You might doubt that quaint Middleburg needs another antique store, so what explains the happy buzz of excitement that is surrounding the opening of Svea Antiques & Accessories in town, around the corner from the main street, just down the hill from the traffic light at 17 S. Madison Street?

The answer is Gunhild Mjornell, manager and co-owner of the new shop, known to Middleburgers as the smiling and quietly elegant woman with the gentle Swedish accent who greeted and served customers for many years at Skandina, the Scandinavian home décor store whose closing was genuinely mourned by its many admirers around the area. Mjornell determined to open her own shop and named it after Moder Svea, the female warrior and protector who is the national symbol of Sweden as Lady Liberty is for the U.S.

In her new enterprise, which is located across the street from the former location, the gracious Mjornell has kept the best of the comfortable yet sophisticated "painted and pine" Swedish style that Skandina was known for, and added to it a new warmth and accessibility. Right now the Svea shop is waiting for a full container of personally selected Swedish antiques that are, as Mjornell says, "on the sea somewhere between Goteborg and Norfolk." In the meantime, the new store is offering a selection of home décor items and accessories including lamps, pillows, and topiary, as well as some wonderful Swedish ornaments, cookbooks, and children's books including the irrepressible Pippi Longstocking series and a new reprint of the classic "Per and the Dala Horse".

Mjornell calls attention to the store's signature handcrafted "tomte," traditional Swedish elves which are imported direct from Stockholm and are collector's items created by Swedish artists Kicki and Maija. Unlike other mass-produced versions, these tomte come in various sizes with felted clothing, hand-painted faces, and very individual personalities. Svea also carries tomte storybooks, poseable tomte figures that can serve as napkin rings, and candle-wreathed St. Lucia dolls, all ready now for use during the holidays.

Visit Svea Antiques & Accessories now to have maximum browsing space to appreciate Gunhild Mjornell's selection of smaller specialty items, and then return in a few weeks to a full house after the container of larger antique pieces arrives. Either way, you're sure to find that everything old (and Swedish) is new again.