Looking back at this it was perfect. Let me say this again: per-fect! Just another Saturday afternoon, with the slight change- the weather was indeed tropical. Everything just seems to look better when it is sunny outside and you can finally forget your warm jackets and long boots.It is true what they say: once the summer starts in Copenhagen, it is so beautiful that you do not want to leave it.
We hopped on our bikes, had a nice bike ride to the Vesterbro area and reached the Meatpacking District where the flea market was taking place. It did not look big, but as we had discovered it was full of interesting things. Everybody got something: hats, sweaters, tshirts and a sun tan.
The slogan of the last few days was: ” It’s all about fashion!” and it indeed was in many of ways. This does not only mean clothes- it means good/bad/interesting attitude. It is certain that a big part of the past few days were fashion shows. I happened to be on 2 just by chance- somehow the whole idea of watching a catwalk did not seem really crucial to me.
*Minimarket ( http://www.minimarket.se/ ) was held in Rasdhus which was a great experience- clash of new and old, colorful clothes and kind of greyish surrounding. The show itself was simple – no special effects. Just fashion. Clothes had really simple lines, great cutd and colors- sometimes the combination of them felt a bit awkward but it wasn’t!
Minimarket was awarded the best designer of Elle awards and if they keep doing what they do we can be certain that their fame is soon gonna get big and international.
* Henrik Vibskov (http://www.henrikvibskov.com/ ) a Danish designer that caught my interest at the very beginning. He is a graduate of Saint Martins in London and he had established a brand that is more than just clothes- it is more like a theatre of a simpler version than John Galliano. However , it is certainly a combination of art and practicality what makes the clothes a not-that-usual-clothing ( it is more eccentri pret-a-porter).
He is known for his great shows: with installations, usually psychodelic music. This time was not an exception, he offered the audience an extraordinary experience that will stay in their minds.
When it comes to the fashion- judge for yourselves. A combination of tradition with latest trends was pleasant for the sight.
Promising looking event that we decided to attend turned out to be one of the greatest disappointments since we are in Copenhagen. Probably due to our lack of familiarity with the hosts we could not get inside. Everyone else in huge hordes were flooding the entrance. Greetings, kisses, shaking hands while the rest could only watch and smile.
Finally we had reached the 2nd floor where the party was held and however the music was good, the spirits were really down.
We have advice for Tea Paper Magazine- if you want to be a really good, professional magazine, you have to be more organized. If you tell people that it is a closed party- announce it from the beginning. And finally respect- for yourselves and the others. Clearly there is problem with it.
Good luck in whatever you do and do it well. After what we saw we can only say that so far it is in Bad Taste.
For the ones who are not in the fashion topic I am announcing that the Copenhagen Fashion Week had already kicked off at the 10th of February and it’s gonna be in our lives until Sunday. Somehow it is not as frustrating as the Climate Conference- it is not omnipresent, not so visible. It seems that the fashionistas are just not so talkative. And getting into their world is highly entertaining.
Few days ago we had visited a launch of the webpage of a Vintage Shop ” Time’s Up”. It is not an ordinary vintage shop with just some old clothes that need renovation- its assortiment includes the best of brands and great styles. The shop can be found also in reality at Krystalgade 4, 1172 Copenhagen N, and the site is here: http://times-up.dk/.
We had indulged ourselves in free drinks and very interesting surrounding of this probably old gallery looking at all the people who like to play with fashion. It was a lot of amusement and we have to admit that we were not on the list. We simply walked in- charms or good looks?
I am announcing that from yesterday you can also have a daily look at www.hellocopenhagen.dk and see there my small imput. In a while this cooperation might be even extended to more than just simple posts.
Denmark is all-around. Soon there is going to be a screening of a Danish movie, we also have a shop selling Scandinavian clothes: Odd Molly, HunkyDory, Ilse Jacobsen.. Everything is there, its pretty and located in Hotel Europejski right in the centre of Warsaw in the direction of old town.
Stop by and have a look- until the 31st of January they have 50% sale! ( good, because it’s hard to afford these pretty clothes in these prices!)
Meatpacking District Christmas Market was a very “warm experience”! Placed outdoors you could try very nice cheese from Spain and France, as well as amazing wines and glogg,of course. After that you could indulge yourself in some independent creations, some of them that we had found in an actual store “ART REBELS” was actually quite expensive..
We ended up on a glogg indoors- in a bar that we had always wanted to see, on the right corner of one of the buildings. The atmosphere was very charming, glogg very warming and people extremele nice. This is a remarkable memory from it :
A Family
Then we had headed to Tivoli, it was already dark and amazing. I also had a “cotton candy”, “candy floss” or however you call it, you know, the pink fluffy thing made of sugar that children enjoy immensely. At this point I was one of them. Especially a merry -go- round that I always wanted since I was 5.
Merry- go -round Tivoli
I think we got in a Christmas spirit. Maybe a bit too early.
Polish Christmas song. Without it Christmas is not Christmas
For a few reasons I had to fly over to Warsaw. Once again few days magically disappeared, I had done more than ever and saw few friends.
Whenever you say *Poland*, people immediaely respond: Cracow. Well, Cracow is very impressive but for methe comparison can be a *pretty cake*, a lot of monuments, nice places. Whereas Warsaw is not that pretty- big communistic gift from Stalin in the middle surrounded by huge roads, unfortunate new development- shopping mall * Zlote Tarasy* and post-communistic buildings. Warsaw is a place that you have to discover. And it’s worth it.
*Reportage* from a weekend in capital of Poland
plac zbawiciela
There are few places you can discover in Warsaw even if you are there for few days. If you take a stroll form Zbawiciela Square down the Mokotowska Street you will discover many places.
Plac Zbawiciela is nowadays known for its Cafe Karma and Bar just on the other side of the street- Plan B. It is usually a good bet if you do not know what to do with yourself. Then you take this small street where you can find : *Warszawska Nike*-independent Nike store; Reebok store- I have actually no idea what is happening there…; restaurants/snobbish shops ( if you go to the
mokotowska
right side at some point you can find *Les Garcons*+*Wood Wood* independent store); the best patissereie * Slodki Slony* unfortunately owned by a very vicious woman ( Magda Gessler).
Then you have a surprise becuase street carries on but on the other side of the *carrefour*- there you can find real nice pre-war buildings which are being gradually renovated; not so expensive deisgned fashion *Odziezowe Pole*, Bagatt shoes, a bunch of snobbish shops and a cafe-reastaurant owned by a former chief editor of Polish newspaper *przekroj*, which itself is called * Prze-gryz-cos*- *Have something little*- highly recommended, Polish cuisine with a tiny bit of fusion and great drawings on the wall ( be a graphic from *Przekroj*).
smyk/orbis
While you reach the end of the street you can find an *office* of a Foundation for Culture, mainly in Warsaw * Fundacja Bec Zmiana* and at the very end you reach Plac trzech Krzyzy- magnificent square with Three Crosses- try to spot them. You have a lot of snobbish shops and then you can go to the other side to see Cafe Szpilka, Polish Press Agency go down the street to reach Al. Jerozolimskie and see what is on the photo in the left- a communist store with toys for kids- SMYK. It had been there since I remember . On the side there is a travel agency *ORBIS* with a great neon on the top. pay attention!
See? 20 minute walk and so many things you can see!
Warsaw is also about places you can have fun in. This is another topic. I managed to go to a bit-hidden party in the basement of Hotel Europejski- magnificent ex-hotel that is supposedly being renovated. A group of people had organized a Superheroes party and it looked like this:
I got a very warm feeling yesterday, not because I was cosy in my bed, because I realized that the Christmas is coming. What I like in Denmark that you can slowly see it but it is not forced: Christmas decorations are modest, homely but very stylish in the same time. Christmas coming= present getting. It does not mean quality, it means quantity. For me the best presents are the ones I kind of invent: thinking about the persons passions, interests and characteristics. I had many ideas and many reactions of people who got the presents for me. One of them was even jumping on the street ( the present was a jar of muesli- see? seems nothing special, but it was for that person).
I made a list of people and ideas for them. I still have time. Better to do it earlier to enjoy the process of making and not to be in ruch just before the Christmas.
Supposedly girls are easier target, but are they? I decided to make individual pieces of jewelery for my friends and siblings,so they can be original. This shop helped me a lot, but… If you think it is easy you are more than wrong. With a friend of mine we had spent there 1,5 h to figure out how to make an earring…. But you get great help from the staff as well as you have sample pieces to look at ( you can also buy them).
