During Fashion Week, Woofy, a cable container in the shape of a dog, is launched

with a huge party at the newly re-built Custom House in Copenhagen.

The year is 2008 and the financial crisis is about to rear its ugly head, presenting

a daunting challenge for J and P. Yet they somehow manage to convince the bank

of the enormous potential of their new cable container and pull off a spectacular

celebration. Custom House is completely stripped of its brand new furnishings

and three discotheques are set up, one on each floor.The morning after, along

with the growing hangover, the financial crisis officially kicks in.

Failure and Success

Arriving like a whirling dervish, the financial crisis makes the

years of 2008 and 2009 a struggle for survival. Expenses

need to be cut significantly, and caution and thrift suddenly

join the party. Still, J and P work as they always have:

without a clear-cut business plan, but driven by ideas and

gut feeling.While the crisis marks a rough patch and a

hard-earned lesson, they manage to get back up to speed

without losing what might be their most important asset:

their courage.

This courage has permeated their way of doing business

up to this point, and they’re blatantly aware that their can-do attitude can lead

to both failure and success. Normann Copenhagen is

still owned and run by Jan Andersen and Poul Madsen,

who are deeply involved in all areas of the business,

continuously visiting each production site, warehouse

location and trade fair.

Their fascination with the process and their hands-on

approach shine through in the company’s culture with

the result that everything from product development

to art direction is performed in-house.