ICELANDIC TIMES - Land og saga

“I think it’s safe to say that we have one of the largest
selections of souvenirs around.“ Photos: Ingo
The Viking –
The list of items is almost endless; key
rings, statues, novelty items, heathen
ornaments, baseball caps. Be sure
not to go back home without at least
one book about Iceland, where you
can reminisce about your stay with
spectacular photographs of everything
Iceland has to offer. “We also have
stuffed birds like the puffin on offer, so
if you are a real puffin fan, you can have
one at home,” says Sigurður.
The Viking shops are different in
size and shape, the biggest one being
in Akureyri. Every shop also has its
distinctive feature. “We are quite busy
these days as the new shop in Isafjordur
is just about to open. Then we are also
opening a website, theviking.is, which
will be ready in the middle of May,” says
Sigurður. If you yearn for something
good and memorable about Iceland,
make sure you drop by at one of their
stores and see for yourself.
Director Harpa Þórsdóttir, Museum of Design:
Shoes and Bags Made of Fish Leather
The Museum of Design celebrates
its 12th anniversary this year by
opening the museum in a new
location at the end of May. The
opening exhibition is called “From
Fish to Leather” and there you
can see bags from houses such as
Dior and Salvatore Ferragamo and
shoes from Donna Karan made of
Icelandic fish leather.
“By opening our in new location on
May 28th we are getting a fantastic
new museum where we can
preserve our items and have regular
exhibitions. Our first exhibition is
called “From Fish to Leather”. It is an
idea we have been working on for
some time. We are trying to give our
visitors some idea what kind of raw
materials are manufactured in Iceland
and designers are using,” Museum
Director Harpa Þórsdóttir says.
“We will have on display all kinds of
Icelandic and International artifacts
made of Icelandic raw materials,
e.g. fish leather. Fish leather is
manufactured in Iceland and mainly
exported. We connect this to the
industrial history. Traditionally fish
leather has been used to produce e.g.
hand-made shoes but nowadays shoes
made of fish leather are fashion items
with brand names like Donna Karan,
Nike and Christian Dior,” she says.
The Museum of Design is the only
design museum in Iceland. The goal
is not only to be a design museum
welcoming guests of all ages but also
to be a research center for experts
and scientists. The new location is
Garðatorg 1, Garðabær. Opening
hours: Every day 12-17. Closed on
Mondays.
“We are trying to give our visitors
some idea what kind of raw
materials are manufactured in
Iceland and designers are using.”
Take Something Memorable
Home with You
You will see majestic mountains,
lava fields, cliffs, the huge
wilderness in Iceland. You will
witness spectacular wild-life,
birds with colorful beaks, great
whales, sheep everywhere and
the Icelandic horse. You will hear
enough folk tales about trolls, elves
and you will get to know about
the vikings, who went on viking
voyages all around Europe and
parts of America, of whom some
settled down in Iceland. You will
want to have something at home
to remind you of this all. You will
find such a souvenir in one of the
Viking souvenir shops in Reykjavik,
Akureyri and from June onwards,
in Isafjordur as well.
Sigurður Guðmundsson, owner of the
Viking, says that the shop has always put
emphasis on offering quality products
at fair prices. “I think it’s safe to say that
we have one of the largest selections of
souvenirs around. We want to offer our
customers great souvenirs, which can
be reminiscent of Iceland. It can both
be in the form of a warm winter coat
and a little puffin statue,” says Sigurður.
“It depends on what interested you
the most about Iceland; was it the
nature or the literature? We will have
something here to remind you of what
you experienced in Iceland.”
You can find The Viking in both
Laugarvegur 1 and Hafnarstræti 1 in
Reykjavík as well as in Hafnarstræti
in Akureyri and soon in Isafjordur as
well.
Various products designed to battle the
weather and winds of Iceland can be
acquired in The Viking.
You can buy knitted
wool sweaters there,
mittens and socks,
winter coats, fur shoes
and Icelandic design
products. “Puffin items
are always popular
and also some viking
items like the viking
helmet and sword,”
says Sigurður.
Viking items are always in high demand.
-New Icelandic Calendars for 2011
A Daily Reminder of Your Stay in Iceland
What better way to remember
your visit to Iceland than with
an all-Icelandic calendar, so that
every time you check the date
you‘re greeted with majestic
landscapes, the peculiar puffin or
the graceful Icelandic horse?
Snerra publishing house has printed
such calendars for over 25 years
now and is renowned for its
quality photos and professional
workmanship. Snerra has
now printed a new line of
calendars for the year
2011. The calendars
come in various shapes
and sizes and with different
themes; including landscapes in all
seasons, birdlife, horses and one is
dedicated entirely to the puffin. The
calendars come with text in Icelandic,
English, German and French and
some have official Icelandic holidays
marked. That way you won‘t forget to
celebrate the 17th of June in 2011 or
the first day of Icelandic summer.
The Snerra publishing house was
originally founded by photographers
and pilots who felt that in the 80‘s
there were no adequate photographic
portrayals of Iceland in the souvenir
market and decided to
take it upon themselves
to remedy that. Twenty five
years later they are still one
of the leading distributers
on the market. Which is no
wonder given the fact that
Snerra has onboard two of
the leading birdlife and nature
photographers in the country,
who have published several
photography
books.
The pictures of the Icelandic horse
are however photographed by
a farmer in Búrfell, named Jón
Eiríksson. Somewhat of a free spirit
and an undeniable artist, Jón takes
his camera with him in his tractor
whenever he goes to feed his horses
where he captures the majesty of
the Icelandic horse in its natural
surroundings.
Snerra also has on offer other
exciting souvenirs such as Icelandic
beer steins, jewelry, antique maps
of Iceland, playing cards and even
christmas items.
Snerra‘s calendars and other products
are sold in bookshops and souvenir
shops throughout the country and
you can also purchase the online at
www.snerra.is
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