My Ikea trip took me to Sweden for a look behind the scenes 

Eve Kelliher explores HQ of the iconic home design brand to find out how its story began — and also checks into the Ikea hotel

The Ikea Through The Ages exhibition, 2023.

When pooches took to riding the New York City subway in Ikea bags, they got to comply — thanks to their human companions’ ingenuity — with the pet travel rule that dogs could board the subway but would have to do so in a “container”.

It’s outside-the-box (or the bag) thinking like this that the global design manager at Ikea of Sweden, Johan Ejdemo, loves.

A dog on the NYC subway. Picture: eatliver.com

Because Johan’s main design criteria are that an item “stay useful and helpful”.

THE BEGINNINGS

That store is now the Ikea Museum and showcasing a vibrant time-travel exhibition, Ikea Through the Ages, to celebrate the company’s 80th anniversary.

Curiosity and innovation are touchstones at Ikea, a legacy of its founder, as I discover. 

These very words, and concepts to their effect, are immortalised on innumerable walls as I stroll through various company buildings during my visit, from the corridors of the top-secret prototype premises to the test lab and Democratic Design Centre. 

The global brand was established by Ingvar Kamprad, a child entrepreneur. Ingvar grew up on a farm in the area and started his career at the age of five, selling matches.

The fields around this region are notoriously stony (on the evening I arrive, in the land-of-the-midnight-sun 10pm daylight, our train whizzes by innumerable stone walls in green plots, reminiscent of rural Ireland as we make our way from Copenhagen Airport to Malmö and then on to our destination).

Ingvar Kamprad.

The land produced poor crops. “People had to be innovative, creative, strong, and stubborn,” says exhibition curator Mats Nilsson.

 “Families were thrifty, and many became entrepreneurs to make ends meet, selling homemade goods or preserved foods.”

Then: The first Ikea store in Almhult, Sweden.

Ingvar’s first customer was his grandmother, and he later branched into selling cards, magazines, garden seeds, and fish, and later, at boarding school, watches, pens, wallets, and belts.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

The Ikea name was born using Ingvar Kamprad’s initials plus Elmtaryd, the family farm, and Agunnaryd, the farm’s parish in Småland.

But the 17-year-old Ikea founder didn’t sell furniture — yet.

As he continued his business and college studies, he realised success depended on simple, cost-efficient distribution from factory to customer. This meant direct import and mail order, of watches and pens at first.

Exhibition curator Mats Nilsson.

But he saved up to invest in furniture. 

Ingvar Kamprad's office, as shown in the Ikea Museum.

The post-war Swedish government had built more housing and offered home furnishing loans — and Småland had numerous furniture factories.

And so Ikea debuted furniture in its 1948 brochure, which became the famous catalogue.

The Ikea catalogues, displayed in the museum.

The rest is history.

Now Älmhult is home to buildings including a test lab and prototype shop where the Ikea retail business is operated through a franchise system with franchisees that are authorised to market and sell the Ikea product range within specified geographical territories.

The first Ikea store is now the Ikea Museum.

Today, 12 different groups of companies have the right to own and operate Ikea sales channels under franchise agreements.

Ikea furniture from the 1960s.

Ikea opened its first store in Älmhult in 1956 (where the Ikea Museum is now located), and this company now employs 5,600 in the town.

While still en route, a Swedish rail passenger asks where I am headed for. 

Her eyes light up when she hears. She has just returned from a work trip to Italy, where glimpses of Ikea billboards made her feel at home, she confides.

Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad's Volvo at the 80th-anniversary celebrations. Picture: Jonas Ljungdahl

Ikea, to Swedish people, has all the feelgood associations of Christmas, she says.

And yes, there’s a bit of a high-tech yet very Santa’s Workshop vibe (in spite of the summer sunshine, of course) about it all.

I’m thinking of the 1990s festive fantasy movie The Santa Clause — but with more Scandi sleekness — as I investigate the Ikea Test Lab (strangely mesmerised by a chair going through its nine millionth test), and tour the prototype building.

Some 155,516 people visited the museum last year and there is even an Ikea Hotel (kitted out with Ikea pieces, naturally).

Because when Ingvar Kamprad opened the first Ikea store, people travelled there from far and wide.

The Democratic Design Centre in Ikea, Älmhult.

Less than a decade later, he opened a Motell Ikea there, on August 22, 1964, with 25 rooms, a restaurant, and a swimming pool. 

Now, the number of rooms at Ikea Hotell has grown to 254. 

The copper roof of the 1964 building has been repurposed as a reception desk, and the limestone floor has been preserved, as has the open fireplace in the restaurant. 

“Cutting down on resources is not only thrifty, it’s also eco-friendly,” notes Ikea.

The communal areas, on all levels, have a cool, college-like vibe. During my stay, I spot several fabulous four-legged fellow hotel guests. 

So, as for those intrepid Ikea bag-loving canines on the NYC subways? 

They would be more than welcome, with special rooms set aside for visitors arriving with dogs and cats.

A dog on the NYC subway in a modified Ikea bag. Picture: eatliver.com