Highlight of February 2017 has to be our fleeting visit to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Our main mission was to visit CIFF Kids, the largest, strongest and most innovative fashion fair in Scandinavia – I am just telling you what the website says there, but it was great and I’d second that.
But whilst we were there we lived a little of the Scandinavian lifestyle dream.
It was my first time visiting the city, and we searched for posts about things to do and places to go to before we went – but a lot of our favourite things to do we stumbled upon or heard through the grapevine.
So I thought it would be worth doing a little write up of what was great about Copenhagen, and the best bits for us.
1# DAY ONE : VISIT TO CIFF KIDS COPENHAGEN
We got up super early to catch our flight from Luton directly into Copenhagen, it was so easy, and so quick into the centre of the city – which is relatively small – smaller than I imagined!
Arriving at CIFF Kids, I was impressed with the layout and scale. Previously we have visited Playtime Paris, Dot to Dot London, Bubble London, Maison et Object, and it didn’t disappoint to compare.
Some of the brands we already stock on Claude & Co were at the show, so it was great to catch up and see the new stock for AW17.
Excitingly there were also some new smaller contemporary Children’s Scandinavian designers and European brands I hadn’t met yet and I loved seeing so many new products. You’ll have to wait and see for those! It is so exciting to be able to buy into these brands we love and bring the designs to the UK.
2# DAY TWO: WALKING AND MORE WALKING THE CITY
Day two consisted of a million miles of walking around the trade show again to walking around the city to do some tourist tracks. There aren’t many other options than getting on your feet – or possibly a bike to really see the city. The metro is great, and gets you from A to B and not much further, so word to the wise, wear your comfiest footwear, preferably that fits in with the locals minimal Nordic style.
Luckily whilst walking you can see the independent stores and brilliant buildings dotted around Copenhagen. There are a few great Baby and Children Scandinavian stores but a lot were focused on interiors and Adult design.
3# DAY THREE: SCANDI CULTURE AND HOME
With a few hours to spare on day three, we did some extremely important tasks. First task, find me the best Kanelsnegle (cinnamon swirl) in the city – which I would say we managed. The oldest bakery in town in the form of Skt. Peder's Bakery filled me up beautifully, and is so worth finding if you’re into baked goods – who isn’t?
For some culture and walking off the swirl we headed to the Danish museum of Art & Design (http://designmuseum.dk/en)
This is well worth a visit on a trip to Copenhagen; there was a wealth of interesting design products from clothing to an exhibitions on the history of Danish chairs, which is surprisingly fascinating. The amount of beautiful Danish influence in design is unbelievable, you’ll be skipping home full of ideas on how to make your home more Scandi inspired.
Part of the exhibition featured Arne Jacobsen, it was fascinating as I have long been an admirer of his work in architecture and design. Hence influencing a decision to stock Design Letters (click to link to) on the website. His original handwritten text from 1937 is still used in the design letters melamine tableware and it was great to read more about his history and how this links to the stock we sell and love today.
Psst..Top Tips
1# Take your wallet. Expect everything to be expensive. Especially eating out, there are ways around it and we tried to find more local and affordable food that also ticked the stylish box.2# Be prepared to walk. It's a really beautiful city, and nothing like a good stomp around to get to know the culture. I can imagine in the summer months this being a total pleasure.3# Do your research and book some restaurants before going. Plan your days (ish) so you have a walking around route, we had some hit lists of shops I wanted to go to, and it helped with a direction!