AN ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS
Creative Dreams Set Free.
Christmas is an enchanting time. In the middle of a dark December we gather with loved ones and find comfort in traditions. But while you sit in the cosy glow of candle lights and warm yourself with a hot drink, why not allow yourself to dream? What if Christmas was a chance to do something new, grab those closest to you and disappear into a new Christmas universe where dreams and reality come together in the most enchanting of settings? This is the foundation for Royal Copenhagen’s Christmas Table Exhibition 2022.
For the 59th year in a row, Royal Copenhagen opens its doors to the beloved Christmas table exhibition in our flagship store in the heart of Copenhagen. Since 1963 the Christmas tables have become a cherished tradition, which has gathered thousands of guests across generations. In recent years, the exhibition has also unfolded online for people all over the world to enjoy.
Within the theme “An Enchanted Christmas”, this year’s exhibition explores the invited table decorators’ dreams and thoughts when their creativity is set free. With one foot planted in their own Christmas traditions and the other in their specific branch of the arts, the table decorators reach for a Christmas full of creativity and magic.
A Cherished Event
The presentation of Royal Copenhagen’s Annual Christmas Tables is a recurring event that has attracted the attention from old and young since 1963. Through the years, the historic Royal Copenhagen Flagship Store in Copenhagen has welcomed a vast group of cultural personalities, who have set their Christmas tables under varying themes. The beloved Christmas tables highlight the traditions of the holidays, but always with a bit of edge and a sense of humour. The exhibition also inspires guests to create their own holiday decorations and table settings. This year, the exhibition officially opens on November 11th on the 2nd floor of the Royal Copenhagen Flagship Store at Amagertorv 6 in Copenhagen and is open until 31st December 2022. The exhibition can also be experienced digitally on www.royalcopenhagen.com.
The Story of Royal Copenhagen
Royal Copenhagen was founded in 1775 and is one of the oldest companies in Denmark. For more than two centuries, Royal Copenhagen has manufactured porcelain with the deepest respect for tradition and fine craftsmanship. Royal Copenhagen is renowned all over the world for its iconic blue-painted porcelain and its heritage-driven approach to design.
Creative Profiles.
Royal Copenhagen has invited six creative profiles to decorate five Christmas tables. Each table decorator works within their own creative field and shares their personal interpretation of an enchanting Christmas. The audience is invited to explore the Christmas tables set in different corners of the world and the imagination, while also being encouraged to ponder the enchanting elements of Christmas with all the chaos, calm and traditions it entails.
The six creative profiles who will unfold a world of Royal Copenhagen porcelain on their Christmas tables are:
- Bente Scavenius (b. 1944) – Art historian, art critic, TV host and author
- Adam Price (b. 1967) – Screen writer, TV host and restaurateur
- Vang Stensgaard – artistic duo consisting of Anja Vang Kragh (b. 1970) and Mia Stensgaard (b. 1972)
- Søren Le Schmidt (b. 1988) – Fashion designer
- Frederikke Legaard (b. 1995) – Multi-artist and cookbook author
Photo Credit: Jeppe Bjørn for Royal Copenhagen
THE CHRISTMAS LUNCH OF MY DREAMS
“I wanted to create the setting of the Christmas lunch that I’d most want to be invited to myself. One that’s intimate and festive with friends and one that’s a break from the traditional Christmas feasts with family. Both settings are cosy and festive in their own way and I love all Christmas traditions,” tells multi artist and cookbook author Frederikke Legaard.
She has created a sensorial and holistic experience with her Christmas universe where scent, tactility and beauty plays an important role. Frederikke’s Christmas table is inspired by her love for Japanese and Scandinavian culture, design, architecture and of course ceramics and porcelain. She imagines a Christmas lunch where the belly gets a break from the heavy traditional holiday feast and where she gets to go crazy in the kitchen and experiment with numerous small servings.
Photo Credit: Jeppe Bjørn for Royal Copenhagen
A PERFECTLY UNPERFECT CHRISTMAS
The term ’Christmas stress’ is not registered in the Danish dictionary and I find that interesting. It’s a term that everyone knows and everyone can relate to in some way,” explains fashion designer Søren Le Schmidt who has made ‘Christmas stress’ the theme of his table. In Søren’s hectic schedule with wife Nikoline and their one-and a-half-year-old twins, Christmas stress in inevitable, but to him it can also be magical. It is part of the transformation that happens when peace finally settles in on December 24th and everything turns out well after all.
Søren’s Christmas universe reflects the transformation from Christmas stress to Christmas bliss. On one side everything is white and chaotic. Glass, cutlery and furniture is scattered across the room and Royal Copenhagen’s minimalistic and graphic White Facet collection lies shattered on the table. On the wall a poetic art film plays, underpinning the stress that leads up to Christmas Eve.
Photo Credit: Jeppe Bjørn for Royal Copenhagen
A HEDONISTIC CHRISTMAS CABIN
For artistic duo Anja Vang Kragh and Mia Stensgaard, Christmas is enchanting when they manage to lower the pace and find calm and togetherness in the middle of a busy December. The days after Christmas Eve plays an important role. ”The afterparty of Christmas is enchanting. Everything has been sent off and there is time and space to enjoy going for a walk, taking a nap and having leftovers,“ says Mia. Together the two have created a Christmas cabin staged as a compact living space where the refined rituals of Christmas meets lively parties as well as ultimate relaxation.
The different settings of the table can be seen as acts, but it is up to the audience to determine how many there are, what they entail and who the three guests are. Anja and Mia has created a form of chamber play, which may last several hours or even days with room to enjoy the rituals that require time during the holidays.
Photo Credit: Jeppe Bjørn for Royal Copenhagen
CHRISTMAS IN THE WILDERNESS
”If I could snap my fingers and go somewhere crazy for Christmas, I’d like to teleport myself and my guests to a tent set up in Greenland’s wilderness. Where you can hear the wind gusting through the wild nature outside while the fire crackles and the table is set with my grandmother’s porcelain,” Adam Price tells of his Greenlandic Christmas table. Adam fell in love with Greenland ten years ago when he visited for the first time. He took that love and brought it into the new season of the TV-series ‘Borgen’, for which Adam is the creator and head writer and taping parts of the series in Greenland afforded him the opportunity to visit several times more.
Aside from meeting wonderful people and experiencing the remarkable nature, Adam also got the chance to explore his passion for hunting in Greenland. “I love cooking over a campfire and for me hunting is about an honest approach to cooking. Knowing exactly what I’m eating and being fully confident that the entire animal is used. It’s thoughtful cooking with respect for the animal, “ tells Adam, who in fact shot the musk ox and reindeer in the exhibition himself
Photo Credit: Jeppe Bjørn for Royal Copenhagen
CHRISTMAS IN VENICE
”I’m very fond of hosting Christmas Eve and gathering my children and grandchildren. I set the table myself and cook all the food from scratch,” Bente Scavenius recounts of the festive holiday season. While her own Christmas table changes theme from year to year, the tablecloth is always the same. Bente bought it years ago at a market in Rome and it became the inspiration for her Royal Copenhagen Christmas table.
With her Christmas universe Bente wanted to create a magic that she particularly finds in historic Venetian ‘palazzi’ where time stands still and beauty is found in the fading rooms. The table is set with a beautiful brocade tablecloth from Venetian Fortuny, which with its red and golden nuances is reminiscent of Bente’s own Christmas tablecloth. The almost Victorian table setting features a bevelled mirror plateau, bronze candle holders and hand painted flower baskets and pieces from the vintage collection Saxon Flower from Royal Copenhagen. With its charming and colourful florals, it reminds Bente of her childhood home in the Danish island of Møn.