Why You Shouldn’t Always Listen To Your Friends

Louise and daughter Noemi started their family business Måla och Skåla (English translation: Paint and Propose a Toast) in 2017, after having had the idea for quite some time. “When I pitched the idea to my friends for the first time, they were convinced it would never work and I believed them,” says Louise. 

Måla och Skåla provides a painting experience where fun art, not fine art is emphasised. “This is a feel-good experience, we want our guests to have fun and to leave any sort of anxiety related to performance at the door. Many are angry with themselves when their painting is not what they wanted it to be, but the actual artwork being created is not the main thing we wish for our guests to bring home with them at the end of the night. It is all about letting loose, having fun, and creating memories,” says Louise.

Establishing Måla och Skåla

The idea of starting a bring-your-own-beverage painting workshop came to Louise when she was watching TV one night. She realised that the concept had not been introduced in Sweden, and thought quietly to herself that establishing something similar would be a lot of fun. Working at a pharmacy at the time, and spending all of her spare time with her dogs, Lousie wanted to pitch the idea to her friends one night over dinner for some loving advice before diving into the unknown and starting a venture of her own. “Every single one of my friends, without exception, thought that this was the worst idea they had ever heard. Since the concept was originally American, they argued that the cultural differences between Americans and Swedes would be too big for the concept to really take off here. They described nightmare scenarios of what would happen at one of these workshops in Sweden, since Swedes generally hate engaging in small talk with strangers. Willingly getting themselves into a situation where they have to awkwardly meet new people, as well as engaging in some anxiety-ridden painting exercise, was just unimaginable to my friends.”

Putting her idea on the backburner, Louise, together with her daughter, went to visit some family in the USA when serendipity intervened. “We were on our way to see a movie when we saw empty canvases being placed around the inside of a restaurant, preparing for a painting workshop event. We looked at each other and decided it was fate, and that we were going to just go for it.”

The Workshop

The workshop takes about 1.5 hours, where an experienced artist offers step-by-step instructions to complete a specific painting. The artwork ranges from abstract, to landscape, to still life paintings. Even so, each guest is encouraged to follow their intuition and paint whatever they feel like. “It is great when people feel inspired and decide to do their own thing. Not everyone wants to take instructions, and some might not be able to, and that is completely fine! The less instructions that are followed, the more personal the outcome will be. In the end, this experience is all about having fun and forgetting about the world outside for a while.”

Despite her friends’ initial scepticism, Louise does not have any awkward Swedishness at her events. “I was so pleased to find that this concept seems to make people more comfortable in talking to each other! As everyone brings their own beverage, that is a popular first topic to discuss as soon as they step inside the door. Once we get started, everyone is usually so concentrated that we have to remind them to toast once in a while. It is such an amazing feeling to see how much happiness we are contributing to.”

Facing the Critics

Despite the guests’ overwhelming appreciation for the experience, Louise and Noemi have faced critique directed at the BYOB aspect of the workshop. “In the beginning, we were not communicating what we were about as effectively as we are now. We received a lot of criticism from people saying that we were romanticising the idea that art and drinking are connected and artists as being alcoholics. However, the beverage of your choice does not have to be alcoholic. That is something inherently Swedish I believe, that any sort of toast needs an alcoholic drink. To us, a toast can be made drinking anything from wine to chocolate milk!”

Candlelit Nights

During the darker months of the year, Måla och Skåla offers Candlelit Nights where guests are invited to paint solely by candle light. “We had a customer who planned a bespoke event with us, where he specifically asked for us to not use any kind of electricity and allow for them to paint in candle light. To paint in the glowing light from the candles was such a magical experience that we decided to make it a regular event. The best part of the evening might be when we turn on the lights when we are finished and the real outcome of the artwork is revealed. Without strong lighting, certain colours are easily mistaken for each other and it is very hard to see the hardness of the colour used, meaning that the result is often very different from what was expected!” 

Something For Everyone

At the start of their journey, Louise and Noemi expected to introduce a commercial concept to Sweden where art was made fun for everyone. However, as the years have gone by, they have realised that their venture offers so much more than that. “Creating art is very therapeutic. Coming for a night with us has no strings attached other than to have fun and to forget about your life outside the studio’s four walls for a while, meaning that it allows for people to fulfill a need they might have had for a long time. For example, one lady who was battling cancer decided to paint based on her intuition, and instead of following the instructor who was painting a woman with long, thick hair, she decided to leave her depiction of that same woman hairless. In this way, we hope to offer something deeper and more meaningful as well, which is something I am very proud of,” says Louise.