The House of Scandinavia sells authentic, imported goods whenever possible. It currently has wool sweaters from Norway, ponchos from Estonia, and cotton sweaters from Denmark.
“ Every once in a while I buy sweaters from a Finnish company,” Carmen says.
The House of Scandinavia carries the popular Finnish author Tove Jansson’ s Moomin books. The books were first written in the 1940s and had a huge resurgence.
The shop carries home decor, including numerous Swedish Dala Horses, decorated with kurbit-style painting, which are displayed alongside Scandinavian trolls, the main character of Scandinavian folklore and fairy tales.
There are history books on Vikings and mythology and kitchen items to make traditional sweets like lefse, krumkake or rosettes. A wall of Swedish traditional clogs and wool slippers lines the side of the shop.
There are numerous gnomes.
“ We have Tompte from Sweden, Nisse from Denmark,” Carmen says. She points adding,“ These guys up here are from Norway. We have to have them from all the countries.”
Some of the items in the House of Scandinavia come from Poland and Germany as well.
The Baltic amber the shop is currently selling comes from Estonia. It also sells a wide variety of nesting dolls that come from Russia.
“ They’ re crossover items. So many people say,‘ my grandmother had them,’” Carmen says adding,“ our Swedish grandmother had them.”
The shop also carries souvenirs, many of which, like its shirts and flags, are made in the USA.
“ We really strive to have quality-made authentic products,” says Carmen.“ Mom and Dad went to market almost every year and personally knew the importers they bought from.”
Carmen keeps her parents ' traditions alive and continues to buy from some of the same companies, a relationship that has spanned over 30 years. Carmen happily tries to find items that her customers request as well.
The inventory at the House of Scandinavia rotates frequently when new things are available.
“ It ' s not certain times of the year, it ' s whenever we can get them,” Carmen says. The shop now sells purses.“ We’ ve never had purses before. The Scandinavian countries in general make everything high quality, but as green as possible,” she says. The purses are made from recycled items and are water resistant.
“ Some of the linens we have are made from scraps of linen. One of the companies I ordered some Christmas things from sells the scraps from making slippers. They ' re using the wool from that. They are very very green in that way. They make it from recycled products,” says Carmen.
The House of Scandinavia now carries a new brand name Steller from Minnesota, a woman who makes wallets, aprons and wristlets out of Scandinavian material. She recycles sweaters and table linen into purses.
It ' s not just what the store sells that is unique; the store itself is truly one of a kind. Harvey Hultquist built the main
TOP— Trolls have been the central characters of Scandinavian folklore and fairy tales for centuries. Made popular by the Norwegian fairy tale " Billy Goats Gruff " in the late 1800s, trolls are now known for their magical powers and distinctive appearance.
BOTTOM— Russian Nesting dolls, known as Matryoshka dolls, consist of a wooden figure, which separates in the middle, with a smaller figure of the same type inside. Dating from the late 1800s, the traditional dolls featured a female physique in a peasant dress with a shawl or scarf. There are now many different varieties and themes, many of which can be seen at the House of Scandinavia.
6 Down Country Roads November / December 2025