Select Shopping: Christiania http://www.cphpost.dk/in-a-out/reviews/45218-select-shopping-christiania.html
Friday, 27 March 2009 Christiania, Cph S It would seem that the financial crisis has not stopped excessive shopping in Copenhagen, and if anything just stimulated people to buy even more. But this consumerist way of life, devoted to making money and spending it just as quickly, is what the Freetown of Christiania has rejected since its founding day. The hippie mentality is all about sustainability - meaning that you only buy essential products that enrich your life. Shopping, according to this vision, should not become a way of life but only a way to stay alive. The stores in this 'counter-town in a town' came to be there for their necessity, only selling products that supported the community. Christiania therefore became popular with artisans and craftsmen producing and selling sustainable products that do not alter every season when fashion changes. Anyone who thinks that the only thing worth buying in the freetown is hash is terribly wrong and should look further than Pusherstreet. Caso: Antikke ovne & mobler Refshalevej 2, Cph K, Mon- Fri: 10.00-17.00, Sat: 11.00-15.00 When Christiania was founded in the early 1970s all the houses were without electricity or gas, and heating was one of the main problems of the new 'town'. So this stove store became one of the first shops in Christiania because of its vital importance to the community. But even nowadays a lot of residences are still without electrical heating and stove are used commonly. However the clientele of this shop does not purely consist of the inhabitants of Christiania. Caso is one of the few stores in Denmark providing and restoring old Scandinavian cast iron stoves. The Danish culture embraces the old-fashioned stove as it represents a piece of their past, attracting people from all over the country to this well-hidden place to find a traditional heating device. Christiania Cyckler Refshalevej 2, Cph K, Mon-Fri: 10.00-17.30, Tue: 12.00-17.30 It wasn't just stoves that were needed in the founding days - transportation also had to be improvised. Cars and motorcycles are banned in the community because of their damaging effect to the environment. This prohibition means inhabitants have found alternative way to transport goods and children, with bikes taking the place of the engine. However, the streets of the town are not that bike-proof as they are not paved and full of holes. Christiania Cykler has therefore made sure its bikes can handle all kind of street conditions. By inventing new kinds of bikes, they developed the most interesting and renewed ways of transport. Their bikes are now well known all over the world. Kvindesmedien Maelkevejen 83 E, Cph K, Mon-Fri: 9.00- 17.00, Sat: 11.00-15.00 When feminism was big in the '70s women were fighting for the same rights as men - this meant that they wanted to show they were just as capable working in positions usually dominated by the other sex. The blacksmith's was started by leading figures of the feminist movement in the 1970s, and today a shop and workplace exists were you can buy all kinds of metalware and gifts. And it is still only run by women. Even though the shop has only been in Christiania since 1997, it has built a reputation. The women smiths not only make metal and ceramic products for the store, they also make awards for the best film actors in Denmark - something like a golden globe, only not made of gold but iron, and crafted into a weird little man. Yak Wed-Sun: 12.00-18.00 On the main square at the beginning of Pusherstreet you'll find several market stalls were you can buy all the average hippie things: scarves, jewellery, handmade hats and gloves. One of these little stalls has developed into a shop - Yak is the traditional hippie store with its strong incense smell and filled with things that remind you of the 1970s. The owner imports her wares from Nepal to sell to tourists visiting Christiania. Of course the shop is not founded solemnly for the purpose of making profit - a part of the money she makes she sends to a school for Nepalese children It's all about sharing and spreading the love, making Yak a place filled with good hippie intentions. . --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
