Danish jewellery designer, Sophie Bille Brahe, is an archetype of Scandinavian living: organic sourced veg, vintage shopping and an eye for antiques.
She lives on the outskirts of Copenhagen with her young son and border collie; she is a five-minute bike ride away from the sea where she goes swimming each morning. Her great great-grandfather is the astronomer, Tycho Brahe, who discovered the constellation Cassiopeia (named after the queen in Greek mythology, known for boasting about her unrivalled beauty).
Brahe closes herself off to the outside world, living the quiet life, and it’s because of this that she’s able to think creatively and run one the coolest jewellery brands to emerge in the past decade.
Her jewellery is stocked in 49 different stores, available at Dover Street Market and online via Net-a-Porter (and her favourite shop in Copenhagen, Holly Golightly).
Unlike queen Cassiopeia, the RCA-trained designer doesn’t boast about her beauty nor her talent for making delicate clean-cut pieces worn by Zoe Kravitz, Madonna and Uma Thurman. She’s warm, modest and laughs often as we speak.
We visited her home to get the lowdown on Scandi-living, and poke a nose around her apartment. Here’s what she had to say about her minimalist jewels, taking risks, and her collaborations with hit brands including Sacai.
What is it like where you live and how did you decide on living there?
It is not a park, but it is not big enough to be a forest, a really nice green area and close to the sea also. I moved out here because I have a small son that just turned five and I have a Border Collie that is six, my life has just been a lot of logistics going around and I think when having a child and a dog, having to go up to the fourth floor in an apartment, I don't know how many times a day. It is just nice to be in this small house, where we have a little garden.
Do you have a daily routine at home?
Coffee. Nescafe with milk. It is not even like an espresso, something really basic and instant.
I go swimming almost every morning in the sea and in the winter time there is a sauna, so you can sit, it is a beautiful sauna with glass around it, so you can sit and look at the sea, looking towards Sweden. It is a five-minute bike ride from my house.
Tell us about your home, now that we’ve been nosey and send the photographers around.
It is an old garage, that has been made into a mini-house, just 20 minutes outside Copenhagen.
I think I live very simply. I am not into buying furniture, not that I don't like furniture! But for some reason I prefer when things have a story, like the table and chairs I have are my parents’. I truly have a lot of beautiful pictures and paintings, but I don't really like to have things on my wall.
Typical Scandi-minimalism!
Haha, I know. I prefer walls to be very white and clean. The only place where there’s mess is my son's room. Otherwise I am like, ‘argh!’
I like it when it is light and there’s space for thought. I have a lot of objects that I love, but if I hang a picture, it is too much. Although, I love it when I go into people’s homes and it is decorated with a lot of paintings and beautiful art…
What do you love most in your place?
I have an old drawer, that I got from my uncle who passed away. It’s not something I would have chosen myself, but because it reminds me of him, it is my favourite thing that I have.
I have a really cute Japanese chair too. It is very small and the where you put your back, there are two bunny ear. But it is very clean and has a Japanese feeling. I got that from my brother. We used lived together in the same flat, so it chair reminds me of that time. Everything I have, reminds me of things and people that I love.
Tell us about that beautiful shell-like jewellery dish. Where did you find that?
I was hosting a dinner in Paris, and wanted to served food in a way that would make people share, serving grapes and stuff.
I went and found all these plates in an antique store that I thought would create a beautiful table set. It was a beautiful dinner and a nice memory, so I had to keep one, it is like that with everything I own because I like holding onto memories.
I have actually been thinking about it a lot because this is what people normally do with jewellery.
Since I don’t buy any jewellery, because I make it myself, I try to put that thing into other things like the pieces I collect for the house.
What’s one thing that would surprise people about your place?
I don’t have any forks, haha. And I don’t go to Ikea. My friends laugh at me so much because all the cutlery I have was given to me by my brother — I haven't been able to find cutlery that I like yet, haha. So I have the weirdest collections of forks, and when I host dinner parties, I call my friends saying, ‘Oh by the way, I don't have any forks, can you bring some?’
Wait, you don’t shop at IKEA? So where is that great sofa from?
The new perfect sofa in my life… I know an amazing Italian woman who lived here in Copenhagen, and she had an old sofa (something I don't think I would buy). It is a classic white, and she couldn't take it with her to Italy, so she gave it to me.
The sofa also had these weird table sides on the sofa which I removed and binned, so now it is a clean white sofa, but it’s a sofa with life. I made a new covering for it too. It’s the same fabric; I like to keep things really really simple.
How do you feel your home is different to other people’s?
I think I see things and I am like, ‘Oh wow that looks amazing.’ I also know myself, that I would get stressed if I lived in a place with a lot of colour.
My bedroom is just white with an open window and white bed sheets because otherwise I am like ‘erghh,’ at the thought of sleeping with colour. I need to have space for my soul!
Do you ever work from home?
I love working at home, I get so much done. I have a workshop in my basement. It’s productive for me, so I do it at least once a week. Otherwise, I would not be able to keep my deadlines. I always have my dog with me and I always listen to a podcast, for instance Desert Island Discs or what happened this week in Syria? Something where people are talking, I never listen to music.
That’s a lot books on your shelves. Who are your favourite authors?
I have a guilty pleasure every time I travel. Last week I was in London and Milan, and I always read a mystery novel on flights. It is really bad taste, but I really like them.
Sometimes when I have time, I go back to reading some of my favourite books: books by Karen Blixen or Joan Didion. Something that moves you.
What’s your earliest memory associated with jewellery?
In my parents’ house we had a Chinese cabinet that has been passed down the family for years. Each drawer is filled with old toys, like beautiful little miniature figures. Some of them are broken, but they are so beautiful.
One day, I found a really beautiful ring, which had a miniature rose that is holding two rose-cut diamonds. My parents didn't know it was there, then I found it, my dad took it to an auction house and he found out that it was an extremely special old ring. He gave me that ring, and that, I think, was the first feeling of finding out how precious jewellery is.
Tell us about your jewellery storage. Obviously, this is important when you own and make such delicate pieces!
I store everything on two amazing ashtrays in my bathroom. I take them off in the evening and put them there. It is not like a special place, except they are really cute ashtrays.
You must have an amazing collection of clothes to go with that jewellery. What are your go-to items?
I like to wear dresses because you don't have to think about a top or pants. It’s a bit like wearing pyjamas. My favourite dresses that I have are from Molly Goddard. Most of the time I wear a t-shirt and leopard print coat.
The most special piece I have is a Prada dress that I bought when I was 25. It is really old now. I bought it in Rome, and it’s a silk dress with different colours that goes from peach to soft pink. It is really really simple, but it is the most beautiful dress in the whole world.
Where are your favourite places to shop in Copenhagen?
My favourite two stores in Copenhagen are: Lot#29 and Holly Golightly, just because they always have a beautiful selection like The Vampires Wife and Missoni. Things where you can kind of fall in love because it is a beautiful dress or a beautiful fabric.
There’s a great vintage store called Time's Up Vintage. The guy who runs it has the best vintage. You always have to ask him what he has in the back? And he goes I have this and I also have this old Chanel dress. It’s my absolute favourite place.
And for food?
My brother has a cafe and a restaurant, they are called Café Atelier September and Apollo Bar & Kantine, they are both in the centre of Copenhagen. On the weekends in Apollo, it always ends up being really fun with music, it is in the Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen. There is also an Italian restaurant, owned by two really cute guys, called Spaghetteria.
What’s your tourist hit-list? Where must we visit if we head to Copenhagen?
The David Collection, a place that a lot of people forget about, it is in the centre and it is this old man who collected old Islamic art.
The Thorvaldsen Museum, where there’s a beautiful pink room with my favourite Danish painter, Vilhelm Hammershøi. It’s also free.
Rosenborg Castle Gardens. It is a little castle and everything is miniature, it is almost like a small town. Everything is extremely small here compared to the UK, so it’s cute, but then in the basement there is the collection of the royal family, some jewellery. That is also one of my favourite places to go.
Copenhagen is a very small city, and it takes me 20 minutes to get to work. There isn't this huge crowd of people, it is good for your soul, but it can also be slightly boring sometimes.
What should we eat?
One of my favourite things is our speciality food called stenbiderrogn (lumpfish roe). It’s a miniature roe in a peach colour. You can only eat it in the first month of spring. It’s beyond caviar. Caviar can go home.
What do you love most about you do, and what are you excited about doing next?
It was never about being a jewellery designer. I love what I just told you about the Chinese cabinet, this thing about arranging things and putting things in order, in a way where I kind of get peace of mind. It is a little bit the same with the way I work, it is about taking things away that I don't think should be there.
The beauty of the materials is the focus.
Thanks Sophie.
Sophie Bille Brahe, available at Dover Street Market and Net-a-Porter.
sophiebillebrahe.com.
