Ingvar Kamprad, who founded Ikea, named bathroom items after Swedish lakes, and couches after Swedish towns and villages - now the Swedish tourist board is encouraging you to visit them
You know Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant, and you no doubt have a few Ikea items in your home. But do you know the story behind the sometimes unpronounceable names of their furniture and household items?
This winter, VisitSweden, the Swedish tourist board, has launched a tongue-in-cheek campaign to shed light on the company’s unique naming process, because many of its popular items are named after real places in Sweden. And now they want to reclaim them.
Take Ektorp, for example. It’s the name of one of Ikea’s most popular sofas, but it’s also a little spot, around 5km from Stockholm, where you’ll find lakes and beautiful green spaces. Google ‘Ektorp’ and you’ll find pictures and prices for sofas before you discover the real place.
Höljes shares its name with an Ikea lamp. Photo: Martin Bergström
Järvfjället in Lapland, which offers grand outdoor experiences including hiking and cross-country skiing on trails alongside Lapland's unique fauna, is the location behind the name of the Järvfjället ergonomic swivelling office chair, and honestly, a place where you’ll be doing as little sitting down as possible when you visit. Kallax, the name of a very popular room divider shelf set, is a coastal town in Norrbotten, where you can cruise between thousands of small islands during summer nights lit by the midnight sun, as well as partake in one of Sweden's more "aromatic" culinary traditions during the town's annual fermented herring parties. There’s really quite a gap between the name of the furniture and the location as you can see.
With the campaign "Discover the Originals” Sweden wants to ignite interest in the destinations behind the products, and, with a touch of humour, show "the originals," the places behind some of Ikea's better-known product names. It’s not designed to have a dig at the company, but to show that there’s something remarkable behind even the most well-known products.
Järvfjället in Lapland is also the name of a ergonomic swivelling office. Photo: Mårten Dalfors
Kallax, the name of a very popular room divider shelf set, is a coastal town in Norrbotten. Photo: Mihai Novac
Ingvar Kamprad, who founded Ikea, also developed the system for how the company names its products. Different product categories are named according to different criteria. Bathroom items are named after Swedish lakes, while chairs and couches are named after Swedish towns and villages. There’s not always an obvious link between the place and the product, and that’s all the more pronounced with some of the more, how should we say it, delicate items.
Take the Bolmen toilet brush, for example. It takes its name from a lake in a scenic corner of Småland, not far from where Kamprad grew up. Here visitors have ample opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous natural surroundings, canoe, hike and bike on trails, or pick mushrooms and berries, without anything unsanitary in sight. As a part of this campaign Bolmen is launching a new slogan: “Bolmen – more than an Ikea toilet brush”.
Bolmen, a town found on a lake in Småland, is proving it's more than a toilet brush. Photo: Olle Kirchmeier
“We do appreciate that Ikea has named a product for our beautiful lake and that Visit Sweden is bringing global attention to this. But now we would like to show the world that Bolmen is so much more than an item with which you clean your toilet,” said Magnus Gunnarsson, chair of Smålands Sjörike and municipal council member in Ljungby.
It’s all a bit of fun at the end of the day, but maybe it’s also a little wake up call to think about where products come from and what stories lie behind them. If your home town shares the same name as a trash can or if a toilet roll holder is named after your local lake, now is the time to come forward and start telling the world what a beautiful place it is. Reclaim the name and let’s celebrate Sweden at the same time.