Handmade ceramic replicas of the wooden houses of Bryggen( the dock) in Bergen, Norway.
room of the store on site, and its wood frame is quite interesting.
“ He and his brother came out here and built it,” JoAnn says.
Harvey also built an acrylic boat that he made into a Viking ship by attaching a tail, head and sail. The ship hangs prominently in the store, catching theeyes of all who enter.
Carmen helps her customers not only by greeting them, but making it a point to welcome them. She asks what they are looking for and balances their needs for space with her urge to help. The exchange is not transactional but relational in a way that most shop owners seem to have forgotten.
“ We have a couple who come from Minnesota three times a year. They just come and visit and we chat. There’ s a lot of personal relationship built,” Carmen says
Carmen is also very knowledgeable about her inventory, sharing stories about collections either verbally or in writing with displays that explain the stories behind the artists or items themselves.
The heart of the shop is the food, heart foods if you will, foods that remind visitors of their childhood. JoAnn says this is especially true for exchange students who live in a Scandinavian country but are spending a year learning in America.
“ They’ re here in high schools in Nebraska and Minnesota and come out to see Mount Rushmore. They will walk in and see candy from home and literally will be jumping up and down,” she says.“ You can just see the memories in their smile, their eyes. They just light up.”
Those foods include everything from exceptional choco- lates and coffee to rye crisps and cod liver. And that is just barely scratching the surface.
Above all else the House of Scandinavia is warm and fuzzy, a shop that welcomes you in from the start.
“ Part of Scandinavian life is this thing called hygge which is a Danish term for coziness, welcoming, relaxation, warmth. It doesn’ t translate into one word in English. So it’ s candles and snuggling in and having a cup of tea and a cookie, taking time, relaxing,” Carmen says.
That hygge is the embodiment of the store, not just in its products but in its trusted owners. The daughters are keeping their family traditions alive and the traditions of other families too. The sisters say they see the excitement of their customers almost every day.
“ You are bringing back something in their memories or creating new memories, new traditions,” says JoAnn.
Carmen adds,“ There are a lot of touching returns. I had one lady break into a complete meltdown crying because she used to come with her grandma. She walked in the door and just started crying. She was like,“ I used to come here with my grandma and my grandma died and I wanted to come back’. And she was just crying while she walked around. It was just a good memory of her with her grandma.”
The House of Scandinavia is now open Friday, Saturday and Sundays 10-5.
January through April the shop will be open by appointment only. In May it will resume regular hours 10-5, open 6 days a week, closed on Tuesday. myblackshillscountry. com Down Country Roads
7