At the recent Maison & Objet design show in Paris, I met the slightly eccentric founder of the new design brand “101 COPENHAGEN”. He was standing in the middle of the buzz of their show booth, staring apparently into another world. It was the first time I met the brand, and this man (seemingly not interested in selling his goods, but maybe thinking of his next design project), intrigued me.
101 Copenhagen is a Danish design brand founded in 2017 with a strong vision to create a world of beautiful lighting and accessories of exquisite craftsmanship, quality and timeless design for a Scandinavian living.
The man was Tommy Hyldahl, founder, and partner of 101 Copenhagen, Norr11 and several other enterprises. We introduced ourselves to each other and when he realized what the Copenhagen Design Merchants were up to in the hotel world, he immediately invited me for coffee in their showroom in central Copenhagen.
Next up, we met in Copenhagen, and he and his team surprised me when walking me through the product line, as I expected the beautiful items to be with a price tag for the well-bolstered folks. I saw a chandelier called Drop, and I thought to myself “2.000 EUR minimum”. But the retail price was only 800 EUR..
Then I saw a beautiful, special, fatty looking vase called (and looking like a) Submarine, which I figured would be around 250 EUR.
“The Submarine retails at 160 EUR,” said Tommy with a big smile.
He could see the surprise in my eyes.
Going through the whole line-up of furniture, lighting, vases, ceramics, and dinnerware it was clear that the 101 brand has a distinct eye for the beautiful and unexpected, providing statement pieces that can elevate a hotel room, restaurant or lobby area to a new level. “Hotel guests want to see new things, not the well-known classics”, explained Tommy Hyldahl. “We design our items to be surprising and pleasing to the eye, playing with materials to look different than what they are. We intentionally design decoration objects to be so big, that the hotel guest is not inclined to accidentally bring it home with them.”
They have designed items to be surprising, for instance looking like they are made of concrete; but in reality, made of metal, and others are looking heavy, but are lightweight. And they are all at surprisingly pleasant price levels.
Tommy and I found 101 Copenhagen to be a perfect match for Copenhagen Design Merchants, as interior designers and hotel brands alike will surely fall in love with the unique look and attractive contract pricing. The timeless design and high manufacturing quality make 101 Copenhagen a sustainable alternative. Therefore we have now made an agreement that the Merchants distribute 101 Copenhagen to the hospitality channel.
Download the 101 Copenhagen catalog here
Contact the Merchants for more information.
PS: Tommy Hyldahl told me that he has been involved in sustainability projects in the fashion apparel industry, and was part of establishing the first eco-friendly factory in Bangladesh, with windmill electricity, all eco- and CSR-certificates in place. So he really liked the Merchant approach, with our philosophy of providing long-lasting, timeless design items to hotels.
By Ole Bergstein, founder, Copenhagen Design Merchants
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