December is just around the corner like a memory. Dark and rugged. Grey and colourless. But through the dense grey fog the scents of Christmas pushed aside the powers of darkness, let it remain in January? scents of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, saffron, orange, mandarin, allspice, nutmeg and fir find their way into my nostrils and lift my mood to dizzying heights. Transporting my thoughts to warm, bright places.

Does it really work? That's a question I often get about non-conventional deodorants. Every time I try to explain that it's not the same as a conventional deodorant. Then I have to break it down more.

I think many of you, including me, stiffen up when the person standing behind you in a queue lets out a cough syrup followed by wheezing. I have traveled unusually much for work in recent weeks and airplanes feel like an incubator for germs to change owners.

...or care instructions for relationships. Humans are relational herd animals from an evolutionary psychological perspective, naturally and crucially for our survival. Some are part of a larger herd, others in a smaller one. The number is not decisive, but it is the quality of the relationships that is important for our health.

Today Happy Food Store opens in Stockholm! The Finnish success concept called Ruohonjuuri in Finland opens the doors to its new store at Sveavägen 22. c/o Gerd Magazine was invited to the opening which left a lasting impression.

Every time I make a purchase I send out several signals. Which reach much further than I think. For example, when I buy a face cream I send a positive signal to the manufacturer but also all its suppliers. Through that action I encourage all those who supply raw materials and packaging. Who in turn need suppliers. The packaging should be printed text on the grower of various raw materials should cultivate the land and so on.

For me, as for many other children, Christmas was important. I grew up on the edge of the forest in the small village of Porjus just north of the Arctic Circle and Jokkmokk.

So slowly you wake up from the weekend haze, thoughts of everyday life knocking at you. Even though I haven't just been lying on my back, it's like you need to move your fingers and toes, stretch, and fill your lungs with winter air to be able to start looking ahead.

We meet Johan Wiklund and Anna-Lena Wiklund Rippert in a personal conversation about how they came to start the company c/o Gerd. What it was like coming out for Johan and Anna-Lena leaves us with a cliffhanger that is first unraveled in podcast episode 3.

How do you have a truly successful Christmas? Is it true that the person who does the most shopping and has the biggest Christmas table has the most successful Christmas? It's easy to believe that, at least if you read what's in all the newspapers online or go out on the town.