Shopping Review
Francis Floor
Words by Koko Ntuen
The first thing that greets me when I walk into Francis Floor on Södermannagatan 18 is the cutest black pug I’ve ever seen. He is wide and googly eyed and sniffs my boot with curiosity before running behind a velvet curtain adjoining the store. The second thing that greets me is the plethora of shiny accessories, lush sweaters, and sumptuous colour-coordinated bags lined perfectly on a shelf. I want everything.
This is not my first visit to Francis Floor. I used to frequent the store when they were at Bondegatan, back when it was a small boutique with carefully-curated items that shimmered at every glance like your rich grandmother’s closet that you never wanted to leave. Their new store is bigger, brighter and houses their new collections perfectly.
Francis Floor started as a production company catering for the makers of commercials and television in the lifestyle and fashion worlds. The two owners, Clara Nordlander Wiberg and Kristin Sjöström, met while working at MTV after they kept noticing and complimenting each other’s fashion sense. The two girls quickly found out they had a lot more in common than their love of shoes and jewellery and ventured into joint projects, blending their international backgrounds from time spent in New York, Buenos Aires and London to create a diverse cosmopolitan vision they felt was missing in Stockholm.
The Francis Floor boutique came as a complement to the production company, as well as an answer to how they would showcase all of the young emerging designers they were meeting through traveling and producing projects. They soon started selling the wares of cult favorites such as Second Female, Wos, Cornilla Webb, Jeffrey Campbell and Intro//Muse, as well as their own brand of Francis Floor accessories. They recently became the sole stockist for the Bolinder Stockholm line of luxury bags in Sweden, with another boutique in New York the only other outlet.
If you are going to shop at Francis Floor it’s a place to buy items to cherish. Prices start at about 300 SEK for smaller trinkets but can set you back up 4000 SEK for the more luxury items like leather or colored cowhide bags.
From the designers on their racks to the projects they do to support the boutique, creativity is the theme running through all aspects of the store.. They feature a new artist on their walls every month, as well hosting regular meet and greets with designers, editors and people about town to shop and enjoy the company of other forward-thinking fashionistas. The shopping experience provides a very elegant rustic atmosphere, almost like you are shopping beach-side in the Hamptons or on a warm summer day on a quaint Parisian street.
More than an amazing shopping experience, they want Francis Floor to serve as a creative hub for the international trends and the movers and shakers who are not only following them, but creating them.
For more Francis Floor hop on over to Södermalm and visit their new boutique and gallery and give their pug Francis a big pat!
Francis Floor, Södermannagatan 18, Södermalm
