Copenhagen’s 3 days of design event

The key highlights from 3 days of design in Copenhagen, where there’s minimal Scandi style aplenty. The annual festival draws journalists, buyers and design enthusiasts from around the world and we’ve got the best bits below.

3 days of design is Denmark’s annual design event showcasing a curated selection of work from a variety of creative talents. It’s a design event I haven’t yet been able to squeeze into my diary, but it’s definitely one I follow avidly on Instagram, mostly because it isn’t your average design fair held in an exhibition centre on the edge of town. It’s spread across the city over the festival’s three days, making the most of everything Copenhagen has to offer. I was glued to the Instagram account of blogger, stylist and design writer Hannah Trickett and asked her if she would pull together her highlights to share here on Hello Peagreen. Hannah is originally from Britain but is now a Copenhagen local and writes regularly on her blog about her passion for Scandinavian design. You can also see her wonderfully minimal style featured in her photography and styling found on Instagram.  The perfect person to share her thoughts with us about all the gorgeous design spotted during the event.

Milan and the Stockholm furniture fair are the leading interior design weeks but over the past few years there Copenhagen’s 3 days of design has grown into what I can say is my favourite design fair.  Copenhagen’s top design studios, workshops, showrooms, embassies and private spaces open their doors for a design fuelled 3 days. This year, 3 days of design was bigger than ever. Many bands revealed new furniture pieces, hosting design talks and exclusive launches of new spaces.

Most notable was the grand opening The Audo, a boutique hotel designed by Danish brand Menu together with Norm architects and Nathan Williams from Kinfolk. Located in Nordhavn, a waterfront district and former industrial port, The Audo, a former merchant house, is one of the oldest buildings in the area with neo-baroque façade is surrounded by the new builds of the regenerated area. The artistic, homely and elegant boutique hotel also has meeting areas, a restaurant, cafe and concept store. A perfect space for the creative community to get together, share ideas and sleep over. 

From hotels to showrooms, many have a facelift for this design week, in particular, the exciting new showroom for New Works. The murky world of browns and beiges have been lifted to new heights with strong design and styling Lotta Agaton interiors. The monochrome palette is somewhat a signature of Lotta Agaton and in the showroom apartment she has created a warmth of browns and beiges to compliment the New Works products.  

Collaboration was a common thread throughout where Danish design companies love to share and work with new influences. Impressive exhibitions by Frama and British designer Louisa Grey, Karimoku and Norm Architects, Tekla and John Pawson, Malte Gormsen and Space Copenhagen (for Geist restaurant) all highlight the importance to collaborate in new business ventures and exciting new designs. If there was an exhibition, the likelihood is that there was a collaboration of some kind. 

Japanese influences was a concurrent theme within many brands either collaborating or inspired designs. Danish and Japanese design ideology have levels, from craftsmanship, tradition and simplicity, yet still so different in ways. They continue to inspire each other and make great partnerships. 

Skagerak launched The Table Project, a collaboration with All The Way to Paris hand painting onto 100 pieces of ceramics by renowned Japanese porcelain brand 1616 / Arita Japan. Norm Architects and Karimoku case study launched a beautiful collection of furniture showcases in the Kinfolk gallery. These additions to the Norm Architects product range are part of a long term relationship with Karimoku case study. More companies with Japanese inspired/collabs are Kristina Dam, Karimoku Kunst, Mobelforretningen/inoda +sveje for example. 

Maybe the Japanese aesthetic is on trend but what has opened the doors to such exciting new business opportunities is the new EU trade agreement with Japan that began in February 2019. I can see more collaborations coming! 

Lastly and most importantly is sustainability. Danish design quite often focuses on the lifespan of a product, the material quality and sustainability. Though this wasn’t a main focus in many exhibitions as sustainability in lots of companies has been around for some time. Though two companies that stood out this year that are creating a new and exciting change for sustainability are Mater and Valrygg. Both are using their own clever recipe of recycled plastics and ocean waste into moulded chairs. A hopeful effort in changing the plastics production while cleaning up the oceans. 

3 days of design is more than a simple design show. The designers, architects, artists and business owners truly share their passion for design and love for Copenhagen. An abundant celebration for design, tradition, craftsmanship, collaboration and culture. I mean it’s one of the reasons why I moved here.  ~ Hannah

I hope you’ve enjoyed these highlights from Copenhagen’s 3 days of design event if you’d like to see more trade show highlights take a look here.

All photography by Hannah Trickett unless otherwise stated.