The

Story Begins

As in many great tales, the story of Normann Copenhagen begins with a meeting.

In a small provincial town in Denmark’s Northeast Zealand, two mischievous,

young locals, Jan Andersen and Poul Madsen (hereafter referred to as J and P),

cross paths and find common ground in their love for design, their fervent desire

to create and their indomitable go-ahead spirit.

Together, they create a business with interior

design products as the focal point.

The duo’s initial product portfolio is made

up of imported glassware and homemade

products. It’s the mid-90’s and the assortment

offers a dazzling medley of cowhide candle

holders, cushions made from Indian saris,

hanging reagent glass vases and steel furniture,

which J, who has been training as a blacksmith,

makes by hand.

For months, J and P are cooped up in a

basement trying to keep up with the demand

for their latest concoction: block lights that

are wrapped decoratively with beaded wire.

The two spend days and nights meticulously

threading beads onto wires, at the risk of

seriously damaging their street credibility.

While laughing-stocks among their friends, J and P can take pleasure in rising

sales, and eventually they are able to delegate the time-consuming bead insertion

process to others.

13,000 Euros

Still, money is tight.The bank rejects their loan request, but they come across a local

man willing to lend them the 13,000 euros they need to get the business started.