Touching down in CPH you feel the rarefied atmosphere of creativity. There are many reasons why Denmark’s capital has become pivotal to the culture of art and design, the primary one being the Danish personality. Danes are naturally straightforward – but off the wall – favouring attention to detail over grand statements. They would rather strive for perfection than compete for notoriety. And this personality is reflected in Copenhagen’s liveability.

Nikolaj Nielsen, Founder and Creative Director, Won Hundred​

“I am very inspired by my surroundings” says Nikolaj. “As creative director, I try to be honest and trust my choices of inspiration sources.” Nikolaj created the Won Hundred brand after being involved in various labels at a number of different levels. Now, he is treading his own path. “I’m not so nervous about what people think any longer,” he says. “It's good if people like it, but it's not crucial to me. In the past, I tried to please others and I felt that some of my honesty was lost.” And how does his creative vision become renewed? “Overall, I get inspired by what I see and feel. I'm very nostalgic and it's interesting to go back to the past, see how things were done and to update that. Ultimately I am inspired by art and people around me.”

Guld & Løvenholdt

“We always feel a need to create. And as furniture makers, we believe it is an advantage that we can both design and build all of it ourselves,” says Kasper Løvenholdt, one half of design company Guld & Løvenholdt. Launched in 2012 by Kasper (27) and his friend Anders Guld (29), G&L is a Copenhagen-based woodwork and design studio that crafts furniture and builds custom interior design projects. “We can easily turn the ideas in our heads into actual products,” says Anders. “Our design is timeless I think, and our classic expression comes from a minimalistic, simple Nordic lifestyle.” Aesthetics and good functionality are high priorities in all design, but in Denmark the two are always intertwined. “We make a virtue out of the fact that our furniture doesn’t make any noise,” says Kasper. “But our work is always involved in a conversation between form and function.”

Mark Leckey exhibition at The X-Room at Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)​

The X-Room at the SMK is one of the most interesting spaces in a city that constantly questions boundaries. It is where problems of art and design manifest in three dimensions, and you can experience first-hand the concerns of the artists in residence. Twice a year the state-run institution invites artists to create site-specific installations for the room. Often these are young Danish artists who have not yet staged major exhibitions in Denmark – or international artists whose work has not yet been presented on Danish soil. The idea is that the X-Room is a place where the museum’s curators can collaborate with artists who are tackling current artistic problems; to create work that helps define important positions in the international art scene. Currently British artist and Turner Prize-winner Mark Leckey is at work. His installation, He Thrusts his Fists against the Posts but Still Insists he Sees the Ghosts, is a recreation of a significant space from his childhood: the ramps underneath the M53 motorway bridge in England's Ellesmere Port.