#scandispotlight Stilleben

To coincide with its 20-year anniversary, Nicola Capper popped in to Copenhagen’s must-visit store, Stilleben, to chat with its founders (and do a little shopping)

For the best part of two decades Stilleben has been a shopping destination for Copenhagen locals and visitors alike, offering a carefully curated mix of handmade ceramics and glassware, one-of-a-kind objects, textiles and prints, all lovingly hand picked by its two founders, Ditte Reckweg Lindholm and Jelena Schou Nordentoft. Here’s what they had to say…

Can you start by telling us about the inspiration behind Stilleben and how you got started?

We met while studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts and quickly realised we shared not only a strong work ethic and a love of quality craftsmanship, but also the desire to create a welcoming space where people could walk in and see all kinds of inspiring, everyday objects.

Why do you think Stilleben continues to be such a unique shopping destination?

As designers, as well as store owners, we want to create excitement, providing people with fresh and new ideas that they too can incorporate into their daily lives. We are always thinking in terms of shapes, surfaces, materials and colours, intuitively picking up on what surrounds us and the feelings of the day. We both feel when an aesthetic has reached its peak and trust each other implicitly when trying out new things.

What makes a Stilleben product?

Everything we sell at Stilleben has an authentic story to tell, and we believe people can sense this when they hold them in their hands and look closely at the details. Whatever you choose to take home with you it’s important to know who made it, how they made it, where it comes from and what materials were used.

What can we look forward to seeing next from Stilleben?

Going forward we are focusing on our own designs, developing, and adding new items to our much-loved existing collections, as well as further expanding our range of meaningful and expressive everyday objects.