Shine a light on the Reflector

In these days of brightness I feel an overwhelming urge to share some warm thoughts on how good it is to have a reflector in you pocket. Any person who ever spent a winter in that Nordic country of mine will know that to make your self be seen in the dark is almost as important as having a seatbelt in the car. Debatable, absolutely, but such is the attitude of some Swedes. I don’t know of any country that has such a strong urge and an identified need to be seen in the dark as the Swede. Sure, my vast knowledge of cultures wearing a snappy reflector on their body doesn’t include the Polish highlands or the depth of the Ukraine, still I feel confident to claim that Swedes must surely be on the top 3-list of such activities.

And what a wonderful free marketing tool the reflector is! Every bank, business and promotional ‘do’ produce a reflector to hand out for free. Because guess what, there is a whole willing population of Swedes trying to be seen in the dark. Yep, one plus one is two and never has Sparbanken got so much free advertising as they do in the winter darkness of Sweden, with their logo dangling so temptingly from the pocket of a responsible Swede.

Oh, the joys of attaching a new reflector to the pocket of your winter jacket lifted your spirit as few other things did. The shapes and styles were many and the choice was often hard, but then again there are normally two pockets on the jacket so why not stick one reflector in each pocket, go crazy. So every little winter pocket of my childhood contained a piece or two of hard shiny plastic, attached to a safety pin and a piece of string. Sometimes the safety pin stopped being safe and while rummaging around inside the pocket for the reflector many small fingers drew a drop of blood or two. Often the string was a complete mess and instead of hanging freely outside your pocket and swinging while you walked, one would only spot a piece of plastic half peering out of the pocket in a choking kind of fashion, probably wrapped in the half-ripped pocket lining as well. But safety before all else.

As we moved into the 21st Century many things changed, but Swedes still like to be seen in the dark and a new cool approach to the reflector lurv is the Firefly reflectors. Stylish, fun and functional, just like your regular Swede. And why stop at saving your children from the darkness of winter, include your dog in the light-loving-reflector fest!