A big Danish mid-century modern furniture warehouse with a devoted following has swapped its Jersey City store for one double the size on the waterfront in Red Hook next to Ikea.
Lanoba Design is known for its sharp prices, high quality, and vast selection. Founders and married couple Lars Noah Balderskilde and David Singh move nine or 10 containers a year of items sourced by Balderskilde in his native Denmark, mostly directly from the original owners (or their children) who bought them in the 1950s and ’60s.
“As we kept expanding over years, we were desperate for more space and not finding it,” Singh told Brownstoner while Balderskilde was in Denmark on a buying trip earlier this month. About 75 percent of their customers are based in New York City, so when they couldn’t find anything in New Jersey, they expanded their hunt to Brooklyn and quickly leased an 8,000-square-foot space at 481 Van Brunt St. in the iconic Beard and Robinson Stores on the piers on the waterfront in Red Hook.
Built by William Beard and Jeremiah P. Robinson, the long Civil War-era brick building is well known for its arched openings with iron shutters. Inside are stone walls and massive beams that once housed shipments of coffee and cocoa beans on their way to and from markets via the Erie Canal.
“It’s the right space in terms of the vibe of the neighborhood,” said Singh, originally from Chicago. “We’re in an area with lots of small creative businesses and we really enjoy it and think we can bring something to them and they can bring something to us.”
“Now we get to be part of this community, it’s so great to be here,” he added. “We’ve gotten such a warm welcome. We have customers here who were giving us hugs when we moved. We see a lot of familiar faces.”
No small number of Brooklynites who follow Lanoba on social media but had never made it out to the Jersey City store have dropped by, he said. “A lot of people find us over Instagram and video. Now that we’re more accessible, they’re extremely happy.”
There is also more foot traffic in Red Hook than in their previous location, and a few customers have even stopped by after shopping at Ikea next door. The store, which takes its name from Balderskilde’s initials and is open only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, debuted over Memorial Day weekend.
In the front of the space are newly refurbished pieces, including light fixtures rewired for U.S. requirements, and furniture such as dressers, desks, chairs, and dining room tables. The store also carries pottery, some of it from West Germany, but the Rya rugs are for display only.
An official grand opening is set for Saturday,June 22, when the back section will open for the first time with pieces straight off the latest container. Customers can buy an item as-is for a low price or opt to buy it at a higher price that includes restoration.
Balderskilde and Singh work seven days a week and do most of the work themselves with help from family and a small staff on the ground in Red Hook and Denmark.
So when a customer on the shop floor asks about a piece, the duo know where it’s from, how it’s been revamped, and sometimes even that it was a wedding gift or the first piece the original owners bought for their home. “We have that whole story chain,” said Singh, who was working in corporate finance in Copenhagen when he and Balderskilde met there 14 years ago.
Balderskilde had grown up helping his dad and older brother restore furniture they found at flea markets for use in their own home and after college got into retail management. “He’s our guru and our guide to make sure we get everything back up to the condition it was in in the 1950s and ’60s,” said Singh. “He loves the mix of refurbishing and helping people.”
When the two moved to the U.S., Balderskilde “started seeing all these Danish products getting snapped up very quickly that were either in very poor condition or very overpriced,” which gave him the idea to source directly from Denmark, said Singh. “There was a very big gap in the market here in New York City” in particular. They started out in a loft “where we had our bedroom and 300 pieces of furniture” in 2016 and quickly outgrew several spaces.
Now Balderskilde sources in Denmark for a month at a time three to five times a year, calling up people and traveling all over to find pieces. He collects enough on a visit to fill two or three containers, puts the items into storage in Denmark, and arranges for a shipment every five to six weeks.
Dining tables, chairs, and desks are among the most popular items the store sells. Desks, secretaries, and sets of chairs in refurbished condition typically are priced under $2,000. Dressers run around $1,200 and smaller pieces under $1,000.
Is there any danger Denmark will run out of mid-century modern furniture anytime soon?
Singh laughs. “That’s a question we get a lot. It’s getting harder and harder, it’s always hard to find the good pieces.” And, “for every one container going to the U.S. there are 10 going somewhere else in the world,” he said. But they’re not worried for the next decade at least.
The winters were very harsh during the last years of World War II, so Danes burned their furniture to stay warm. As a result, when the war ended, every home needed new furniture, Singh explained. “That’s why there’s so much of it.”
For Singh, going from finance to furniture was a big change at first. “We both have our realm. The admin side is more my expertise, Lars is more creative and the talent. For both of us, we had a very big goal that we wanted to create something ourselves and see it succeed.”
While it is a ton of hard work, seeing the business grow has been highly rewarding. “It’s very satisfying to both of us, it’s been our greatest joy,” he said.
“Lars with his Danish heritage really wants to bring these pieces back up and do it as well as possible,” said Singh. “It’s protecting the heritage and value of these pieces.”
This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Brownstoner.
