Sophie Bille Brahe’s first US store in NYC is full of Danish whimsy

Spend time on TikTok taking a look at Scandinavian “It” girl style, and Sophie Bille Brahe’s fine jewelry is sure to catch your eye. Her creations exude a modern, ethereal storytelling that is quintessentially Danish – a bit unexpected, whimsical, yet minimalist and unique.

Not that she stays completely under the radar – she has a mix of her “dream girls” wearing pieces including Rihanna, Madonna, Alicia Vikander and more. It sells in a number of well-known jewelry boutiques around the world, but the brand maintains a well-cultivated mystique.

That could soon change when her first U.S. boutique opens on New York’s Upper East Side in November, anchoring her brand in a market she reports is one of her fastest-growing. It’s a new chapter that took almost three years to create. “It was the right move for a long time,” she said during an interview in her Copenhagen studio. “But for me it has to be something that I feel like it’s just the right place.”

Landing at 1000 Madison Avenue, she finds herself in esteemed company, just a stone’s throw from any major luxury boutique downtown. Your customers will surely discover them now. “I didn’t want to go,” she said, laughing about the spot she chose.

By appointment only, the store will open on November 13th with a discreet door, small plaque and call button at street level while maintaining its hidden charm. The boutique is located on the second floor, a differentiator that worked well for their Copenhagen flagship. “It doesn’t really work when there are a lot of people browsing at the same time,” she said of her store in Denmark. “So you walk into a very curated, very personal space,” which is exactly what she wanted for her first U.S. store.

Many said she was crazy not to open the store at street level, “but I think that’s been our recipe for the way we do business and I feel like we need to do it exactly the same way.” I think it’s right.” the jewelry.”

Bille Brahe has been quietly testing the US market for years with a traveling showroom concept in which he presents in luxury hotels by appointment. “Our customers want to have a special experience when shopping,” she explained. Her boutique will be an extension of that concept, telling the full range of her storytelling through jewelry, she said.

Customers are greeted with a Dinesen wooden floor that conveys the Danish minimalist vibe. The furniture is by Børge Mogensen – “everything an upscale version of what every Dane remembers at dinner,” said Bille Brahe. She chose an extremely rare Poul Henningsen lamp and designed a cloud table and shell motif for the room. “For my boutique in Copenhagen, I wanted it to look like a Scandinavian palazzo, and that’s the same thing we do for New York,” she said, adding that she chose pearly white lace curtains for the windows of the boutique to give a gentle atmosphere light.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Peggy Guggenheim and in her house in Venice you can see pictures of zebras everywhere,” she said of the accents that add some pizzazz to a Mats Theselius chair and sofa with Poul Kjærholm chairs.

“In order for us to compete, it has to feel like every little element has been put into this space in a way that makes complete sense to me,” she explained of her worldbuilding. The cases will house her pieces based on her “families,” including Ocean, Ensemble, Lettre de Lumière, Coeur, Escargot and Fleur, as well as a yet-unreleased piece based on her signature tennis bracelets that will be unique to New York Location.

Because the store is open by appointment only, guests are greeted with a thoughtful selection of pieces tailored to their needs. When Bille Brahe is in town, he will provide a unique, customized experience “so our clients can come and be part of the design process,” along with the designer. Bridal is a big part of her current business; She has an exclusive bridal collection with unique, edgy cuts launching in New York in February.

She said U.S. customers tend to gravitate toward more classic, heavier diamond pieces. Best sellers so far have included her tennis necklace necklaces, followed by classic iterations and styles “where everything is twisted with stone.” [diamond] “Graded Size Hearts” are outstanding.

She only uses white diamonds in her work and is “attracted to the purity” of the classic gemstone. “For me, there is a very clear connection between heaven and earth when it comes to jewelry. Visually, diamonds remind me of stars, they have the same shine and they give you the same feeling, and yet their creation is so closely connected to the earth.”

The store also includes a selection of glassware and jewelry boxes, items she sees as “an extension of jewelry and a true reflection of my universe.”“

“The US customer uses jewelry differently than the European. It is used to mark a lot of things throughout the year and I think they are not afraid to stack a lot. I think so too [there’s] the personal element. They love that the jewelry tells a story,” she explained, highlighting her Lettre de Lumière collection, “that can represent your husband or your child. Americans love it.”

Bille Brahe completed four and a half years of training as a goldsmith, which is part of a historical tradition in Denmark. “I needed a craft that somehow supported my idea that I could still work if no one liked what I did,” she said.

It is a level of tactile storytelling that is expressed in her creations. She then attended London’s Royal College of Art with plans to move to Paris and work for someone else, but a chance meeting with Julie Gilhart, then at Barneys New York, changed everything. “She said, ‘Sophie, you have a talent, you have a commitment to make your own jewelry.'” She started her Croissant De Lune in 2007 and has been growing ever since.

“For me, it’s kind of about actually clearing my headspace,” she said of developing her personal approach that resonates with clients. “It’s just like I feel what’s inside of me.”

“When I look back at the collections, I can always see exactly how I felt at that moment. I think it’s very personal in a way and it’s my way of understanding my surroundings.”