[ Photo Journal ] 3daysofdesign Copenhagen 2026 — What Mattered to Me Most.

And finally, a blog post about my time at 3daysofdesign in my favourite format — a Photo Journal. Fewer words, more images that hopefully inspire. After all, I'm a visual person first — photography is the language I love most for communicating with the world.

3daysofdesign 2026 - Aarticles Archive

Aside from two exhibitions by more established names (Frama and Tekla Fabrics) — which were on my must-visit list simply because I love their designs and visual language endlessly, and visiting Frama's space itself, an old pharmacy, was a small personal dream — I made a conscious choice for the rest of my route. Not the giants and icons of the industry, though I love and respect many of their designs (anyway, they'll get written about everywhere, you definitely won't miss them…), and not the grand spaces with the biggest installation budgets. Instead, I focused on: (1) showrooms and exhibitions from magazines I love or smaller-scale brands, which I genuinely follow online, or whose pieces I already own or could easily picture in my own home. And (2) on discovering new names, new designs, new spaces, and new formats.

I wanted something quieter. A chance to slow down in the moment (After all, the 2026 festival’s theme was Make This Moment Matter!), to be among people who clearly weren't there for the free tote bag, rather than lost in the biggest crowds.

So, here they are, moments, spaces, objects that mattered to me —

1/ Frama - The Mechanics of Scent.

Housed in a 19th-century pharmacy at Fredericiagade 57, one of Copenhagen's most quietly extraordinary spaces. In our small Alpine town, there's also a beautiful old pharmacy by the park. The space sits empty — door closed, forgotten. All I can do sometimes is walk up, press my hands against the dusty glass, and look inside.

Perhaps that's why I already felt a certain connection to the Frama space before I even arrived. And it means something to me that a brand whose designs and visual language I also feel drawn to chose exactly this kind of place to call home.

2/ Aarticles Archive - Compositions.

Aarticles Archive, founded by Kasia Sznajder and Fred Aartun, functions as a hybrid of gallery, archive, and marketplace for craft-driven objects. Their exhibition Compositions took place in a beautiful space on Christian IX's Gade — with views over the city, and a semicircular room lined with windows that, somehow, reminded me of our own living room back home.

Many of the objects from their collection have since made it onto my wish list — among them the two chairs you'll see in the next photos, a silver-plated comb, and a collection of silver-plated objects by artist Yeo Dong Yun.

3/ Tekla Fabrics - The Heart of Living.

What struck me most (except for the beauty of the quilts themselves) was the contrast — the grandeur of a former palace as a backdrop for something so humble and domestic: simple wooden cabin beds and handmade quilts rooted in working-class Scandinavian tradition. That tension between the space and the objects inside it made the whole thing quietly powerful. Bravo, Tekla!

4/ Ark Journal’s DESIGN / DIALOGUE and Openhouse Magazine's Echoes of Space.

Two magazines (Ark Journal and Openhouse Magazine curating physical spaces rather than pages. That's why they belong together here.

Two publications, two different exhibitions — and yet a shared instinct: that the most interesting design conversations happen not in brand showrooms, but in spaces shaped specifically for exchange.

5/ Islands Brygge — A Different Kind of Day.

This was the day I crossed the bridge and left the city centre behind. On my way to find those kinds of places, you only find if you're specifically looking for them. The most interesting conversations also happened there. Featuring here: Tōseibo, Slorence, Tomomi Yokoyama Design, Seino Takashi Design, and Ødeland.

6/ Showrooms: Form & Refine, Kristina Dam Studio, FORMARKIVET.

Three showrooms by three brands (Form & Refine, Kristina Dam Studio, FORMARKIVET) whose designs I truly admire, three different takes on the same underlying question: what does it mean to design something that lasts? Not in terms of durability alone — but in terms of relevance, feeling, and presence in a space.

7/ When Craft Becomes a Statement.

One of the quieter but most consistent threads running through the festival — and through the wider design conversation right now — is a return to traditional techniques. Not as nostalgia, but as a genuine counter-movement to fast production and digital abstraction. The hand still matters. The process matters. Where something comes from, and who made it, matters.

This felt especially present at OCHRE — an Armenian textile brand making its 3daysofdesign debut with their exhibition A Path of Gestures.

The Grains is a collection of textile and ceramic objects, rooted in the centuries-old Armenian Ourfa embroidery technique. The project emerged from a shared process of observation, practice, and reflection, an attempt to understand not only the craft itself, but also the histories it carries. Rather than preserving it as a fixed heritage, the collaboration seeks to continue its development, extending its vocabulary into new forms and a contemporary language.

Photo 2 and 3 : Biayna Mahari.

Thank you…

Three days, a camera, and a lot of walking. I came back with a full memory card, a longer wish list than I'd like to admit, and a quiet certainty that the most interesting design conversations are happening in the spaces you have to look for.

The best things are always one street further than you planned.

I’ll keep it in mind when planning next year’s route.