5 shops for cool design in Antwerp

Dries Brys sells Nordic design in a store named after a small town in Finland. Passionate about cool brands like Hay, Muuto, Normann Copenhagen and Asplund, he has brought affordable contemporary design to Antwerp’s antiques district.

This store specialises in unusual vintage lamps rescued from abandoned factories and scrapped merchant ships around the world. The lamps are lovingly restored to comply with EU regulations. And each one comes with a fascinating back story.

Founded in 2008 by Thomas Haarmann, this minimalist design store moved in 2012 to a location close to the fashion museum. It stocks a small and carefully curated collection of ceramics, accessories and furniture. Most of the items are made by hand by craftsmen steeped in the old ways.

This creative store is located in a vast space once occupied by a printing workshop. The interior is a mix of rugged industrial details, hanging plants and vintage cabinets. The store stocks a handpicked range of clothes, bags, ceramic objects and furniture.

Designers Diana Keller and Brecht Baert met while working with Antwerp fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. They opened a little design store on Vrijdagmarkt in 2010 and moved to a larger space in edgy Borgerhout in 2019. As well as selling work by Sort of Coal, Chevalier Masson and Marijke de Cock, they create their own pieces.