In this episode of "Design Hopping with Kanika," Kanika Bakshi‑Khurana takes viewers on an immersive tour of Copenhagen’s design scene. She begins in a charming café‑boutique that blends 19th‑century architecture with minimalist Scandinavian interiors, then visits the iconic Royal Copenhagen pottery store, recounting its 1774 origins with chemist Franz Müller and Queen Juliane Marie, and showcasing handcrafted blue porcelain pieces with price points ranging up to $330,000. The journey continues to the Danish Architecture Center, where modern, light‑filled spaces illustrate Denmark’s sustainable design vision. The highlight is a visit to a furniture gallery and workshop run by Anders and Kari, where Kanika witnesses the full creative process—from 2001 prototype sketches to contemporary sofas made of single‑piece leather, carbon‑fiber cane frames, and natural fillings of horse‑hair, pig‑hair, and rubber. Detailed discussions reveal material choices, hand‑stitching techniques, the importance of acoustic properties, and the rigorous one‑day production rhythm. Throughout, Kanika’s enthusiastic, conversational narration emphasizes Danish design principles—warm lighting, natural wood, functional minimalism—while also noting the luxury market value of these objects. The video serves both as a travel vlog and a deep dive into the craftsmanship, history, and philosophy that make Danish design globally revered.
Chapters
Ever wondered where the world's most beautiful interiors are born? Welcome to Copenhagen. If you love Scandinavian design, then this is the place to be. In this episode of Design Hopping with Kanika, I'll be taking you on an exclusive interior design tour of the Copenhagen city. We'll explore curated local boutiques, discover royal pottery that you can take home, and get behind-the-scenes access into the craftsmanship of iconic Danish furniture. So although you can tell it's a café behind me, it's There's also a gallery right across the cafe, so please walk in here, get inspired, and maybe buy a few pieces to take home. In the heart of the city, this is a charming cafe boutique where you can enjoy a cup of coffee while browsing through an eclectic collection of minimalist home decor. This is an absolutely beautiful design chair, and it's perfect to sit on for someone petite like me. Very comfortable, right in size. The space artfully showcases Danish style with its warm lighting, natural wood elements, and thoughtfully curated pottery and homeware items that reflect Scandinavian design principles. Mm-hmm. Welcome to a beautifully restored 19th century bank that now houses a Danish furniture store. This space is a stunning collaboration between timeless architecture featuring elegant archways and ornate columns, and contemporary Scandinavian design with beautiful Danish furniture on display. It's an old mailbox. So cool! Sorry, my mistake. These are bank lockers. A basement full of surprises. Yeah, it's the same or similar chandelier I saw at the Milan Week. I fell in love with it instantly. It's very cool. Hi guys, so we're at a Danish pottery store called the Royal Copenhagen. I've been wanting to come in here. It's really beautiful, uh, inspired by Chinese pottery, and you'll see a lot of blue in there. It's their special blue. They won't tell you what color blue that is. So every porcelain dish that you'll see have some type of blue in it, and everything is handmade in here. So let's go check it out. Let's dive into this beautiful table placement. I mean, everything is so So beautiful and so royal. Look at this, that's so perfect. So in the year 1774, there was a Danish chemist named Franz Müller who was very inspired inspired by the Chinese pottery. And at that time, I guess no one knew how to make pottery from ceramics, so he came up with the recipe to make Danish pottery in Europe. So how cool is that? The reason you see a lot of the pottery, um, work looks like it belongs in a royal palace is because the queen named Juliane Marie collaborated with the chemist Franz Müller, and they came up with the beautiful collection. So a lot of the collection looks like, ooh, this belongs in a palace. Now I can take it home with me too. Oh, this is a unique shape. I'm going to turn it for you guys. You see the little edges? 1908. So like they're by the year. That's so cool. I love this one. July— I don't know if it's July, but 1923. Oh man, these are beautiful. So beautiful. Look at this, 1956. That is absolutely stunning. Oh, 2014. By the way, this display is not for sale, but it's beautiful. Something unique. Just come in the store if you don't want to buy it. You you'll be inspired. If you like pottery, you'll love this, and you're probably going to take something home because I know I am. So I love pottery that has different shapes, um, and they have some beautiful plates and platter that does that. So let's dive in here. Look how beautiful that is. Come in here. This one's very beautiful. This is gorgeous. Seriously, if you're still thinking about maybe I'll skip coming here, you wouldn't want to do that. You want to come in here. The reason I sigh is because this piece right here is 2.2 $1,000,000 Danish kroner, which equals to $330,000 in US dollars. This beautiful teapot is 64,000 Danish kroner, which is roughly $10,000. My husband behind camera made a joke that he would love to boil water in that. Really? No, I'm looking at this and I'm like, wow, like I'm blown away. Everything is so beautiful. We all deserve to eat like this every single meal. Oh my God, if you get close and look at this, look at this detail of work right here. Look at this pattern. Welcome to my tea party. I am in Poster and More. They have really cool posters, so if you like to take some artwork in terms of posters, take it home because it's easy to take. They have really cool prints and they also give you the frame. So if you want to ship them to your house, you can also do that. Let's check them out. They have some really unique, uh, posters. Look at this one. This one's really nice. And if I move this one, this is pretty interesting. It's different. So if you want to print in here in a different size, uh, they can print that for you, and it only takes 15 minutes. Oh, that's so cool! Bring your own food here, but please buy your drinks in the café. I like this concept. Let's walk into the Danish Architecture Center, which highlights Denmark's architectural heritage and modern solutions for global challenges. It's really cool. It's so light. It makes you feel calm. It really does. Oh my God, how cool! You feel like a bird diving through the design of future. This is amazing. The highlight of my Copenhagen design trip was visiting a furniture gallery and workshop that seamlessly integrates traditional Danish craftsmanship with modern design. The owners, Anders and Kari, shared their comprehensive creative process, from initial concept sketches to material selection and final production techniques. Their passion for furniture making was truly inspiring.
You saw this one?
Yes, yesterday, which is the very first prototype that was made back in 2001.
Uh-huh. We will know when we have the other one.
Yeah, next it. Yes, and to compare.
Exactly, because you can only imagine that much, and then your body has to experience the rest, right?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it feels very comfortable, comfortable to me already, but yeah, it's like it kind of hugs you as you sit on it. Yeah, it hugs you.
Exactly. Yeah, it welcomes.
Yeah, it welcomes you.
Yeah. So this is actually a task that we we set the architect ans Vaart back in 2018, just about, because it also takes some time, you know, before we mention something, and then he starts thinking, and then he starts drawing, and then at some point he's ready for the first presentation.
Got it.
So that was back then, and we asked him to do a modern, elegant sofa. And this was what he came up with. Okay. So this is actually part of the presentation. This is sort of an old-school version of a presentation. Today many of the young designers, they will, and you will probably also, drawing on the computer and presenting in a 3D.
Yes.
Or at least something made like a rendering in and environment. Yeah, but this is very much how they were taught to do it back in the days. Yes, so you have the drawings and the watercolors in order to imitate the leather of the natural, the tanned but natural sofa. So this is the 3-seater version, which was actually made later on. The first one was the 2-seater.
Ah, I see that.
And we started making it in a natural, mhm, victor leather, and a black leather, mhm, and then we have made it in the red one, latest.
Yeah, it's so unique. Yeah. Oh, yeah, like again, like it's very welcoming, you know, it's perfect. Yeah, I like this a lot. I love the color and I like the feel of this leather too.
Everything here is, yeah, you know, it's one piece of leather.
Okay.
And you can see, so you have this piece all the way around. Normally you'd have stitchings.
Yes, yes.
But we don't like that, so we took this one piece and put it in hot water so we can stretch it out so we can get these.
So it kind of expands.
Yeah, we put it over the big mold. So actually, yeah, it's quite unique because It's also a very huge piece of leather.
And then you can see the hand stitching all the way around.
Yes, yes. Up close.
Up close, yeah. And you should feel it as well.
Oh yeah, it's so seamless.
So it's not made by a machine, it's made by hand.
Yeah, yeah.
So that's also why when he start Starting with sewing, he wanted to do it on one day because then he had this moment, a kind of moment that if he, if he wait, if he start and do the rest the next day, maybe it could be a bit different. Yes, that's not good.
That's not good. Oh wow. So yeah, long hours.
Long hours, but the rhythm of making it in one day.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then of course, Will Eon, It's with everything we do here. So it's so important that you can— it's also nice and—
oh, it's nice to tuft it on the bottom too.
All these details with this natural cane.
Yeah.
Leather.
Yeah. Well, that's beautiful. Thank you for doing that. That's beautiful.
Inside the sofa, it's solid beech. It's— the beach is so strong, you know, so it's a good way to do it. And then it's totally filled up with, yeah, of course these. On the other side of these, yeah, we have this material.
What is this?
Yeah, it's kind, you know, it's horse hair and pig's hair. And natural rubber. So we wanted to source the best material.
Yes.
Also for the environment and, you know, for everything. So this, this material here, yeah, it can last forever.
Yes.
It's so crazy. We are using the pillows. We are doing them, yeah, from the bottom with everything.
Got it.
Yeah. So this is made here. So that's not a standard.
Yeah, it's, it's the, the filling is inside them putting the cushion on top. Okay.
And then, yeah, build this up and then we do this. You know, it's like if you are going out and buy an exclusive handbag. Yeah, actually it's made on the same way here. Yeah, so you can see all this. Yeah, work when all this is put on. You can see here there's lots of space now, because the idea is that we put a piece of leather here, so we have this empty space.
Oh, okay.
And you know, when you put furniture in a room, you also have this— it's quite important that it can do something acoustic. So we are using This is natural. This is hemp. Yeah, 100% natural.
Nice. It's very soft. Yeah.
Yeah. So, so, um, we'll put this in here.
Yeah, that's— I was just going to ask you why the empty space. Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it's filled for the empty space.
Okay.
Thank you. So it's a— what is it, 4 or 5 weeks process?
Yeah, just to put it all together.
Yeah, yeah. We call it Wire Chair because the first prototype was made with wire, stainless steel wire, but you know, it was not comfy at all. So we, we have to do something and we have to, yeah, do these changes.
Yeah.
In the beginning, everything here is stainless steel.
Okay.
So it's not chromed, it's stainless and polished up by hand.
Oh wow.
This piece here, yeah, and this piece here is solid.
Okay.
And this is, this piece and this piece, a pipe.
A pipe. Okay.
Because we found this cane, and this cane is carbon fiber. Really? Yeah, it's 100% carbon, and you know, you cannot stretch it.
Yeah.
So everything here, when you put your weight in it, you can see it goes like this. So everything is in the building of the frame, the stainless steel frame. This is the solid one going in the pipe here, and you maybe you can follow it in so you can see it's plugged in and then, yeah, sanded down and polished up.
And then so it can connect together.
Yeah, yeah. So it's really, it's really strong.
Yeah, it looks like one piece almost. I love that finish. That is beautiful.
Very important is that this cane will last forever. Oh yeah. So we, we should, we should find the cane and we found this. And this is, you know, when you have a piece of black coal.
Yeah.
And you melt it down with many high degrees, it'll be floating.
Yeah.
And then you can, like, you have, you know, the candy floss with sugar. You have the sugar and you can make, take the fibers and you get a candy floss. And that's— yeah. So it's actually the same way, the same way. You have this melted and you go in it and you can take a fiber out. And then when you ask how many of these fibers are used for this, 2,200 fibers.
Wow.
Put together here, it can take 2 half-ton. So actually you can—
That's strong.
Yeah, yeah, it's very strong.
Yeah.
You have this needle here. Yeah, and then actually it's woven, so it's woven like a tube. So actually you can— oh, you can, you can—
that's how it's done. Yeah, that is stunning.
Like this, mhm.
And then you have Oh my, this is beautiful.
Then you have your eye.
Yeah, yeah. Oh wow, this is stunning. Thank you.
And actually, knowing that, and actually, you're more— you're stretching it. Yeah, the stronger it will be.
Interesting.
Yeah, if the, the design had been to just take the wire like this goes—
yeah, just straight, just straight across.
Yeah, you know, the pressure, uh-huh, um, will smash the chair. Oh, but because here we have—
it goes there and over there, so, and kind of like a crisscross and crisscross.
Yeah, exactly. Then we will spread pressure out and—
yeah, that's how it's built.
Yeah.
Oh guys, it's really comfortable, like very— oh wow! And I like how it has like this beautiful back support, like, you know. Ooh!
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, and again, it's so strong, so it's actually that you can also sit here. Oh! So it's okay, actually it's also nice.
Oh wow, that is so cool! So going home now. The plane in front of me is the plane I'm going to go home in. I loved Copenhagen. You know, the feeling yesterday was, as we were ending our day, that I don't feel like I am too far away from home. And that was because there is a familiarity in the city of Copenhagen to San Francisco. Friendly people, smiling people, helpful people. When I do move out of San Francisco, I don't know if I ever will, but if I do, I think Copenhagen could be one of those cities cities that I move into. The highlight of the city was obviously the Danish design. Everything is not just made with style but also with functionality, and there's so much thought process to produce anything here. Whatever they're doing, they're doing a great job. I love the people, the food. It's a great, great, great city. Even though you're not an interior designer, and you want a great city to come to, Copenhagen is it. So I guess till I come back, so long. See you all soon. Guys, I'm seeing you watching our channel and not subscribing. So please do that, it really helps us.
