HANNE HARNOV
Do you know Hanne Harnov?
Her work is a hybrid of tailoring and fashion in leather.
For the past 11 years, Hanne has had her workshop in no. 17 Kronprinsessegade, in one of the iconic cubic 21-m2 pavilions that were built in 1804–1806 by architect Peter Meyn, the City Clerk or Works, along the border of the Kongens Have park
towards Kronprinsessegade and Gothersgade.
March 2020
Everyone has their customary routes, habits and familiar neighbourhoods, and these neighbourhoods in turn have their own life cycles. Sometimes they turn quiet, other times they flourish. Right now, the part of town where Hanne has her shop is flourishing.
Looking out her front door, she can look all the way down the street to Bredgade and back again.
A nice walk, too, which could include a pit stop in the interior ship Studio x Viaduct on the corner of Dronningens Tværgade/Adelgade. Further up, Dronningens Tværgaden crosses Borgergade, and slightly off to the right, in no. 17 Borgergade, is the design shop Hollie Golightly, a really neat place. And next door, in no. 15, is the gallery Etage Projects. Across the street is the bookshop Tranquebar, which is also definitely worth a visit.
Is Hanne’s business also flourishing, I ask, as we meet over a cup of morning coffee in her pavilion. I’m here to return a suede jacket I borrowed for a photo shoot for the second issue of the HÅNDVÆRK bookazine, which is released on 30 March.
‘Well,’ Hanne replies, ‘I always have lots of work, in fact, I’m usually quite busy, and that’s the way I like it. But I do feel that my business and my products are getting added attention right now. I think maybe the general uniformity that prevails has triggered a yearning for things that are individual and personal. I’m not just offering a product but an experience,’ she adds.
Who is your typical customer, I wonder – and to my delight, Hanne replies that no customer is typical.
Some have stuck with her since she moved to Copenhagen from Odense as a young woman and set up shop in Elmegade in Copenhagen’s Nørrebro district. ‘Back then, the neighbourhood was popular with people who worked in advertising, film and music, and they wanted leather trousers. Many of them are still my customers today. I also have businesswomen come in to order skirts. Two seeks ago, I had a tourist from Asia who was in town to dine at noma, and last week I made a pair of trousers for a very fashion-conscious young woman, she explains.
The pavilion has a simple and exclusive interior, and despite the limited space, there is room for a workshop, a hanger rod and a changing room. On the hanger rod are finished models, intended as inspiration, but they are also for sale if the design and the size are right. Most of her clothes are made to measure, however, created specifically for the individual body. I ask if she also makes bespoke models, and Hanne confirms that she does, ‘but only if I like the customer’s ideas’.
Hanne loves her material and treats it with the utmost respect.
Most of the skins come from lambs or goats, that is, from animals that are used for food. Thanks to her extensive experience, she is able to optimize the utilization of the material, and the fact that she makes bespoke pieces in close collaboration with the customer ensures that her creations have a long lifetime.
A classic business model that is a perfect match for today’s call for sustainable products!
Kender du Hanne Harnov? Hun er en hybrid mellem skrædderkunst og mode, hun arbejder i skind.
Hanne har de seneste 11 år haft adresse på Kronprinsessegade 17 i en af de ikoniske, kubiske 21 m2 pavilloner, som i 1804-06 blev opført af Københavns stadsbygmester arkitekt Peter Meyn langs Kongens Have ud mod Kronprinsessegade og Gothersdage.
Man har sine veje, sine vaner og sine kvarterer, og kvartererne har deres eget liv, nogle gange bliver de stille, andre gange blomstrer de. Lige nu blomster det i den end af byen, hvor Hanne holder til. Ud ad fordøren kan hun lade øjet glide hele vejen til Bredgade og tilbage igen. En tur som på alle måder er fin. På vejen kan man gøre pit-stop hos interiørbutikken Studio x Viaduct, som ligger på hjørnet Dronningens Tværgade / Adelgade, længere fremme krydser Tværgaden Borgergade, lidt til højre i Borgergade nr. 17 ligger designbutikken Hollie Golightly, og er virkelig fint og skarp, ved siden af i nr. 15 ligger galleriet Etage Projects. På den anden side af gaden ligger boghandleren Tranquebar, som absolut også er et besøg værd.
”Blomstrer Hannes forretning også?” spørger jeg, da jeg ser hende over en kop formiddagskaffe i pavillonen. Jeg skulle returnere en ruskindsfrakke, som jeg havde lånt til fotografering til HÅNDVÆRK bookazine no. 2, som udkommer 30. marts. ”Altså”, siger Hanne, ”jeg har altid nok at lave, faktisk har jeg som oftest travlt, og sådan kan jeg lide at have det. Men jeg fornemmer, at der lige nu er mere opmærksomhed omkring min virksomhed og mine produkter, end der har været længe. Det er, som om ensretningen i øvrigt efterlader en længsel efter det individuelle og det personlige. Jeg tilbyder ikke jo bare et produkt, men også en oplevelse”, supplerer hun.
Hvem er din typiske kunde, vil jeg vide – og Hanne svarer befriende, at ingen kunde er typisk. En del har hængt med, siden hun som ung flyttede fra Odense og etablerede sig i Elmegade på Nørrebro. ”Den gang boede mange fra reklamebranchen, filmbranchen og musikmiljøet i kvarteret, de ville gerne have skindbukser. Mange af dem er stadig mine kunder, jeg har også business kvinder, som får syet nederdele, forrige uge havde jeg en asiatisk turist, hun var i byen for at spise på Noma, og i sidste uge syede jeg bukser til en ret smart ung pige, fortæller hun.
Pavillonen er enkelt og eksklusivt indrettet, og trods sine sparsomme kvadratmeter er der plads til både værksted, bøjlestang og prøvefacilitet. På bøjlestangen hænger færdige modeller, som dels tjener til inspiration, dels kan købes direkte, hvis modellen falder i smag og passer. Det meste sys dog efter mål, og tilpasses den individuelle krop.
Syr du også modeller efter kundens ønske, vil jeg vide. ”Det gør jeg gerne,” siger Hanne, ”men kun hvis hun synes, at det kunden beder om er pænt”.
Hanne elsker sit materiale og behandler det med største respekt.
Skindene er primært fra lam og ged, det vil sige fra dyr, som bliver spist. Hendes store erfaring gør, at hun udnytter materialet bedst muligt og det tætte samarbejde med kunden og det måltilpassede sikrer produktet en lang levetid.
En klassisk forretningsmodel der passer perfekt med tidens ønske om bæredygtige produkter!
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