Danish Originals

From his home in Thousand Oaks, California, Nivå-born Danish craft brewer JEPPE JARNIT-BJERGSØ recalls his start as a schoolteacher to kids with special needs and as a beer expert, brewer, and entrepreneur. He talks about his 2012 move to New York with his wife and young children that resulted in years of explosive growth, of his company Evil Twin Brewing, and a Michelin Starred restaurant. And he shares his latest adventure, Jarni...

On a visit to Los Angeles to meet with Twentieth Gallery about her new creations, Bonderup-born, London-trained, New York-based Danish designer CAMILLA STÆRK speaks about her brand, STÆRK, deeply rooted in her Danish heritage and shaped by a fascination with Old Hollywood and film noir, and spanning fashion, furniture, lighting, rugs, and accessories. She also reflects on her creative partnership, Stærk & Christensen, which ext...

From his apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, Odense-born Danish creative marketer KRISTIAN THOMASSEN recalls leaving home immediately after high school, and experiencing a deep feeling of belonging in New York City. Kristian pays homage to his mentor in his new city, a fellow Dane, or two, and describes his fast-paced work developing campaigns for brands to reach a young demographic with a Gen Z mindset. Lastly, Kristian shar...

From his Michelin-Starred restaurant Elske he co-owns with his wife Anna Posey in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, California-born Danish-American chef and restaurateur DAVID POSEY talks about his path in American fine dining that's always incorporated a Danish or Scandinavian profile. He reflects on his and his restaurant's recent roles on the popular tv series The Bear, the joy of experiencing the ...

​From her home in Bel-Air, London-born British-Danish interior designer and stylist KRISTINA HASLUND talks about her namesake Studio Haslund that blends Danish modernist style with Los Angeles' indoor-outdoor living. She retraces her roots with her Danish mother, her first career in the music industry, and how mid-century design and architecture are top reasons she calls LA home. And she explains why she has fallen in lov...

From Dumbo, Brooklyn, Frederiksberg-born, Vejle-raised, Copenhagen- and New York-based Danish pianist and composer NIKOLAJ HESS gets ready for his upcoming concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Nikolaj talks about how he translates visual art to music in his project Transformative Reflections, film scoring, and his many jazz adventures, highlighting New York as a jazz capital. And he talks about improvisation, and...

​From her home in Nørrebro in Copenhagen, Haderslev-born Danish-English multidisciplinary artist ​BIRGITTE MOOS CHALCRAFT talks about her time in Los Angeles at the start of the booming art scene in the Arts District of Downtown LA. There she was inspired by her fellow artists and the land and street art movements. Birgitte talks about her focus on the intersection of psychology and art, her interest in quantum physics, and h...

In his home in Winchester outside of Boston, Aalborg-born Danish entrepreneur NICOLAI ROTTBØLL is excited about life in the US where he continues his work with international organizations on sustainability and green transition. He talks about the importance of positive thinking, his largest project Our World 2050 that calls on one million children to share their vision of our collective future, and the book he's authoring...

In her home in Studio City, Los Angeles, Christianshavn-born Danish author, collector, and gallerist MUS WHITE recalls moments from the 60 years she has lived in California, having left Denmark upon her high school graduation. She talks about starting out as a juvenile probation officer, then becoming a published author and translator, a historical photography dealer and exhibition maker along with her husband, and a recogniz...

In Los Angeles for the Annie Awards with his nominated short film, Hans Christian Andersen's The Swineherd (2023), Viborg-based Danish producer SØREN FLENG describes how he came to the industry through Denmark's world-renowned animation school, The Animated Workshop, and the unique community of animation professionals. He gives a sneak peak on his current project with a US partner, and shares his thoughts on the power...

From her home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Danish creative director SIMONE FABRICIUS reflects on having loved New York City since seeing it on the movie screen in the '80s, and moving there 15 years ago after a decade in Paris from Denmark. Simone talks about her work, which she calls "play," in brand, packaging, visual design, and illustration, and how she's particularly excited about the explosive developments and opp...

From her home in New York, Pulitzer finalist and Ebbe Munck Prize-winning Danish writer and editor LOUISE BOKKENHEUSER talks her upcoming novel How to Organize the World, and recalls her time as a war correspondent in Bagdad, Iraq for The Los Angeles Times and what her experience taught her about human beings' capabilities in treating each other. She further shares her thoughts on the state of journalism in the US under a secon...

From his apartment in Battery Park City in Manhattan, where he's called home since 1992, award-winning Odense-born Danish cartoonist and graphic novelist HENRIK REHR revisits starting his comic shop and drawing studio Den Blå Bil in his hometown in Odense. Henrik discusses his book Tribeca Sunset: A Story of 9-11 about his family's experience during the 2001 terrorist attack in New York City and shares his thoughts on...

From her home in Manhattan, Hellerup-born Danish journalist, writer, and tv personality MERETE ANGELICA BAIRD talks about her current projects, a memoir that is also a recipe book, and her popular Danish tv series Verdensdamerne, or Ladies of the World. She recalls her work as a journalist for Politiken and Weekendavisen, covering all aspects of art and culture, she revisits...

From his home in Cooperstown in upstate New York, Danish photographer MARC HOM recalls moving to New York City when he was 21, and cutting his teeth working at Harper's Bazaar. A veteran New Yorker known for his iconic portraits of some of the world's most notable figures, Marc talks about establishing trust with his subjects, and about his recent museum exhibition Marc Hom: Re-Framed<...

From her home in Copenhagen, Danish actress AMANDA COLLIN recalls her first acting seminar in New York at 23, which led to her iconic roles today in Danish films The Promised Land (2024) and The Quiet Ones (2024) and US series House of the Dragon (2024). Amanda talks about play in acting, and about accepting the unknown and being in the present. And she shares her latest project, The Cre...

From her home in Gentofte outside of Copenhagen, Danish director and former child star BARBARA TOPSØE-ROTHENBORG revisits her 11-year stay in Los Angeles, starting when she was 21, where she got her filmmaking education on the job. Returning home in search of a directing career and a work-life balance, Barbara talks about her film Loving Adults, the first Netflix Danish language original feature, and other projects that highlight h...

From his home in Nordvest, Copenhagen, Danish-American photographer JAMIL GS recalls his time living in Los Angeles as a child, growing up bi-cultural in Denmark, and moving to New York in the 1990s where for 20 years, he captured hip-hop and street culture. Jamil talks about encountering racism in the US, and his artistic life celebrating multiculturalism. He talks about Young Stringers, an initiative he started to respond to rhet...

From her production company on Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen-born Oscar-nominated Danish film producer SIGNE BYRGE SØRENSEN shares her thoughts on what she learned to do producing her new film, The End, her first narrative feature and a six-country co-production. Signe talks about film as a collaborative art form, what she looks for in projects, the public support of film in Denmark, and the practical benefits, especially for documenta...