I went to Ikea the other day. You see, I’ve moved house in the last month and needed a few extra items for the new abode. I don’t like having too many of the Ikea items in my home, as it can start to look like one of their showrooms if you go overboard. A few items can look really great.
It’s a pretty amazing place, Ikea. It’s kid friendly, has nearly everything you could ever need, the showroom always looks great, terrific design and it’s not expensive at all.
I think the most interesting part about Ikea is the foreign names they give the items in the store. Yes, I know the founder and owner of Ikea is Swedish. Names like Barnsling, Snoig, Odda, Poang, Glimma and Klobo interest me.
I got in a bit of an ‘Ikea’ mood with my friend Andrea one evening and suggested we make up ‘Ikea- sounding’ names for imaginary items and some already existing items that they could sell. No, I hadn’t had any alcohol and that just sums me up entirely. We came up with some great ones…
Toilet brush – SFINKTA
Replica Barbie doll –IMPOSTA
Insulated beer holder – YOBBO
Garbage bin -KRAPP
Deodorant – PONG
Doorstop – ABRUPT
…to name a few. Use your imagination and you could probably come up with a few of your own. I imagine a glass (TANKA) of wine (SCHLOP) may help. Another added advantage of shopping there, is that you would never know what you actually bought by looking at the receipt and neither does the tax department when you claim it all; it is all in Swedish after all.
The owner of Ikea is in his late 70’s. Ingvar Kamprad is his name. He is also one of the wealthiest men in world. What a clever guy. I take my hat (TUUPE) off to him. Great engineers, the Swedes, as we all can see. Just one thing Mr Kamprad; it just takes ages to get through the checkout (BANKEN)…can you invent something to help us with that?
PS. Ohh and all of us in Eastern Suburbs of Sydney cannot wait for the Tempe store to open…
Until next month… Cath
About the author
Catherine Jefferies began Yummy Bubby as a healthy, baby food business that delivered nutritious meals to mums around the East Coast of Australia. Yummy Bubby has now developed to become on online information resource and blog, for parents of children aged 0-18 years.
Catherine is the editor and founder of Yummy Bubby. She lives in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney with her young daughter Siena, who is now 6 years old and who is slowly, but surely asserting herself in the household.
Catherine currently spends much of her time picking up pink pieces of plastic and miniature clothes, bags, hats, phones and shoes. For the uneducated, this is called a 'Barbie Explosion' and occurs naturally at least once a day at home...
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