The Unofficial IKEA Web Journal

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty
light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him
die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the
snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the
true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no
more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all
mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring
in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the
times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel
in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the
spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of
good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of
gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of
peace.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Image: D. Morris
…
Gott nytt år!, Felice Anno Nuovo, Gelukkig Nieuwjaar, Antum salimoun, Feliz Ano Novo, Xin Nian Kuai Le, Bonne Annee, Sun Leen Fai Lok,, Selamat Tahun Baru, Feliz Año Nuevo, L‘Shannah Tovah, Prosit Neujahr, Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu, Manigong Bagong Taon, Happy New Year!

Opening this year:

IKEA West Sacramento, Ca. : March 1, 2006
IKEA Canton, MI. : Summer 2006

Announcements

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?

Image: “me n’ o.j. in the tub”
By peppermint patty @ IKEA Lovers/FLICKR
© All rights reserved

Happy New Year everyone! Have fun and be safe. See you on Tuesday.

Photography

NEWS FLASH! From Major Clanger’s LiveJournal comes this situation report:

SITUATION: Enhancement of home base command bunker (cover name: ‘study’) requires acquisition of additional IVAR shelving.

MISSION: Proceed to the new IKEA encampment at Milton Keynes, procure appropriate IVAR items, and exfiltrate.

AFTER-ACTION REPORT:
Initial approach to target was compromised when GPS nav/attack system
failed to lock on to target coordinates (i.e. the bloody store has its
own, new, postcode). However, local friendlies (codename: ‘AA’) had
placed additional signage. During terminal approach, target facility
was highly visible owing to (i) vast and immense blueness, and (ii)
queue for entry. However, this proved less troublesome than expected as
Borg-like IKEAdrones had been deployed on traffic-marshalling duties…

…POST-ATTACK RECCE: Regrettably, the target (or an
alternate facility) will have to be revisited in order to acquire the
final key objectives (226 cm x 30 cm IVAR supports, 3 off).”

LINK

[Thanks Amie!]

Humor

“As a child, Kamprad rides his bike around Stockholm, buying up off-price
merchandise—including matches, fish, seeds and Christmas-tree decorations—to
sell to his neighbors in the farming village of Agunnaryd. In 1943 Ikea is
founded as a door-to-door enterprise specializing in items like picture frames
and stockings. The logo uses the colors of the Swedish flag. In 1951 the company
published its first furniture catalogue. With no shipping facilities, Kamprad
makes a deal with the local milkman to deliver orders with daily dairy drop-offs
as well as to the nearby train station..”

TIME Style & Design:
Icon: IKEA
By James Scully

LINK

In the News

Image: Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

“Once upon a time there was a young Swedish boy by the name of Ingvar
Kamprad. By hard work and an enormous amount of persistence he managed
to build a glorious company that he decided to call IKEA (guess where
the “I” and “K” in the name comes from). This part of the story
everybody (at least all Swedes) know already, but here’s something no
one ever told you before.

Once on Ingvar’s many trips through
the dark and dangerous woods of Småland, he encountered a giant with
magical powers. Apparently, Ingvar had built one of his warehouses in
just the place where the giants of Småland used to hold their midsummer
raves, so now was time for revenge. And a bad revenge it would be. The
giant knew that the worst blow he could hit Ingvar with, was attacking
his precious company. However, the giant’s powers were limited, so he
couldn’t perform all the magick he actually desired to. He had to
restrict himself to one of a couple of alternatives. And the devious
creature decided to let poor Ingvar make the choice…”

By Ernst Nathorst-Böös’ Blog
A Branding Fable

Read on.

Opinions

Image: Pacbell

“I am a resident of West Sacramento and am elated that IKEA has decided to
make West Sacramento home to your newest store.  I have enjoyed seeing West
Sacramento grow over the past years and know that your new store will put us on
the map for more businesses to come.  Your store is a great compliment to
this city.

Store Openings

Store Openings

Here’s a cool IKEA desk mod from Theron Parlin:

“For a long time, I have been annoyed at my big old PC case. It’s big,
it’s black, it’s not pretty in a living room. I used to live in a small student
apartment, so it wasn’t a big issue. But next month, I will be moving into a
small house, so I want to make things look better. As the PC will be in the
living room, I want to get rid of the big PC case. The answer is IKEA, and
chopping up the old case.

I bought this nice cheap desk “Jonas” from
IKEA. It’s simple, it’s “clean”, and the drawer/cupboard is more than big enough
for my computer parts. Buying it IKEA-style, meaning that I get it in parts, is
a big bonus for my project. It means I can cut the wood etc., before I assemble
the desk.

Projects

“I  live in Rochester Hills Michigan. I am thrilled to find out that
IKEA is coming to Canton Michigan. Canton is about 45 minutes from where I live,
this will be a much shorter drive for me than to your stores in the greater
Chicago area! Cant wait for the opening!”

Store Openings

“With the new resurgence of the ‘70s, portrayed in part by the hugely
popular, live musical production of “Mamma Mia”, the music of ABBA is finding
its way back into the hearts of those who lived it then and taking over the
hearts of those who are experiencing it for the first time now…”

“adbacadabra”
The ultimate  ABBA tribute.

VISIT.
…
From our friend Curtis:

“It’s a little known fact that the group ABBA sought and obtained permission from ABBA, the seafood company, to use that name. Permission was granted and the company has benefited ever since (the only artists to sell more albums worldwide are the Beatles and Elvis).”

Related link: “The Official Caviar of the Dancing Queens”

*OUTSIDE THE BOX. An occasional series of thoughts and images. A breathing space. Because we can’t be shopping all the time:) Submissions are welcome.

OUTSIDE THE BOX