Kitty Sablu, the newly launched Norwegian lifestyle brand, breathes new life into traditional heritage art and textiles, reinventing them as carefully crafted homewares and clothing where Scandinavian sensibilities meet California ease and Italian craftsmanship. We sit down with the founder, interior industry veteran Katharina Brøndmo, to hear all about her latest venture, co-created with Missoni Home alumni
Katharina Brøndmo was sitting in her family’s cabin in Lillehammer, southern Norway, when something shifted. “The cabin is all full of antiques and things that I maybe didn’t appreciate as much before. I started seeing them in a new light,” she explains. Out of these musings was born Kitty Sablu, a lifestyle brand reimagining historic Norwegian heritage designs through a fresh lens, translating them into contemporary, expressive homewares and clothing.
Following a soft launch in Norway last autumn, the brand made its international debut this week at Paris Déco Home, an event that sees over 100 brands unveil their latest collections at showrooms across the city. The response, according to Brøndmo, has been “really good.”
“I think Norwegian design history has been underappreciated,” she continues. “I don’t think it has been allowed to flourish internationally as much as it can.” Brøndmo speaks from experience: a seasoned interior aficionado, she’s worked in the industry for nearly 20 years and today helms the Oslo-based high-end design wholesale agency Inside Too.
Photo: Kitty Sablu
Photo: Kitty Sablu
Kitty Sablu’s inaugural collection stands as “a tribute to rediscovery”, featuring a range of everyday essentials from plush wool blankets and rich chenille cushions to relaxed cardigans crafted from OEKO-TEX®- certified boiled wool. Brøndmo’s own moment of rediscovery arrived when, upon visiting Lillehammer’s Maihaugen museum and diving into the archives of Oslo’s National Museum, she unearthed a wealth of antique Norwegian textiles – some stretching back to the 1700s – instantly captivated by their beauty and the vibrant hues that enveloped them.
Works by 19th- and early 20th-century eminent artists Gerhard Munthe and Frida Hansen stood out, which the brand subtly references and reinterprets in the debut collection. Born in California and raised between the US and Norway (with her mum hailing from Sweden), Brøndmo sought to dream up a lineup that fuses Scandinavian sensibilities with “a West Coast ease” and Italian artistry (all of the pieces are made in Italy). “I had this desire to create something that’s high-quality but still possesses depth and story – without being too expensive,” she explains.
Katharina Brøndmo, founder of Kitty Sablu. Photo: Kitty Sablu
To bring her vision to life, Brøndmo tapped renowned Milan-based creatives Wanda Jelmini and Edoardo Roda, both of whom have held instrumental roles at Missoni Home as creative director and CEO, respectively. Brøndmo looks back at the collaboration as a fun and eye-opening process, noting that the duo’s “vision in terms of what this could actually be was absolutely necessary to bring it into fruition,” and that they “were central in creating a cohesive collection that can be mixed and matched harmoniously.”
After acquiring the åkles, or woven traditional Norwegian tapestries, Brøndmo sent them to Milan for Jelmini to see and feel the colours and textures in person, and elevate them with her own twist. The result is a visually compelling range that exudes a distinctly Nordic character through its geometric, nature-inspired motifs and an earthy colour palette, yet feels at home in spaces across the globe.
Photo: Kitty Sablu
Photo: Kitty Sablu
Now that Kitty Sablu has been introduced to the world, Brøndmo plans to continue exploring historic Norwegian design, while also potentially dipping into the bygone eras of other countries such as Italy and Sweden. “My intent is not necessarily for this to be a solely Norwegian project,” she says, pointing to a broader, steadily growing interest in craft and heritage. “I think that we will gradually pick up influences from different areas and build on different stories,” she adds. “We’re creating something new, but we're creating it based on inspiration from beautiful things that have been done in the past.”