RIP Ingvar. Thank you for giving us IKEA

So Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, has died at the age of 91. To be honest I didn't know he was still alive (hehe...) but now I've been thinking about Ingvar and the empire he built. There aren’t many who haven’t heard of IKEA. I mean, it's difficult to find someone who has never tasted their meatballs or attemp

ted to put together a bookshelf or wardrobe at least once in their life. Most of us have at least one piece of furniture from that store, and why shouldn’t we? It’s cheap without looking cheap, and one can see building the furniture as a bit of a brain exercise (which has sometimes driven me to almost chuck everything out the window).

What I found out is that Ingvar started selling matches at the age of five – five! – so he has clearly always had a head for business. When I was five it was all my parents could do to stop me from climbing on the roof of the car (it looked like someone had ice skated on it) and the only thing I cared about was having a good time. But Ingvar, he figured out that he could buy matches cheaply in bulk from Stockholm and then sell them individually to people in his village Älmhult, Sweden, and make a profit. Now, that is pretty impressive.

IKEA has always been special to me. When I was a child every trip was like a little adventure. I did not give squad about buying chairs or plates, but the joy of going to this amazing store was to wander around the display rooms, especially the children’s ones. I remember climbing into the beds and playing with the toys that lay scattered about. The cherry on top of an already fun trip was going to the cafeteria and have their meatballs, followed by ice cream. To this day, I can never go to IKEA without having meatballs or wandering around the show rooms. It takes me right back to childhood, only today I can’t climb on the beds or play with the toys. Sadly.

But imagine what the world of interior design would look if IKEA had never existed? Would someone else have come up with the idea, or would we all still be buying furniture in one piece, spending triple the amount of money on it? Surely the world wouldn’t be as fond of Swedish meatballs, and I’m sure Balenciaga wouldn’t have designed their blue tote bag that caused a wave of ridicule across the internet, because where would they have gotten the inspiration from, am I right?

It’s difficult to imagine a world without IKEA in it, and I am grateful that I don’t have to. So I thank you Ingvar for creating this amazing brand that has caused so much joy and convenience all through my life. I hope you will rest in peace, because you have definitely deserved it!