Dear All  

Welcome to the new CPHAGEN blog. We are so happy that you are following our journey.  

The idea of the blog is to cover many different subjects linked to the Nordic countries:  Architecture, design, cuisine, lifestyle, culture or simply things that we find cool and might even be in the shop.  

But first allow me to write a few words on the creation of CPHAGEN and a little bit about the ambitions we have for this Nordic Liftestyle Store.  

I actually had the idea more than 10 years ago. Having left Denmark already in 2001 for Paris and then Brussels in 2005 I always felt that many of the beautiful products from my home country were missing. There were of course really expensive designer objects and furniture and a bit later very cheap products from for instance Flying Tiger Shop or Søstrene Grene but I felt that the fantastic everyday items that I grew up with were somewhat missing. The beautifully designed houseware, the stylish and functional pieces of furniture, the super cool accessories that Nordic women and men wear effortlessly were not really available, especially not in Brussels that has now become my second home.  

I also knew what I didn’t want. I didn’t want a shop that would only cater to Scandinavian expats who would much rather be at home. I wanted to avoid the very local stuff and food that only this group would like.  

The ambition was to find (and keep looking) for the gems, the brands that are popular in Scandinavia but not readily available in the rest of Europe. Or even products that are just emerging in the Nordics and would have a natural fit in big cities with a diverse population. Yes the ambition is to not only be present in Brussels but now I am getting ahead of myself… 

So as you can imagine I have thought a lot about this concept but let’s fast forward to March 29th 2018 when the shop opened (the e-shop actually opened a few weeks before). I will cover the creation/construction of the shop space in a later blog post.  

Today 5 months later I am really happy with the result. Not everything is working perfectly but I see more and more happy faces in the shop and satisfied customers who are discovering cool Nordic things. And we are even expanding. Bolette, the social media and digital marketing genius, has joined part time and we are already seeing a big growth online.  

We are of course surfing on the big Nordic trend that has swept over us in the last years but I think it’s not only that. I truly believe that we have (for most parts) found the right products, the right concepts and not least we are striving to provide an authenticity and service that you don’t see in many places.   

Welcome to CPHAGEN and welcome to our new blog