THE BEST WEATHER ..OF COURSE ON THE DAY WE HAD TO LEAVE

17TH OF MAY IN BEAUTIFUL LUSTER

ONE WEEK AGO; 16TH OF MAY BBQ IN SOGN

Last weekend we celebrated our CONSTITUTION DAY, the 17th of MAY, here in NORWAY. Ever since I was a child I have LOVED this holiday and the way it is celebrated, but these last years I've been abroad and therefore haven't celebrated it in a traditional way. It turned out that I would not this year either, even though I have moved back to BERGEN ..BUT I still feel that it was celebrated in a very traditional spirit. My sister and FRODE invited ERLEND and me to join them at FRODE's family's cabin in LUSTER in SOGN. I have not been there before, and it turned out that it is the most beautiful ..and NATIONAL ROMANTIC place with steep mountains with snow on them, beautiful fjords and fruit trees in BLOOM. Even though the weather was really gloomy with low clouds the day we arrived (something that apparently is quit common in this area) I thought it was perfect. And the next day when the SUN came out it was perfect in a new way, I will show you how tomorrow:)

HURRA FOR 17. MAI :)

A BERGEN NEIGHBORHOOD

Last week I was out photographing for ParkDrift here in BERGEN. Their job is to maintain different public green areas, private gardens ..and like in this case; the hedges and trees of a neighborhood.  It was my first assignment for them, but I think it will be fun working for them since I love flowers and trees. I also thought this neighborhood had such a nice feel to it that I wanted to share it with you too! I think hedges like these are sooo beautiful:)

KRISTIN, CAROLINE & JANNIKE

As I mentioned in a post earlier, I have been working as the manager of a clothing store since we moved back to BERGEN. The store is called EMIL  ..and it is kind of an institution here in BERGEN. When I first moved back I thought they only had one store, but it turned out they had 7 ..so I now work in one of those. When I first applied for the job ..and got it .. I have to admit I was a little SCEPTIC. Not of the workplace itself, but of the clothing I was going to sell. Coming from Bergen I associated the store with my mother..  or maybe even more so with GRANDMOTHERS. It turns out that I am not the only one with this association ..BUT it also turns out that I was wrong ..or at least partly.

A lot of the customers in my store are in fact SENIORS, seniors between 70 and 96 years old. We also have younger customers, but the seniors are without a doubt our most faithful customers. Many of them have been shopping in our stores forever.. and many of them buy almost all their clothes there. This is partly because there are not that many stores left that sell clothes that women their age want to wear ..or actually CAN wear.. skinny jeans and miniskirts, low necklines and see through fabrics are not for everyone. But after working there for a while I realized that their FAITHFULNESS most likely also has to do with the service, which is almost old fashioned, but the good kind of old fashioned. With all the online shopping I think good service is the future of 'in store' shopping. 

Anyway, so now to the things I was wrong about; THE CLOTHES. Our stores still sell clothes that older women like; the classics .. and jeans that are high waist and do not cling to your ankles. BUT we also have a lot of nice brands and clothes for women my age  ..and younger. A lot of the girls working at our store are in their TWENTIES and they have been pointing out this last season how they really like a lot of the clothes that we have in store right now. This knowledge together with all the answers I get every week from women in their 40's when I address them; 'no I do not need any help, I am just looking for something for my mother' made me suggest to my boss that we should do a PHOTO SHOOT, or a few, to show people that our clothes are for a broader and younger base than the ones we are currently selling to. And  I, of course, had an idea of how we should to do it..

In the photos I wanted to focus on the fact that we are a local company ... and I wanted to work with the girls working in our stores, partly because they work here.. but also because they are such beautiful girls ..and I love working with ordinary people in a laidback setting.. And I also wanted them to pick out outfits they felt that they could actually wear, and mix it with their own clothes to make it authentic.

SO these pictures are  the result a one great  SUNDAY hanging out in the sun with the sweetest colleagues one can have. Thank you Kristin, Caroline and Jannike!