Regularly, people start debating about the so-called puffin shops. Many think there are a bit too many of them. Commerce in the city center is certainly changing. Tourism is increasing and more and more shops base their product range on the tourists’ demand and expectations. People have different opinions on this and the debate is often colored by prejudice and generalizations rather than knowledge and reality. Some shops are “puffin shops” while other shops are somehow more important.
Fear, skepticism and prejudice are nourished. A few shopkeepers have even joined forces to fight this development. At the forefront are Bolli Kristinsson, the former owner of the clothes store 17, and representatives and owners of shops like the clothes stores Vinnufatabúðin and Herrafataverslun Guðsteins, and the hardware store Brynja. But what is this development?
Stuffed Puffins Have Become a Symbol
It is often implied that traditional Icelandic commerce is retreating from the city center, giving way to shops that sell junk that is mass-produced abroad. Stuffed puffins have become a symbol of this change because many shops are selling them. Even when the weather is good, giant stuffed puffins are on display outside the shops. Representatives of some traditional shops have been active in protesting against this development and warning of it.
The same people have also tried to prevent efforts to open the Laugavegur shopping street for pedestrians and limit access for cars. Most of these shops have been in the same place for a long time. Their representatives think they stand for good, old values, and warn against this development. They talk about this new commercial culture in a disparaging tone and say that their good, Icelandic shops are losing to the puffin shops. That they are taking over everything, and they imply that they are in some way degenerate. That is not true.
Smacks of Misogyny
When you look at the product range in these old, traditional shops, you realize that there usually is little supply of Icelandic goods. Most products are imported and many of them even made in the same factories in Asia that make the puffins. None of these shops seem to support any ambitious domestic production, and sell almost exclusively foreign brands.
This is the problem in a nutshell. There are, for sure, some tourist shops that are run similarly, offering imported junk with a generous markup. But this is the exception. The backbone of this new trade is Icelandic design and production, clothes design, art, books and other industry.
The puffin shops are rarely puffin shops at all. This concept is, for the most part, just an insult, made and kept alive by envious competitors who are simply not offering as interesting products. I think this smacks of misogyny. Icelandic design and handicraft is for the most part made by women. There is an unbelievable growth and liveliness and interesting creation going on. Icelandic handicraft and design are not just a hobby, but an important value.
To talk about all this industry and trade as puffin shops is, in my opinion, degrading. That someone should even think to call the Thorvaldsensfélagið shop a puffin shop just makes me angry. I know of many women who knit sweaters, socks and hats and other woolen products that are then sold to tourists in various shops. Because there is much demand for handmade, Icelandic products. Many of these women have been knitting gratis for people most of their lives. I just think this is a very good thing. I hope this industry will grow and thrive, and that both young and old will get more opportunities to promote their interesting ideas, and that tourists and other guests can acquire something special.
This is a healthy business. The law of supply and demand is something most people understand, especially those who work in commerce. The city center in Reykjavík is full of foreign guests. They want to buy genuine Icelandic, handmade products they cannot get anywhere else. They are not looking for Danish quality underpants for men.
Regularly, people start debating about the so-called puffin shops. Many think there are a bit too many of them. Commerce in the city center is certainly changing. Tourism is increasing and more and more shops base their product range on the tourists’ demand and expectations. People have different opinions on this and the debate is often colored by prejudice and generalizations rather than knowledge and reality. Some shops are “puffin shops” while other shops are somehow more important.
Fear, skepticism and prejudice are nourished. A few shopkeepers have even joined forces to fight this development. At the forefront are Bolli Kristinsson, the former owner of the clothes store 17, and representatives and owners of shops like the clothes stores Vinnufatabúðin and Herrafataverslun Guðsteins, and the hardware store Brynja. But what is this development?
Stuffed Puffins Have Become a Symbol
It is often implied that traditional Icelandic commerce is retreating from the city center, giving way to shops that sell junk that is mass-produced abroad. Stuffed puffins have become a symbol of this change because many shops are selling them. Even when the weather is good, giant stuffed puffins are on display outside the shops. Representatives of some traditional shops have been active in protesting against this development and warning of it.
The same people have also tried to prevent efforts to open the Laugavegur shopping street for pedestrians and limit access for cars. Most of these shops have been in the same place for a long time. Their representatives think they stand for good, old values, and warn against this development. They talk about this new commercial culture in a disparaging tone and say that their good, Icelandic shops are losing to the puffin shops. That they are taking over everything, and they imply that they are in some way degenerate. That is not true.
Smacks of Misogyny
When you look at the product range in these old, traditional shops, you realize that there usually is little supply of Icelandic goods. Most products are imported and many of them even made in the same factories in Asia that make the puffins. None of these shops seem to support any ambitious domestic production, and sell almost exclusively foreign brands.
This is the problem in a nutshell. There are, for sure, some tourist shops that are run similarly, offering imported junk with a generous markup. But this is the exception. The backbone of this new trade is Icelandic design and production, clothes design, art, books and other industry.
The puffin shops are rarely puffin shops at all. This concept is, for the most part, just an insult, made and kept alive by envious competitors who are simply not offering as interesting products. I think this smacks of misogyny. Icelandic design and handicraft is for the most part made by women. There is an unbelievable growth and liveliness and interesting creation going on. Icelandic handicraft and design are not just a hobby, but an important value.
To talk about all this industry and trade as puffin shops is, in my opinion, degrading. That someone should even think to call the Thorvaldsensfélagið shop a puffin shop just makes me angry. I know of many women who knit sweaters, socks and hats and other woolen products that are then sold to tourists in various shops. Because there is much demand for handmade, Icelandic products. Many of these women have been knitting gratis for people most of their lives. I just think this is a very good thing. I hope this industry will grow and thrive, and that both young and old will get more opportunities to promote their interesting ideas, and that tourists and other guests can acquire something special.
This is a healthy business. The law of supply and demand is something most people understand, especially those who work in commerce. The city center in Reykjavík is full of foreign guests. They want to buy genuine Icelandic, handmade products they cannot get anywhere else. They are not looking for Danish quality underpants for men.
