The front window on Værnedamsvej street
Martin Reinicke, a florist creating Blomsterskuret, one of the most beautiful flower shops in the world.
Words by the blue-eyed barbarian. Photography by Alla Hetman
Just in time for 10-year anniversary, the blue-eyed barbarian comes to one of the world's most beautiful flower shops. Copenhagen's Blomsterskuret is run by Martin Reinicke in a historic building that has been a flower shop since the 1930s. Reinicke told us an inspiring story of his business, how he got this shop, how he started working with Noma, and what is on his mind now.
Background
Martin Reinicke was 22 and found a beautiful place in Copenhagen. Without knowing what he is going to do with it, he started the renovation, as it was completely run down. At first, he opened a gallery there but that didn't work out, as he did not know anyone. Then he decorated it to become very rough and started selling some tapestries before he eventually met a furniture company that sold high-end antiques and made a deal with them: he would take the furniture they could not sell and show it in his space. So Reinicke ended up selling vintage furniture from '30s-'60s.
Then the flower shop next door got up for sale. Reinicke bought it. He hadn’t had any experience or knowledge about the flower business. For the next six years, he runs both the furniture shop and the flower shop. At the same time, he started doing pottery. At the age of 28, Reinicke had all these businesses and worked seven days a week. It turned out to be a very tiring experience. Eventually, he decided to sell the business and go study in Los Angeles. He got architecture classes as well as acting and many others.
The iconic shop
When Reinicke came back to Copenhagen in 2005 and didn't return to the flowers business. This business was too stressful. Instead, he opened a small pottery shop near Værnedamsvej – a cozy street some distance from the center. He got lucky as this street would become ever more popular with Granola cafe opening, Playtype shop, and Aesop as well. He had had pottery business for two years and then at the end of 2007 the owner of a cafe next door called him and said: the owners of a little flower house on Værnedamsvej had a coffee at his place and told him their business was for sale.
The history of this place was amazing. It started out as just a roof for bicycles, after that it was selling ice in the times when there were no refrigerators. In the 30’s they started selling flowers and it became more and more like a building. Everyone knew this flower shop and the building was famous. But now the business was down and a house for sale. Reinicke thought that if he could get this shop, he would definitely try the flower business again. Also at any point, he could sell it. Reinicke called his bank to talk about credit and then in 2007, they were giving money left and right. So they said, "yes, do it". On the first of December, he became an owner of the building.
New face of an icon
Reinicke started a massive renovation. The shop was very traditional and dark. It had a low roof and an entrance from the backyard, and no front door. Reinicke demolished the roof, put glass ceiling instead, added new windows, and moved the entrance to the front. “You had to turn on the artificial light all day before. Now we turn the lights off completely in summer.” – says Reinicke. He launched the updated shop on Valentine's Day 2008. As people have associated this building with flowers for many years and saw a big renovation, and also the new style, they started to flock in. Reinicke didn't do any marketing or advertising.
“You had to turn on the artificial light all day before. Now we turn the lights off completely in summer.”
Casual Los Angeles style with a strong Nordic touch
Reinicke's floral style is a combination of Northern European approach and a new feeling he got in Los Angeles – an appreciation of style in a very casual way when indoor and outdoor blends together. “Californian sense of style looks easy, it has casual chicness about it. I like easy and not complicated things.” – Reinicke.
Seeing this style Danish magazines started asking Reinicke to decorate their editorials, which Reinicke did. Also for fashion brands and artists. Then organically blogs and journals came to feature the shop itself for its look, interior, and flowers. Blomsterskuret had got some visibility from it.
Huge news came in 2014 from the other side of the Atlantic, the USA. Big online journal The Gardenista made an article named "Blomsterskuret, the World’s Most Beautiful Flower Shop?". A huge amount of calls and emails followed. Even to this day. Reinicke's shop was put on a world map from there.
“Californian sense of style looks easy, it has casual chicness about it. I like easy and not complicated things.”
Growth issues
The following year was key to Reinicke's business. “The success almost killed me.”– he said. Blomsterskuret started getting many business orders now. High-end restaurants, hotels, shops, cafes, and cocktail bars. Some of the best in the world, like Noma, The Standard… All they wanted was for Reinicke to decorate their spaces. It was honorable and pleasant at first but then he ended up running around between the shop and them.
“At some point, I was making flowers for Noma and it was insane for me. They would expect me to come there immediately whenever something wasn’t right. I was on-call for them and that summer large branches didn’t last so I needed to change them every other day, so I just had to throw everything in the shop jump into the car, and go pick branches. ”
This large new market demanded decent flexibility from Reinicke so he decided to divide the business. One of the employees took care of the shop and Reinicke focused on business customers. He opened a new studio space in order to work on those orders and now he comes to work at the shop only once a week.
The flow of the business now
Reinicke now works primarily at his studio and hosts occasional workshops there. For example, he does fun workshops for bachelorette parties where brides and their friends create flower crowns for the wedding. He also did a pop-up restaurant there with Mexican cuisine. The studio is a logical venue for fun events and Reinicke loves it. Last year he also did a pop-up shop at Vipp's Copenhagen headquarter shop: Reinicke's floral universe took over the whole place from the windows to the interior. Also, he took part in the museum night providing his shop to an art exhibition at night.
For Marting Reinicke the simplicity and beauty of the shop was the natural result of Californian casual laid-back style he saw while studying architecture in LA and his Nordic roots as a Copenhagener. His timely division of the shop to two businesses gave him ability to suit the new business audience and navigate the business to new waters. All this by having fun at his studio doing workshops and pop-ups. Discover the business in social networks and make a visit when you are in Copenhagen.
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