Kræss

Kræss is the most vibrant shop in Copenhagen. It sits on the cozy pedestrian street of Blågårdsgade in the quiet Nørrebro neighborhood, selling works by Danish artists and craftspeople: ceramics, posters, jewellery, blown glass, linocuts. Most pieces exist in just one copy, and nobody promises you'll ever see another like it.

The shop opened its doors in 2019 with just two hundred works from fourteen local artists. But demand grew so fast that within six months the sales floor tripled in size, and now, years later, the shop carries about five thousand designs from several hundred artists.

Ceramics make up the liveliest part of the shop. You'll find bright, unusual vases, bowls, and plates with experimental glazes, along with mugs printed with philosophical Danish phrases like "it's just feelings" or "the light always comes back."

Just think about it: there are over a thousand ceramic pieces in stock, and new ones arrive almost every day. The shelves hold about four hundred different mugs, nearly three hundred wall hangings, two hundred twenty-five bowls, one hundred thirty plates, eighty-nine vases, and fifty candle holders, plus jugs, plates, flower pots, mosaic ceramics, egg cups, and little dishes for rings and earrings.

You'll also find hand-blown glass here: sun catchers, cocktail glasses, 149 water glasses, tumblers, vases, and charming little bowls. There's jewellery too, and posters, posters, posters. About five thousand unique posters get printed right in front of you in five to ten minutes, then framed on the spot or rolled into a tube if you ask.

It takes about twenty minutes to walk here from central Copenhagen, and it's worth every minute. Past Queen Louise's Bridge the city changes noticeably and turns quiet and cozy. Right nearby is the beautiful Assistens memorial cemetery, where in good weather the people of Copenhagen come to sunbathe between the graves of Andersen and Kierkegaard. Cafes, beer bars, and shops the size of a living room line Blågårdsgade itself, and in the middle sits the cozy square of Blågårds Plads, where twenty-two figures of stonemasons, coopers, and fisherwomen by Kai Nielsen sit along the low granite ledge. They were put up in 1918 with the clear intention that children would climb on them.