7 august - The Reykjavik Grapevine

32
Shopping Nonnabúð
Night and Day: Two Very Different
Approaches, If Shirts Are Your Thing
By Bart Cameron
The most celebrated t-shirts in town have come
out of Nonnabúð for years. Even a casual visitor
will notice mobs of young people, and many
older people trying to be young, in black shirts
with skulls. Jón Sæmundur is consistently in
danger of making t-shirts that are so popular
that they become too popular.
“The ideas are always changing. He’s always
got a new line-up. I’d look to see him getting
away from the traditional Dead idea,” Elsa,
store clerk and sometime Singapore Sling backup
singer, told us on our recent visit.
The shirts on display included a range
of artists and writers, including of course
Laxness, given a respectable silver on black rock
treatment, and the illustrious local illustrator
Flóki. These shirts, which cull the best and
most romantic of local history, are priced at
about 3900 ISK.
Of course, the skull thing still appeals to the
masses. While we were in the shop, a couple
stopped by to see if the black skull jacket looked
good, and we imagine people will be checking
out the same jacket for years.
Nonnabúð, Laugavegur 20b, 101 Reykjavík.
Phone: 551-6811.
Indriði
On a sunny day, you can find the shirt store
Indriði by the line of women getting help at the
desk. Which at first glance may be curious: all
the shirts in the shop are men’s shirts, designed
by Indriði himself.
At Nonnabúð, we heard the Cramps and
the Raveonettes. When we come in to Indriði,
we hear James Last, the German composer who
liked to lighten up pop.
My friend describes Indriði, sitting at his
design counter, as the easiest-going, goofy
shop-owner he’s ever met.
Every shirt in Indriði is priced the same: 8900
ISK. Every shirt is classical with subtle style
touches and custom fabric, all designed by
Indriði. And every shirt is a limited item—only
30 of each design are made and sold.
Maybe it’s the casual demeanour of the
shop, or maybe it’s the fact that every shirt in
the store looks like it’s someone’s favourite, the
one they wear to every family photo, but the
8900 seems reasonable. And, indeed, a shirt I
had my eye on was gone on a second visit.
Indriði explained his clientele: “It really
doesn’t matter the income. It’s the type. If you
like small and personal, then you end up here.”
Indriði, Skólavörðustígur 10,
101 Reykjavík. Phone: 551-2805.
H.S.
Only blocks apart from each other, two local craftsmen have done wonders with...
the shirt. Different as night and day, or maybe as different as the left and the right
hemispheres of the brain, Indriði and Jón Sæmundur, owners and creators of Indriði
and Nonnabúð, respectively, are making shirts that feel more like art than clothes.
H.S.
H.S.
GRAPEVINE’S PURCHASES
THAT JUSTIFY EXISTENCE
1
Jonagold Apples from Bónus, still 14 ISK/kg. A bargain, and,
according to our own Paul Nikolov, nature’s own toothbrush.
2Ten ticket pass for the ITR Reykjavík swimming pools.
For only 1900 ISK you get ten entries to the Reykajvík pools
AND locker rooms. That’s a lot of naked people. Throw in
heated outdoor pools, hot pots, steam rooms, and you’ve got
a bargain. For a list of pools go to www.itr.is.
3Cheap books! A new thing to Iceland, Penguin Popular
Classic paperbacks from Eymundsson. That world classic
with an Icelandic focus, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre
of the Earth, costs only ISK395.