Home maker

Danish brand Vipp is taking a seat at design’s top table

For a brand that prizes longevity over novelty, Vipp has had a prolific decade. Originally a manufacturer of pedal bins and bathroom accessories, the Danish firm made an entry into the kitchen market in 2012, with a modular, stainless steel design that can be taken out and travel with the owner if they relocate (W*157). Alongside came a tableware collaboration with Danish ceramicist Annemette Kissow, marking Vipp’s first experiments with ceramics and glassware. Then there was a prefabricated shelter, launched in 2015 – a steel cabin with floor-to-ceiling glass living areas, a kitchen, bathroom and loft bedroom (W*191) – followed by a lighting collection. The same year, Vipp added to its concept store on Copenhagen’s Ny Østergade with a showroom in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, signalling the brand’s ambitions in the US market.

More recently, it enlisted architect David Thulstrup to create the 400 sq m Vipp Loft, on the top floor and mezzanine of its Copenhagen HQ. The Loft is billed as a one-room hotel, providing clients with a full immersion into the Vipp universe (the room rate can be credited towards the purchase of a Vipp kitchen). But in the rare absence of guests, it also doubles as a testing ground for the brand’s upcoming releases. Prototypes are paired up with existing Vipp offerings to ensure that they will become seamless additions to the product family.