Our story
It started with a pepper mill nobody remembered
Since 2015 we've brought forgotten Danish designs back to life and worked with designers at the very start. Wooden characters, made to be handed down.
A pepper mill in Peter's kitchen
In the late 1950s the self-taught Danish designer Sven-Erik Tonn-Petersen, known as Tonn-P, made a pepper mill shaped like a bird. It was a favourite in Danish homes for some years. Then it disappeared, and collectors went looking for originals at flea markets.
Sixty years later one was standing in Peter Sørensen's kitchen. He and Claus Müller-Nielsen thought it was too good to stay forgotten, so in 2015 they brought it back.
The Pepper Bird was the first thing Spring Copenhagen ever made. It is still our emblem.
02 — Since 1932
From 1932 to your shelf
Some of our designs are older than the company. This is how they found their way to us, and to you.
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1932–1968 
Eva Stæhr-Nielsen's stonewareGold medals at the Paris World's Fair in 1937 and the Milan Triennale in 1957. We relaunch her designs with her family.
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Late 1950s 
The Pepper BirdTonn-P's pepper mill becomes a favourite in Danish homes, then disappears.
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2015
Spring CopenhagenPeter Sørensen and Claus Müller-Nielsen found the company in Copenhagen and bring the Pepper Bird back.
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2017 
MoMA Design StoreNis Hauge's Clumsy Hans, relaunched by us in 2016, goes on sale at the MoMA Design Stores in New York and Tokyo.
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Today 
Hundreds of charactersDesigned in Denmark and shipped from Texas, at your door in 2–5 business days.
03 — Why Spring Copenhagen
Named after a fresh start
Our home is Copenhagen, where timeless and modern design sit side by side. Every spring, when winter finally lets go, the city feels like a fresh start. That's where our name comes from.
Giving a gift is one of the few moments we genuinely share, a feeling handed over and received at the same time.
It starts on a lathe outside Kolding
Chresten Sommer builds boats for a living. His wooden animals start in his workshop at home, on a converted farmhouse in Denmark. “I might turn 20 bodies on the lathe before I achieve exactly what I'm looking for,” he says.
- Handmade
- FSC®-certified wood
- Designed in Denmark
Forgotten, famous, and not yet famous
Our catalogue runs from designs drawn in the 1930s to pieces finished last year. Some come out of archives nobody had opened in decades. Others come from designers at the very start.
The hands behind the characters
Chresten SommerThe boat builder behind our wooden animals.
Thor HøyDesigns our Teddies. Wood is his favorite material.
mencke&vagnbyA design duo who met at the Royal Danish Academy.
Eva Stæhr-NielsenSaxbo ceramicist, 1932–1968. Gold in Paris in 1937.
Tonn-PDrew the Pepper Bird in the late 1950s.
Nis HaugeHis Clumsy Hans went to the MoMA Design Store.
J.I. ChristoffersenCarpenter and engineer behind the Salt Penguin.
06 — The founders
Peter Sørensen & Claus Müller-Nielsen
Spring Copenhagen was founded in October 2015. The idea was simple and a little stubborn: challenge the established design industry by rediscovering work that had been forgotten, and backing designers nobody had heard of yet.
Hundreds of figures later, that's still the job. Our goal is to become the world's most heartfelt gift brand, one gift, one smile, one story at a time.
Shop the story
Objects to keep, look after and pass on
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Tonn-P · late 1950sThe Pepper BirdRegular price $99.00Sale price Regular price -
J.I. Christoffersen · the Pepper Bird's partnerThe Salt PenguinRegular price $99.00Sale price Regular price -
Nis Hauge · sold at the MoMA Design StoreClumsy HansRegular price $45.00Sale price Regular price -
Eva Stæhr-Nielsen · 1932–1968Svungen TopRegular price $59.00Sale price Regular price -
Chresten Sommer · Spring BirdsRemarkable RedRegular price $35.00Sale price Regular price -
Thor Høy · TeddiesLovelyRegular price $79.00Sale price Regular price -
mencke&vagnbySoulmatesRegular price $99.00Sale price Regular price
