‘We want to do something that's fun, accessible and gets people to connect with objects again,’ says Danish dealer Nina Hertig. And It’s impossible not to feel an old-school shopping rush when you enter Ælfred, a 300 sq m treasure trove of Scandinavian midcentury finds in east London. Rows of ‘PH’ pendant lights dangle from the rafters and shelves are stacked with ceramics from the likes of Royal Copenhagen, lamps by Louis Poulsen, glassware and vintage silver cutlery. Familiar names – Børge Mogensen, Haslev, Alvar Aalto’s Artek – add to a delightful mix of Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish classics all under one roof.
Inside Ælfred: London's vintage Scandinavian design emporium
Ælfred couldn’t be more different to Hertig’s first venture. In 2005, she co-founded her Kings’ Road gallery Sigmar, where pedigree pieces by Scandinavian masters include Finn Juhl chairs for £6,500 and clients are owners of Manhattan penthouses who employ her interior design services.
At Ælfred, on the canal in Hackney Wick, prices range from £15 to £2,500 and almost nothing is catalogued. What’s more, nothing is available online. There’s no time for that, what with containers of carefully selected stock arriving regularly from Denmark. ‘We can make things accessible by scaling the business, which is something we need to do now in London,’ she says. ‘We're basing Ælfred on a high turnover of stuff. We'll have a truck here every two weeks.’
For those who don’t want to buy a complete dinner service including pieces they will never use, huge sets of glassware, silver cutlery and crockery can be mixed and matched.
As Hertig points out, many items such as glasses and cutlery don’t need to be bought new. ‘They are so well made they have lasted for decades, and have plenty more life left in them.’
The name Ælfred is an in-joke; Alfred ‘The Great’, King of Wessex, famously fended off the Vikings during much of his reign in the ninth century. This Ælfred, says Hertig, is more welcoming of all things Scandinavian, and will welcome visitors and locals too.
Right next door, Moro opens a new restaurant. (This is no coincidence; Hertig’s friends Nina Tolstrup and Jack Mama of Studiomama designed it) and both spaces hope to attract weekenders ‘to come, have lunch, have a great day out, and celebrate the dying art of discovering treasures in real life‘.
Unit 2, Autumn Yard
Autumn street
Hackney Wick
-
Discothèque perfumes evoke the scent of Tokyo in the year 2000As Discothèque gets ready to launch its first perfume collection, Mary Cleary catches up with the brand’s founders
-
This unassuming London house is a radical rethinking of the suburban homeStation Lodge by architect Andrei Saltykov in South West London offers a radical subversion to regional residential architecture
-
Explore 100 years of Svenskt Tenn and the interiors Estrid Ericson has crafted‘A Philosophy of Home’ explores 100 years of Svenskt Tenn and the daring vision for interiors its founder Estrid Ericson developed
-
‘London: Lost Interiors’ gathers unseen imagery of some of the capital’s most spectacular homesThis new monograph is a fascinating foray into the interior life of London, charting changing tastes, emerging styles and the shifting social history of grand houses in the heart of a fast-changing city
-
Designer James Shaw’s latest creation is a self-built home in east LondonJames Shaw's east London home is Filled with vintage finds and his trademark extruded plastic furniture, a compact self-built marvel
-
Art’otel Battersea opens with immersive interiors by Jaime HayonAn exclusive tour of Art’otel Battersea, the first UK opening from the group, located opposite the Battersea Power Station and featuring immersive interiors by Jaime Hayon
-
Hyperlocal design: these Atelier100 products are made within 100km of LondonAtelier100 launches its retail space and debut locally focused design collection in London’s Hammersmith
-
Dimoremilano opens immersive Marylebone residency around Frieze London 2022Coinciding with this year’s Frieze London, Dimoremilano has opened an immersive residency at The Invisible Collection’s new Marylebone HQ
-
Holloway Li’s debut furniture collection is like colourful candyHolloway Li presents the ‘T4’ collection of furniture, created in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma and inspired by the designers’ 1990s childhood
-
Bill Amberg creates leather furniture in collaboration with the Knepp EstateLondon-based designer Bill Amberg has created a series of furniture pieces for the Knepp Estate, Sussex, using leather from the rewilding project's animals for an on-site cafe due to open in 2023
-
London’s Groucho Club gets a faceliftTransit Studio leads the makeover of London’s Groucho Club – its series of new, refurbished rooms are part of the Soho legend’s ongoing modernisation plans
