Hi Signe, please introduce yourself: 

My name is Signe Birkving Bertelsen, I live in Copenhagen with my husband and our two kids, Karl and Esther (12 and 7 years old). I am co-founder of the Danish stationery brand, Notem Studio (www.notem-studio.com).

In which room do you spend most of your time?

In our kitchen. Even though our apartment has several really nice rooms we almost always end up sitting around the kitchen table – both on a normal everyday as well as when we have family or friends visiting. I love it when our friends pass by and what I enjoy most is just “hanging-out” informally. It is often like that at our place that people come by for a cup of coffee, and then end up staying for food and wine.

How would your dream living situation look like?

Winter in Denmark has lasted so long this year so these days I am dreaming of taking the whole family away on an adventure somewhere. I am drawn to the large metropoles and would really like to live in LA for a period. But am also attracted by more exotic places, such as northern Bali. One of my dreams is to one day find a special place, and build there an open plan house with windows from floor to ceiling – like a natural aquarium in the free air. I have heard it said that changing our course of life every seven-years or so is good for us. I do think that this could well be the case. In any case, one of my dreams is to make a big change sometime within the next few years, and live in a completely different way for some time.

What’s your favourite book or which book do you read at the moment?

I have just read Colson Whithead’s book “The Underground Railroad” which is both tough but impossible to put down. Before that I read “Stoner” by John Williams, whom I really appreciate as a writer. And now I am about to start a book written by my good friend Jakob Silas Lund, which has just been published.

Does Art play a role in your life?

Absolutely. I grew up not far from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which has a world-famous collection. I adore spending time in galleries and art museums – and would like to use more time than I have now. The last time that I was in Berlin I visited the Sammlung Boros and the Sammlung Hoffmann private art collections – both of which are spectacular.

What’s your favourite oldest interior piece and what’s your favourite latest purchase?

I appreciate things of beauty but, having said that, I am not particularly attached to any of our things. We often move furniture and ornaments around in our apartment, and often sell items to make room for new. In fact, there are very few items that we will never part with. One of these is a beautiful stool from West Africa, given to us by my mother-in-law. It has been sculpted out of a single piece of wood. This piece really means so much to me. More recently, my best buy has been an AeroPress coffee maker. This makes excellent coffee in the space of a few seconds. And then of course, I love the Akari lamp that lights up our dining room table.

Which interior piece do you want to buy soon?

I don’t really think that we are actually missing anything. But I would like to buy a good armchair and I have been looking at a Bollo chair from the Swedish furniture maker, Fogia. I also really want to own more art. Landon Metz is great, but I am also keen on Danish artists, such as Mathias Malling Mortensen and Gun Gordillo.

What’s your favourite music/song at the moment?

Bon Iver at the first HAVEN Festival in Copenhagen.

Would you tell us a few of your favourite design shops?

In Copenhagen I love Shop Dora for presents and small, beautiful objects, and The Apartment for their unique sense for colours and their mix between vintage and modern design. And then there is Artilleriet in Gøteborg, Misc Stor in Amsterdam, and Labour and Wait in London.

If someone would gift you a second flat or house where would it be?

By far the best would be a long house, on a single level, in the middle of a forest close to a lake. I would love to sit on the dock every evening watching the sun set.

What’s your next travel destination?

Berlin in June and Tuscany in July.

What’s your all-time favourite travel destination?

New York City and the Danish Island, Bornholm.

If someone visits Copenhagen for the first time, which places would you recommend to go to?

There is little bar by the harbour that very few people know. It is called “La Banchina” on Refshaleøen. I have spent the best summer evenings there, enjoying the sunset and watching the boats passing in the harbour.

Tell us 3 of your favourite Instagram accounts:

I love @mansurgraviel and @teklan for their beautiful colours and designs. I always get drawn by the nature when I see the beautiful feed of @stedsansinthewoods and I admire the beautiful new Danish fashionbrand @milsted_ .