Real Living Australia - February 2018

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THE SWEDISH HAVE A SAYING, ingen ko på isen, which roughly translates to “there’s no cow


on the ice”. While that doesn’t seem like a sentiment Aussies would normally get behind, what it


essentially means is, “No worries”. And it was with this attitude that store owner Libby Helinski,


41, along with husband Matt, 40, and daughters Jessica, 15, and Lucy, 11, left behind the


Swedish town of Skellefteå to settle on the New South Wales east coast. The family had spent


a year in Sweden for Matt’s work, and during that time they all fell in love with the Nordic way of


life. “We loved the lifestyle, the environment and the whole concept of the Swedish summer


cabin, so on our return in 2014, we opened our lifestyle store Pappa Sven, which was our way


of bringing some of the things we really loved to Newcastle and sharing our experience with the


community,” Libby says. It’s a move that’s been well received. There’s so much interest, in fact,


that the family’s Aussie-cum-Swedish summer cabin is regularly booked out on Airbnb. “It’s A


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MEET LIBBY HELINSKI


owner of Nordic lifestyle store Pappa
Sven, who also owns a lovingly curated
Swedish summer cabin in this thriving
Novocastrian suburb.

“To me, Cooks Hill is the heart of Newcastle.
I love the tree-lined streets and easy access to
the harbour, the beach, shops and restaurants...
there’s a real sense of community here.”

LOVING

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