It’s hard to pick up a fashion / design / lifestyle magazine and not see at least one section dedicated to Nordic style. Oak – The Nordic Journal , produced in Copenhagen, brings this to another level by being dedicated solely to the genre.
And they get it right.
My very dog-eared volume III
I discovered Oak while in Copenhagen last year (It was hanging on the wall of the Laundromat Cafe, which I highly recommended by the way. Try the veggie burger.).
After three editions, Oak, founded by Laura Terp and Anne Riis, seems to be on its way. Each volume unveils various aspects of Nordic lifestyle: art, cuisine, fashion and more. From introducing the reader to the benefits of seaweed from the tiny Danish island of Omø to going behind the scenes of Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropia, which it deems:
“[A] creative workplace so bizarre it makes whoever passes through its doors either a shooting star or a burnout.” – Meet the Idiots, Oak, Volume III
…the magazine is a your Nordic friend who lovingly shows you there’s more to the region than The Little Mermaid.
And Ikea.
And the paper. Oh, the paper. Oak eschews the expected glossy fare for something more rough, tactile, gritty and intimate.
Nordic.
My only complaint: Oak is extremely, extremely, nerve-wrackingly hard to find on newsstands. I suggest ordering by mail (the publishers ship worldwide, but be aware that depending on the weight (it’s pretty heavy and can run 180-200 pages), shipping may cost EUR 16 – 24.
But it’s worth it.
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