About Us

Islanna is the name of our old family farm which, until the early 1980s, operated as a traditional farm with cows, pigs, chickens and sheep. Agricultural rationalization then produced a change for us in 1983 with a marked transition to organic farming with the sale of potatoes, vegetables and flour directly to our customers. Mostly we sold produce in the marketplaces of Tidaholm and Falköping but also a lot in our shop on the farm. The proximity to Hornborgasjön and Trandansen gives a great influx of tourists – especially during the spring – gave birth to the idea of ​​a cafe. After a lot of thought, it was decided that this would be located in the old barn. With its thick sandstone walls and sunken windows. We opened the barn cafe in Spring 1993. Organic products are a mainstay here. The ecological approach started in 1983 with potatoes, cereals and vegetables. The environmental way of thinking permeates the entire project, for example, the stairs and a platform built of oak, which is hard and weather-resistant and therefore does not need any impregnation. The exterior of the house is painted with mud and linseed oil. Inside, we have mostly used homemade egg tempera with eggs from a neighbor’s hens and color pigments from the Mills Ivarsson who together with her daughter wrote the book Jordens Färg, a beautiful book that has filled me with inspiration and the enjoyment colour can bring. Other shops have for example been Ovolins in Örebro and Byggnadsvården Svea Tradition in Ugglum. From Grön Interiör we have organic mattresses, pillows and blankets. Energy saving lamps contain mercury and despite the fact they are cited as contributing to environmental improvement this does not impress us enough. Instead, we focus on LED lighting where possible. The furniture is purchased on the second hand website ‘Blocket’ and are painted in a beautiful self-composed herb green linseed oil. The floor is underlined twice with an emulsion of egg tempera and surface-treated with olive oil soap and water. The icing on the cake – the beautiful woolen rugs from Gudrun. When darkness falls, and all the lights are out except the stars on the ceiling above your bed, it will feel as though you have been transported straight into the “Arabian Nights” stories. Nice and warm all year round.

The name “Islanna”

The name “Islanna” requires perhaps his explanation: In the beginning the heaven and earth was created. Some time later, everything was peaceful. Then the norse god ‘Is’ looked to earth and he was not satisfied, he began to reform the earth as he thought. He broke the rocks and graded stones. The landscape took on entirely new forms with Is’s feet. Where Islanna currently sits was laid by ‘Is’ which he was very pleased with, so pleased that he chose to name the place after himself. ‘Is’ ruled Islanna a while, but eventually had to flee from the sun god, who now took power on earth. Even the sun retreated away from Islanna so that people could live there. In memory of those ancient Norse gods sunflowers now grow on ‘Is’ land and in the fields stones are found that were left over when Is built Islanna hill.

Islanna has become our identity. It should smell good, taste good and be warm and friendly. Through the years this has become our work method and we have found that we, as well as our guests, feel good due to this simple but effective philosophy.