Iceland review - 2007, Qupperneq 49

ICELAND REVIEW 55
Not since skyr appeared on shelves at Whole Foods Markets across America has
old school in Iceland been so cool. Before you ask too many questions, allow
me to answer the obvious one: yes, this Rafha stove, which lives in my kitchen
on Laugavegur, still works. This three-burner beaute runs dutifully and methodically,
a real workhorse. There are only settings 1, 2 and 3 on the burners, which translates to hot, hotter
and hottest. The oven is also based on the same ele mentary number system and unfortunately the
thermometer crapped out years ago so bak ing is the ultimate test of trial and error, and patience.
Based upon its serial number, 20525, the relic was one of seven or eight pieces made on
May 10, 1946 in Hafnarfjördur, Iceland, and was one of 17,000 units made over the
cour se of 56 years. How do I know all of this? Because Rafha General Manager Ingvi Ingva-
son, who has been with the company since 1970, has volumes filled with information about
every single unit produced from 1937 until the end.
Rafha produced stoves and other home appliances until 1990. Though some of the com-
ponents like the steel were produced in Europe, the frame was shaped here, and all the
painting and assembling happened on our fair island. There was a reason for this: between
1942 and 1944, the government first introduced trade barriers and currency quotas, which
were further tightened in 1947. In 1949, a fight erupted among women in a store in the
town of Ísafjördur over a few pairs of imported shoes. Christmas apples were rationed. In
1955, some unlikely items were produced in Ice land: 1,000 tons of floor mops, 80 tons of
caramels, 320 tons of laundry detergent, 4,060 pairs of women’s underwear, and 10,000
rakes. Prince Polo chocolate, which the nation received from Poland in exchange for herring,
was considered a real treat. It wasn’t until Iceland joined the European Free Trade Association
in 1970 that the embargoes started to ease up.
Well, little Iceland has come a long way since then, rising like a phoenix from the ashes of
trade restrictions of yesteryear. It has the fifth highest GDP per capita among OECD member
countries, which includes Luxembourg (#1), Norway (#2) and the United States (#3). On
average, just over one Range Rover is sold in Iceland per day, the least expensive of which –
we’re talking bottom of the barrel, no sunroof-style – starts at USD 169,000. An Icelander
now owns the West Ham football club in London. Icelandic investment company FL Group
is one of the biggest shareholders of American Airlines, the largest airline in the world. Goldman
Sachs is in the final stages of sealing an invest ment deal with Icelandic geothermal energy
company Geysir Green. And all the while my 61-year-old Rafha keeps on keepin’ on.
By Sara BlaSk Photo By Páll StefánSSon
slow burn