average gap worldwide now stands at 32%, compared to an average gap of 31.7% last year. They also published a list of the 16 countries with the smallest gender gaps, and we are proud to say that all of the Nordic countries made it to the list. And even though the three top countries are all Nordic, there are still a lot more that needs to be done!
Global Gender Gap Report – The 16 countries with the smallest gender gaps
The Swedish royal court announced that Madeleine and her husband, Chris O’Neill, had welcomed their third child, Adrienne weighing 3.4kg and measuring 50cm long, on Friday 9 March at 00:41 am.
On Monday 12 March the Swedish King announced the newborn princess name – Adrienne Josephine Alice. Shortly after the announcement Madeleine also posted the names on her Instagram account, along with another adorable photo of the newborn royal with her older siblings Leonore and Nicolas.
The photo collage has gained a lot of likes and comments on Instagram. One user wrote “Congratulations! She’s so precious!” and another one commented, “Wow, such a beauty, all the best!!!!”
Baby Adrienne takes the 10th spot in the Swedish succession after her Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Carl-Philip, her mother Princess Madeleine, and all Adrienne’s cousins and siblings.
Are you traveling to Los Angeles and want to experience as much as possible for as little as possible? Even if you’re a LA local, there’s plenty of opportunities to be a tourist in your own city. We have listed the best deals on Groupon for things to do in the city of Angels right now and you’ll have a great experience without breaking the bank. Win-win!
If you can’t get enough sports, then this deal might be something for you as well. How about watching a hockey game at the Staples Center? Rally the Los Angeles King to a win – tickets starts at $35.
When thinking about Southern California, surfing is one of the first things that comes to mind. If that is something you would want to try, you should check out this deal where you can get a 2-hour private lesson for yourself for only $89 or bring a friend and get a 2-hour lesson for $149.
Want to have a great date that’s both affordable and fun? You should check this deal out! You get two tickets for a Drive-in Movie with popcorn included (!) for as little as $26.
Do you want to explore your creative side? or have an excuse to drink wine with friends on a weekday night? Here’s the deal for you – for $55 you and a friend get to go to a painting class. Cheese, crackers, and dessert is included in the price.
In March we wrote about the Museum of Failure opening in Hollywood. This amazingly fun concept finally settled in Los Angeles for good, and Groupon has the sweet deals starting at only $13.50 per ticket!
This is a classic thing to do in La La Land. On this informative ride, you will get to see celebrity homes, Beverly Hills, The Hollywood sign, Mulholland Drive to name a few.
Pay $24 and you will get to see that and much more!
How about some sighting of whales and dolphins? For $25 you and a friend get to spend the day on the ocean to watch the marine life with an experienced crew.
If you want to make sure not to miss anything, this is the dealfor you! For $188,99 you’ll get a three-day-all-inclusive Go Los Angeles card with access to numerous parks and attractions in LA. The pass includes a free 1-day ticket to Universal Studios, Madam Tussauds Hollywood, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood and much more!
Wouldn’t the best way to see city of stars be from above? We think so. With this Groupon you can do exactly that, while flying the plane on your own. $129 gets you the surveillance of an experienced pilot, try your hand at the controls, guiding the winged vessel through the air for a portion of a 30-minute flight
As a Scandinavian living in the US, there are always those days when you miss the north a little extra. Luckily, Netflix has a few shows that will make you feel at home even though you are halfway across the world. Whether you’re into crime, drama, comedy or documentary, these Scandinavian shows will have you binge watching for hours at a time.
Apart from Netflix putting their money on big Swedish actors such as Alexander Skarsgård in the upcoming Mute or Joel Kinnaman in Altered Carbon, they also feature a selection of Nordic shows, with our favorites listed below. Enjoy!
Dicte
Crime reporter Dicte. Credit: IMDB
Synopsis: Danish crime reporter Dicte, moves back to her hometown to start a new life. But she gets into some dispute with the town police as they think she’s interfering with their work and trying to solve their cases.
Runtime: 45 minutes per episode Language: Danish Category: Crime/Drama
Rita
Unconventional school teacher Rita. Credit: IMDB
Synopsis: In this Danish drama-comedy show we get to know the unconventional and outspoken teacher Rita who’s doing a great in the classroom, while in her personal life she seems to need a teacher of her own. Her students adore her, but she is not so popular among the parents, why?
Runtime: 40 minutes per episode Language: Danish Category: Drama/Comedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95Zle1x10E
Wallander
Criminal inspector Kurt Wallander. Credit: BBC
Synopsis: This is a British remake of the Swedish show about criminal inspector Kurt Wallander in a picturesque little Swedish town, where he deals with a series of intriguing murders.
Runtime: 90 minutes per episode Language: English Category: Crime
Norsemen
Vikings in Norheim. Credit: IMDB
Synopsis: Who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to live as a Viking? In this sitcom, you get the answer! The Vikings of the village Norheim in the year A.D 709 are indulging in wealth and power after some trips overseas, but life is not always an indulgence. They face struggles such as sibling rivalry, gender equality, and betrayal while trying to live their daily life.
Runtime: 30 minutes per episode Language: English Category: Comedy
The Millennium Trilogy
Lisbeth Salander played by Noomi Rapace and Mikael Blomkvist played by Michael Nyqvist. Credit: IMDB
Synopsis: With famous names like Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, and Michael Nyqvist, this trilogy has probably not gone unnoticed by anyone. Based on famous writer Stieg Larsson’s books with the same name, the episodes are set in the cold landscape of Sweden, where we get to follow hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist as they travel halfway across the country to solve a 40-year old murder case. But once they start digging, not everything is like it seems.
Runtime: 90 minutes per episode Language: Swedish Category: Thriller/Mystery/Crime
Wild North
Synopsis: This documentary takes you through Norway’s coastline, nature and the wildlife that live there. You get to see typical Scandinavian animals such as lemmas, elks, and foxes among many others.
Runtime: 50 minutes per episode Language: English Category: Documentary/Nature
If you’ve ever driven down a billboard-lined street or rented a movie online, it is almost certain that you’ve seen the work of Stockholm Design. The LA-based Entertainment Advertising Agency creates what is known as key art – artwork used in print and digital campaigns for theatrical, television and home entertainment companies.
Art work from Stockholm Design for Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Photo credit: Joakim Olsson, Stockholm Design
While the company was founded in Stockholm in 1999, its LA branch became an independent agency in 2004, focusing solely on key art for the entertainment industry.
“We are a smaller boutique agency,” Joakim Olsson, senior art director, and vice president, says in an interview with Swedes in the States, “but we compete with all the larger firms and our clients include major studios, television networks and streamers, such as FOX, Paramount, Lionsgate, Cinemax, HBO, STARZ and Hulu, just to name a few.” Examples of recent campaigns include HBO’s “Divorce” and Hulu’s “Handmaid’s Tale,” season 1.
Joakim Olsson, senior art director and vice president at Stockholm Design. Photo credit: Joakim Olsson, Stockholm Design
It’s a cut-throat business that requires around-the-clock work accommodating clients in different time zones, but if anyone can handle it, it is Olsson, who speaks as quickly as he thinks and exudes enthusiasm and excitement when explaining the typical workflow for a campaign.
“A network, like HBO, will reach out to three or four different agencies and we all do a pitch – everyone is always competing for jobs.”
It is a laborious process with tight deadlines: “In about two weeks we come up with 100 to 150 different options to show the network. After we get the approval it is not uncommon to work on a project for three to six months and for the final choice to be the 500th version of the poster,” Olsson continues.
Photo credit: Joakim Olsson, Stockholm Design
“If a film is already shot, the production company will give us production stills to work with. If not, like in the case of HBO’s “Divorce,” we use scrap photographs, (photos found elsewhere, to use as examples), or sketches to explain our ideas, and then we arrange the photo-shoot for the poster ourselves.”
Olsson and a colleague at a recent shoot at Paramount Studios. Photo credit: Joakim Olsson, Stockholm Design
Stockholm Design works globally as well, with clients in Spain, Germany, South America, China, and, of course, Sweden. They adjust the style of the campaigns to fit the different countries’ needs.
“The look is different in different cultures,” Olsson explains. “Some come to get the quote-un-quote American look. Swedes, on the other hand, tend to like things to look less re-touched and more natural; they might find American pop culture and blockbusters over the top”. An example of this can be seen in their campaign for Nordisk Film’s family movie “Monky”.
Photo credit: Joakim Olsson, Stockholm Design
Olsson, along with creative director Markus Hammarberg, oversees all campaigns and has a personal relationship with every single client. “It is a lot of work, but I love what I do,” Olsson says. While free time is extremely limited, Olsson knows how to relax in true California style by spending time with his family, surfing, and skateboarding.
“Skateboarding is what made me want to move to California, to begin with,” Olsson shares. “I did a lot of skateboarding as a kid, watched lots of videos from LA about it, and finally visited LA as an 11-year old. I remember the moment I decided I would move to here. It was after returning from my trip, and I was back home in Umeå, in northern Sweden. This was pre-internet and it was late at night and I wanted to watch some TV, but the only thing that was playing was infomercials. It was cold and dark and I felt bored and miserable. At that moment I thought, ‘that’s it, I’m moving to LA when I grow up’. And here I am.”
For those of you in LA who missed The Museum of Failure‘s widely successful pop up tour earlier this year, fret no more – the museum is back, and this time it’s here to stay!
Photo credit: Jonathon Gotti – from Ashley Tom (The Rose Group).
The museum, which showcases failed products and services in a hilarious way that encourages visitors to celebrate and learn from mistakes, rather than lament them, has moved into a permanent location at Hollywood & Highland, opening on March 8th.
“I couldn’t imagine a better home for the museum than Hollywood,” says Museum of Failure creator, psychologist, and innovation researcher, Dr. Samuel West. “In Hollywood, there is a fine line between failure and success. The epicenter of entertainment and stardom does not come without its hardships and setbacks — here, failure has produced some of our beloved celebrities. We are thrilled to be part of the Hollywood culture…who knows? If we don’t fail here, maybe we’ll get our own star!”
Founder Dr. Samuel West. Photo credit: Jonathon Gotti – from Ashley Tom (The Rose Group).
If the past year is any indication, that star may very well become a reality.
In addition to the permanent exhibits in Sweden and LA, the museum can also be seen in touring exhibits all around the world. There are currently four tours going on simultaneously to meet the overwhelming interest in the show. The museum will soon announce two more permanent exhibits opening in the US this year.
“It’s so crazy, I still can’t believe all this is happening,” Dr. West tells Swedes in the States in an interview earlier this week.
While exhausted from a whirlwind of organizing the various exhibits, Dr. West’s excitement remains undiminished.
“The most fun and surprising thing about setting up the permanent exhibit in Hollywood was how much I enjoyed working on an addition to the show called ‘Box Office Bombs’, Dr. West continues. “I’ve never been that into films, and I resisted the idea at first, but Hollywood is a movie town, so I agreed to do it – and it turned out to be the most fun thing of all.” The Hollywood museum features five screens showing clips from megaflops like “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star” with Adam Sandler, and “The Hottie and The Nottie” starring Paris Hilton. “That one is so awful it is painful just watching the trailer,” Dr. West laughs so infectiously that you simply have to check it out.
“Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star” got a 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for six Razzies. (Theatrical release poster, borrowed from IMDB.)
“The Hottie and The Nottie” has been called one of the worst films of all time. Paris Hilton won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for the film in 2009. (Theatrical release poster, borrowed from IMDB.)
To read more about The Museum of Failure, see Swedes in the States’ article which features an more in-depth interview with Dr Samuel West. Find it here.
For hours, address and tickets, go to http://failuremuseum.com/
The sunken Vasa Ship – a historical epic fail from Sweden that is now a popular museum in Stockholm. Photo credit Jonathon Gotti from Ashley Tom (The Rose Group)Remember Blockbuster…the extremely successful movie rental company that somehow failed to jump on board the streaming trend. Photo credit: Sofie Lindberg from Ashley Tom (The Rose Group)
Share your own failures at the museum’s failure confessional. Photo credit: Joseph Bell from Ashley Tom (The Rose Group)
Silicon Valley may have mega-startups like Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb, but the Nordics have something even better: a talented and creative batch of new startups that are ready to revolutionize everything from healthcare to wine, personal finance, and even renting bungalows. Which startups are we excited about this year? Let’s take a look!
HappyOrNot
Source: happyornot.com
Country: Finland Industry: Information Technology
Funding: $14.5 million
Have you ever walked into an airport bathroom and seen a table with smiley faces? No, this isn’t a trick question: it’s one of Finland’s most innovative startups! HappyOrNot, like the name implies, is a startup with an extremely simple but useful invention. It tracks customer satisfaction by having people rate their experience with four buttons: green for a positive experience, red for negative, and two in between. HappyOrNot has over 2,000 clients and more than 25,000 terminals in McDonald’s, IKEA and airports around the world.
This simple technology has helped a variety of clients, such as a retail store in Sweden. Their customer satisfaction scores plummeted around 10 am every day. Confused, the manager looked at the security camera and found that an employee who began work at 9:55 am would take a long time to get ready — therefore leaving the area unattended and dirty. She was promptly retrained and the satisfaction ratings skyrocketed.
Country: Sweden Industry: Personal Finance
Funding: $30.7 million
Founded in 2012, Tink is a free private personal finance app that categorizes your spending and keeps track of your budget in one user-friendly app. It automatically categorizes and organizes a user’s finances to make it easy to follow their spending over time.
In an interview with TechCrunch, CEO Daniel Kjellén says, “[Tink] partners with the best banks and offer the users to cherry-pick the best mortgage rates, best savings accounts, best credit cards etc. from multiple banks.” Tink has over 400,000 users in Sweden and is quickly expanding across the world.
3. Kry
Source: https://kry.se/en/
Country: Sweden Industry: Healthcare
Funding: $30 Million
Have you ever wanted to see your doctor, but were either too busy or there were no appointments available? Kry is ready to fix that. As Sweden’s first ever digital healthcare provider, Kry allows patients a to have a video consultation with a doctor on their smartphone or tablet. In fact, according to recent research, 90% of all hospital care visits can be transferred online making digital healthcare the new normal. Kry now serves more than 1% of all doctor visits in Sweden and is also available in Norway and Spain, with plans to expand worldwide.
Country: Denmark Industry: Food and Beverage
Funding: $56 million
Copenhagen-based entrepreneurs Heini Zachariassen and Theis Sondergaard founded Vivino in the summer of 2009. As Theis mentioned, both founders knew absolutely nothing about wine, and wanted to create an app that would help regular people choose a bottle that suits their needs. Users can browse through brands, flavors, price ranges, and see photos of wines. The app has over 20 million users worldwide who contribute with over 25,000 wine reviews per day. Cheers!
5. Bloglovin
Source: https://gigaom.com
Country: Sweden Industry: Blogging & E-Commerce
Funding: $18.7 million
There are thousands and thousands of amazing blogs and websites out there – wouldn’t it be great if you could save your favorites and come back to read them anytime? That’s exactly the problem that Bloglovin solves. It allows you to bookmark your favorite blogs so that you’ll receive notifications whenever there’s a new post in your newsfeed, similarly to how Facebook works. This Stockholm-based startup has over 20 million unique users who are mostly interested in the lifestyle, fashion, and travel blogs.
6. Auntie
Source: auntie.fi
Country: Finland Industry: Mental Health
Funding: Undisclosed
Work issues, friend drama, and problems in your relationship. These are all the things we often vent to our family and friends, but wouldn’t it be great to get a professional opinion instead? Enter Auntie — A remote therapist who’s trained to listen to all of life’s problems. This start-up was developed by a Finnish family and is now used in the Finnish government and by companies and individuals.
Country: Sweden Industry: Music Streaming
Funding: $2.7 Billion
Spotify is one of the internet’s most popular music streaming services. Over 160 million accounts use the platform to listen to music, podcasts, and videos from over 3 million artists. Spotify’s most popular feature is the ability to create and share playlists. They have almost $3 billion in funding and are planning an IPO later this year.
8. Bungalo
Source: bungalo.com
Country: Iceland Industry: Travel
Funding: 13 Million ISK ($130,000 USD)
Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway — sure, these are excellent sites for vacation rentals, but have you ever wanted to stay specifically in a bungalow? That’s exactly the niche that startup Bungalo is targeting with over 400 cottages in Iceland. Guests can enjoy a bungalow in several locations spanning across the country and is the perfect site to use when you’re chasing the Northern Lights.
Country: Norway Industry: Drones
Funding: $1 Million
Wouldn’t it be great to get your own personal photographer/videographer to capture epic moments? Turns out, you don’t have to have Kim Kardashian’s budget – just buy a Staaker! The Norway-based company has created the world’s first “intelligent flying camera” that will track your movements and automatically take photos and videos – all for under $1,000.
10. Truecaller
Country: Sweden Industry: Tech
Funding: $93 Million+
Truecaller makes your mobile environment smarter by allowing you to connect with who you want when you want. Truecaller enables you to expand your contact list and reach people you want to find, helps you easily identify who is calling, and protects your mobile identity from unwanted spammers.
In a time where it seems like the only people that seem to call your phone is scammers, sales agents or your mother, we are hoping for a quick expansion into the U.S. market.
Elina is the Managing Editor at Swedes in the States and an avid film enthusiast. She has been working in the film industry with production and marketing for as long as she has lived in Los Angeles. This year, she also worked with movies like “Lady Bird” and “The Disaster Artist”.
A few weeks ago the 90th Academy Award nominations were revealed and of course, the team at Swedes in the States are excited to see Ruben Östlund’s film “The Square” nominated in the Foreign Film category.
But there are also a lot of other great films, and the amazing people behind them, nominated this year, which is why we took it upon ourselves to predict this years Academy Award winners!
What do you think? Are we spot on or are we “ute och cyklar”? Let us know in the comments below!
The Nominees:
Elina predicts the following winners:
Best Picture: The Shape of Water Lead Actor: Daniel Kaluuya, “Get out” Lead Actress: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird” Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project” Supporting Actress: Alisson Janney, “I, Tonya” Director: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird” Animated Feature: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart “Loving Vincent” Adapted Screenplay: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, “The Disaster Artist” Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele, “Get out”
The Nominees:
Elina predicts the following winners:
Cinematography: Roger Deakins, “Blade Runner 2049” Best Documentary Feature: Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Steen Jepersen, “Last Men in Aleppo” Best Documentary Short Subject: Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright, “Edith-Eddie” Best Live Action Short Film: Derin Seale, Josh Lawson, “The Eleven O’Clock” Best Foreign Language Film: Sweden, “The Square” Film Editing: Lee Smith, “Dunkirk” Sound Editing: Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Sound Mixing: Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, “Dunkirk” Production Design: Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola, “Blade Runner 2049”
The Nominees:
Elina predicts the following winners:
Original Song: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, “Remember me” from “Coco” Custom Design: Mark Bridges, “Phantom Tread” Original Score: John Williams, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Makeup and Hair: Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard, “Victoria and Abdul” Visual Effects: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist, “War for the Planet of Apes”
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At their innovation lab, Space10, IKEA’s scientists have been trying to find sustainable materials and ingredients for years. Some of the ingredients they have tried so far are lab-grown meat, algae, nuts and the latest ingredients is not something you would usually expect – bugs.
