Marylebone
January 2004
Skandium is proud to announce the opening of its new flagship store at 86/87 Marylebone High Street, London W1 in April 2004. Covering 400 sqm (4,400 sqft) it is double the size of the previous flagship store in Wigmore Street.
For the first time in Britain we will present a shop-in-shop for the Finnish houseware brand Iittala with everyday glassware, ceramics and kitchenware together with hard-to-get Iittala art glass. The store will also have a shop-in-shop for the Finnish company Woodnotes with blinds, rugs, furniture and accessories designed by the textile artist Ritva Puotila. Additional everyday glass and art glass is supplied by the renowned Swedish glass works Orrefors and Kosta Boda, including an entire section with the work of Professor Ingegerd Råman who received the prestigious Swedish ODesigner of a Lifetime¹ award in 2003. Tabletop brands like Boda Nova, Eva, Menu, Rosendahl and Stelton are also represented.
The store has its own outdoor courtyard where customers can sit down for a coffee and study purchases from the book shop or sample products from the food shop which offers Danish chocolates, Finnish liquorice and Swedish hard bread together with many other delights. Several producers of 20th century furniture design classics have their own areas including Artek (Alvar Aalto designs), Fritz Hansen (Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjaerholm designs) and Carl Hansen (Hans J. Wegner designs). Recent furniture design is represented by brands like Asplund, CBI, David Design and Lammhults. Marimekko also has its own section.
Skandium will for the first time offer the British public the timeless and charming flower fabrics created in the 1940s by the Swedish designer Gocken Jobs. The hand made, silk screened fabrics are reflecting the lightness of Scandinavian summers with motives of lilies, ferns, buttercups, dandelions and dragonflies. We will show Swedish wallpaper and fabrics by Sandberg, fitted kitchens by Saari from Finland, a lighting department with products by Louis Poulsen and Le Klint from Denmark, and jewellery by Pia Wallén, Georg Jensen and silversmith Efva Attling. Several suppliers are purveyors to the Scandinavian Royal Courts.
The new store has been designed by the talented duo Emma Lewis and Pietro Granaiola of Lewis Granaiola Ltd who have a long standing experience in creating luxury flats and retail spaces together with the joinery and shop fitting company Cheshire Contracts. The whole store is covered by stunning white washed solid wooden floors by the Danish company Dinesen. The Dinesen floors are used both in historical buildings and by contemporary architects such as John Pawson because of their exceptional width, length and thickness. They are now available to buy through Skandium to anyone wanting to create a quality living space, lasting a lifetime.