Continuing with Denmark (København, Danemark)…
We really liked Illum Bolighus- a specialist department store here – full of furniture, lights, design objects, papers, textiles, and even some clothes. It reminded us very much of Vinçon in Barcelona (see earlier post here) and The Conran shop in NYC (now closed) and the UK. This store is located on busy Amagertorv in the heart of Copenhagen’s Strøget district.
The store shares the same side of Amagertorv and is situated next to the flagship stores of Royal Copenhagen and Georg Jensen. Can’t get any more convenient for the tourists to load up on Danish made souvenirs. Btw, just learnt that Georg Jensen has been taken over by David Chu ? (who founded Nautica in the US in the 90’s).
Illums Bolighus was originally founded in 1925 in Copenhagen under the name of BO (not to be confused with BoConcepts which is also a Danish company).
With a store strategy that had never been seen before, BO was a store with arranged and furnished interiors, where textiles, appointments, and furniture all interacted as art.
In 1941, the store was purchased by the Illum, Berg, and Trock-Jansen families, who also owned the A.C. Illum A/S department store. It was then renamed Illums Bolighus.
Illums Bolighus is now independent and has no connection with the Illum department stores – the biggest one located just a block away.
The store operates an online store with a beautiful catalog – here.
“By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark” – may be she shops online too.
Not as avant garde as driade in Milano (see earlier post here), Illums Bolighus has the widest collection we’d seen of Scandinavian’s modern and mid-century designer furniture.
According to Wikipedia:
“The term Scandinavian design emerged in the 1950s to describe design from the Scandinavian countries. It is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality. …”
“Influenced by the German Bauhaus school, many Danish designers used the new industrial technologies, combined with ideas of simplicity and functionalism to design buildings, furniture and household objects, many of which have become iconic and are still in use and production.”
A little discreet corner for Vitra (see Vitra at the Milano Furniture Fair here).
IT and MW bought a few pieces each of Arne J’s classic designs. Despite having to add shipping costs, they are still a bargain over the prices back home.
They have a huge collection of lights on the top floor.
We came back a second time to buy small gifts on the ground floor. Great shop.