Photo Credit: Håkan Dahlström

Sweden is a great place for retail therapy. As the home of IKEA, the country is renowned for its thriving modern interior design industry and visitors will be able to find world class fashion and textiles. The country is one of the more expensive places to shop in Europe, but the unique products can sometimes make the high price tag seem irrelevant. Stockholm is where most of the innovative happens, but there are plenty of other places around the country to find interesting pieces.

When it comes to fashion, Sweden has emerged as a surprise leader in street wear over the past few years. Local clothing brands like J Lindeberg, Acne Jeans, WESC, and Filippa K have taken the European fashion circuit by storm, which can be found across Sweden, but in particular Stockholm’s SoFo district.

Glassware is also a huge part of the design industry and handmade ornaments and accessories have become popular souvenirs. The Kingdom Of Crystal (which is the nickname given to a small region in the province of Smaland) is home to a wide variety of glass creations where you can see merchants designing, blowing and finalizing their pieces by hand, and if you’re lucky, try it for yourself.

Another common Swedish gift is the Dala Horse. It may only be the unofficial national symbol, but this intricately designed wooden horse has been a mainstay in culture since the 1600’s. The town of Mora is home to a plethora of workshops that are open for the public. The horses are quite expensive, even for their small size. If you just want to admire the handiwork, there is an enormous wooden Dala located outside the town of Avesta that stands more than 30 feet high.

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