42—MARYLEBONE JOURNAL NORTHERN SOUL
concession in Selfridges, and later this year is launching in Fitzrovia together with the esteemed furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen. One wonders what the naysayers must be thinking now. ”We are doing well and we are really proud,” Chrystina smiles. “We proved banks wrong who said it would fail in the first year. We are still here after 11 years and it’s going better and better actually. It’s good!” In spite of their growing
them in and we couldn’t afford a warehouse. We had to have trust in the people around us to not walk off with the crates. And they didn’t! And I’m eternally grateful to them.” Londoners in turn were
vociferously grateful to Skandium for satisfying their yearning for modern Scandinavian furniture, glass, china, cutlery, toys, lighting and stylish household products. “When we opened, Sir Norman Foster jumped out of a cab, ran in and congratulated us.” The lauded architect wasn’t the only luminary to express his admiration; textile designer Lucienne Day was an early visitor too. Skandium quickly established itself as a showcase for classics from renowned designers as well as products from a new generation of Scandinavian stars. International designers working for Scandinavian companies were also represented, among them Antonio Citterio and Ross Lovegrove. So while banks had failed to grasp
their vision, the public embraced it. Chrystina says the secret is simple. “You want to give quality and long- lasting ideals. Everything that we sell has a story, an identity. I think we are living more and more in a world that gets anonymous. We are not selling items without a provenance; there is something to them. Most of them have
been designed as part of a project or at a time when nothing else around was remotely similar, so they had a very big impact on the wider development of what we today perceive as good, comfortable, modern living.” After four years in their initial
location, the Wigmore Street landlords decided to redevelop. By coincidence, at exactly the same time the Howard de Walden Estate invited Skandium to move around the corner. “They said, ‘We had someone do market research with a stopwatch standing outside your store, and we were just wondering – are you hiring friends to come in? Because you have the highest volume of customers of all the stores we did research on.’” Chrystina, Magnus and Christopher jumped at the chance to move, and the subsequent success of their Marylebone High Street location led to a similar invitation by South Kensington Estates to open up in their emerging Brompton Quarters. Skandium also operates a
LINKS
Skandium 86 Marylebone High Street 0207 935 2077
skandium.com
geographical reach across the capital, Chrystina insists her heart belongs to the district where their vision first took hold. “I love Marylebone. I’m a Marylebone girl, because when we moved to London we were lucky enough to find a place that we rented in Gloucester Place. At the time, Marylebone was not as glamorous as it is now. It was really the backwaters of the universe in a way – totally forgotten. But for us, it was home. And still every time I come from Brompton Road to Marylebone my heart beats a bit faster.” They rented their sunny flat
for a decade before the landlord announced that he wanted it back, prompting a move to an Earl’s Court mansion block where they have lived for two years. Still, she is able to draw upon memories of her early London years with ease. “I would sometimes walk down Marylebone High Street and be surprised because it was very quaint – but dead. There was nothing of interest, just a few charity shops. It was so central, we thought, ‘At some point this must come to life!’” It’s another illustration of
Chrystina’s knack for forecasting where tastes will lead. She admits she does have some kind of special talent for observation. “My grandmother always used to say to
austique.co.uk me, ‘Girl, if you don’t get anywhere in life you always have your eagle eyes. You were born with eagle eyes. Remember to use them, because that’s a gift.’” So instead of asking her about wallpaper, that bank manager would have been wise to listen to her predictions.
STYLE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100