We love an awesome concept store, but we especially love happening upon one while on a European mini break. Strolling the streets of Amsterdam early one Sunday morning in March, we came across Six & Sons, which quickly became the find of the trip.
The two-storey store houses a coffee house upstairs and all kinds of fashion, culture and interior gems downstairs. Postalco notebooks and copies of some of our favourite journals, including Kinfolk, sat alongside Han Kjobenhavn sunglasses, Falcon enamel and Joseph Marples rosewood spirit levels. And there was an impressive smattering of vintage metalwork on offer, which we’re already envisaging on our mantelpiece…
We caught up with shopkeeper and founder Alexander Six to chew the fat and steal a little of his vision…
Hey Alex, how’s business?
Business is well, pretty well! We just opened last December and ever since we have gotten so much attention and sales have been great too! It’s so nice to see people enjoy their coffee on Monday and come back on Wednesday to buy the chair they sat on!
Where were you when you came up with the concept for Six and Sons? Tell us about how it came about.
I’ve been a production designer for commercials and film for years so telling stories with objects and furniture is really my thing. When on holiday in Paris two years ago, I went to concept store Merci and there it struck me. A shop combining vintage furniture, objects of use from everywhere in the world and maybe even something with coffee…well that would be a dream come true! Two years later….
I love what you have in the store. How do you find brands and products you stock?
I follow a lot of really cool brands and stores around the world on social media. Via them, I come across lots of cool and beautiful things. All the furniture I collect myself. As often as I can I jump in my van and drive of to Belgium, France, Germany and England to search for the finest of the finest.
The store is based on Haarlemmerdijk. What’s the street like? Would you say it’s emerging or has it already emerged as a hip hotspot?
It has been emerging for years. People know to find it, most tourist guides mention it as one of the nicer streets. They are right, it’s been my favorite street for years now so I really needed to find a space here.
What is the single best thing to do in Amsterdam? Apart from visit Six and Sons of course…
Okay, I really love the Westerpark. In summer you can have a BBQ while the kids play in the pool. At night enjoy the best jazz and soul concerts in the North Sea Jazz bar or have a drink at the Pacific Park.
Any exciting plans for SAS’s future?
This week we launch our first Six and Sons products. Three sets of garden seeds, ‘City Seeds’. We’ll also launch a line of garden tools. This will be the start of our own line of products!
Do you have any summer vacations planned?
I promised my wife and kids we’d go to France for three weeks this summer. I will try to keep my promise…but three weeks away from my shop is a long while haha!
