2 November 2017
SCOOP! Danish design company Vipp has now opened its Vipp Shelter for guests to stay. And I was the first to try it out for you!
Vipp is known for their robust pedal bins that last a lifetime. Vipp started as an act of love when founder Holger Nielson made a pedal bin for his wife Marie, who ran a hairdresser’s salon. Her customers were impressed and in time they were also seen at workplaces of doctors, dentists and other professional places. When daughter Jette Egelund took over the company after her father’s death, she also made the products available to the non-professional market and took care of more selling points and other products. At the moment the company is run by the third generation, by Jette’s son Kasper (in Copenhagen) and daughter Sophie (in New York).
The beautiful thing about this company is that, with all that they do, the famous pedal bin – which is even included in the permanent architecture and design collection of MoMA – remains the starting point. When chief designer Morten Bo-Jensen came into business, he began to commit himself to expanding the range. To Vipp cups, bottles, lamps and even kitchens. And then there came the idea for a Vipp Shelter.
Kasper was in New York at that moment and dreamed about a getaway. A nature retreat that had to be completely Vipp. And just like, for example, the pedal bin or the kitchen, it had to be possible to buy it. They found a place in Sweden on a beautiful lake, and Morten, whose first product was a slightly smaller laundry basket, designed the Vipp Shelter, which was made entirely out of the same steel the bin is made of. It is a place where the senses are stimulated in all ways: not only by the nature surrounding you but also by the sense of touch. If you go with your hands over the bin, over the kitchen and over the walls: it all feels the same.
They thought about the size. Of course, they could make a huge Vipp Shelter with multiple bedrooms, but it was the challenge to create 55m2 with only the spaces you need in the highest quality as possible without complicating it. Just like the pedal bin, the Vipp Shelter stands for robustness, minimalism and user-friendliness. Whoever buys the Shelter gets the whole Vipp range. From the tables to the cups. During the design process it became clear what products were missing: that’s how the Vipp lamps were born. And there will be two armchairs in the near future.
From the start – and certainly from that moment last year that they organized 10 stays and sold out in 10 minutes – there was a demand to stay the night in the Vipp Shelter. And from today on you can book a stay! It’s a unique experience for lovers of bare foot luxury. You’re in the middle of nature, but you can still put your dishes in the dishwasher after dinner.
We flew to Copenhagen Airport from where you can rent a car to drive to the Vipp Shelter in Immeln. A two hours drive. Of course every season at the Shelter is beautiful, but I was very lucky with the sun, blue sky and the stunning autumn colors. Immel is the place where the true Swedish nature begins, and you already notice that while driving through the orange/red/yellow colored forests. A beautiful place for walking, fishing or canoeing. And afterwards you can sit down by the fireplace in the Vipp Shelter for the ultimate hygge feeling.
To be honest, both me and my traveling partner had a jaw-dropping experience when we saw the Vipp Shelter in real life. It’s a place that, as you regularly scroll through Pinterest, designs blogs and magazines, comes across so often and it really is a dream come true. It’s the ultimate Design Lovers Bucket List place and to the men who read Petite Passport, really a place where you can propose to your girlfriend in a very unique way.
As I said before, your senses are stimulated in every way possible. There’s floor heating for example, and the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides make it feel like you are in the middle of nature. But also the fireplace, sleeping under a glass roof where you can even see the Milky Way on bright days in the summer. And more than enough stars in the fall. Every moment of the day, nature changes around you so it feels like you’re watching a theatre show. You don’t miss televisions or smartphones at all.
The 55m2 also inspires you to live smaller. What do you really need in your home? There is a lounge corner with design books, a fireplace, soon two armchairs with lake views, a Vipp Kitchen inviting you for some cooking, a dining room table and upstairs a bedroom. As a guest it makes you think: do I really need three closets with clothes? Or can I do with some basic pieces with a lot of quality. Do I need a library of books? Or do I only keep the most inspirational ones and borrow the other? As a society, I think, we move much more towards an experience economy than a buying economy. And a nice evening cooking together lasts more memories, then to go out to just buy more, more and more.
You see, I needed to write a 1000 words apostle, to share the inspiration I got from a stay at the Vipp shelter. Because of the nature, design, hygge, the philosophizing on how much you need in your life and by feeling the background of a brand born as love and continuing to do so, you will feel it as a guest immediately. If I had to summarize it briefly, I would say, just go!
Oh and don’t forget to combine your trip to Sweden with a visit to their other hotel, the Vipp Loft in Copenhagen.
Check out: www.vipp.com
