Unraveling the IKEA product naming mystery
September 6th, 2006
“Good company, good names? If you are like most IKEA shoppers, you don’t
have a clue where IKEA’s bottomless well of goofy-sounding product names
comes from or what they mean. Why is an IKEA desk called Jerker? Do you want to
sleep on a bed named Gutvik? That’s not a carving knife, that’s a
Smeltpunt. Well get ready, there is a method to the apparent madness.
Items for the bathroom like Apskar (a wash basin), Toftbo (a bathroom mat),
and Sanni (a bath sheet) are named after Scandanavian lakes, rivers and
bays–that seems appropriate.
and Sanni (a bath sheet) are named after Scandanavian lakes, rivers and
bays–that seems appropriate.
Stuff for kids is named after mammals, birds, and adjectives. So if you buy
your children a Smyg, they’re getting a lamp named for a wren. And a child’s
desk is Fartful, which of course means “speedy” in Swedish.
your children a Smyg, they’re getting a lamp named for a wren. And a child’s
desk is Fartful, which of course means “speedy” in Swedish.
Chairs have men’s names like Roger and Joel and Luppio. And materials and
curtains have women’s names like Rosali and Lenda and Ingert…”
curtains have women’s names like Rosali and Lenda and Ingert…”
“The Naming Business: Unraveling the IKEA product naming mystery”
A Hundred Monkeys
[via Apartment Therapy]
Photo: “Truth in advertising” by somenordic-based guy @ IKEA Lovers/FLICKR
© All rights reserved. Used with permission.
