Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Page 49

Designer Sruli Recht and writer/il-
lustrator Megan Herbert recently
opened a cool new store, Vopnabúrið
(‘The Armoury’) down by the Reykja-
vík harbour. There, they spend their
days working on their respective cre-
ations amidst selling Sruli’s “arsenal
of non-products and the illustrated
topo-graphic narratives of Megan Her-
bert,” as their website states. Which,
after paying the Armoury a visit, we
discovered amounts to an ambitious
line of clothing, shoes, and fashion ac-
cessories, as well as hand-printed gift-
wrapping paper, artworks and decora-
tive objects.
The store itself is a beautiful,
unique affair that highlights the cou-
ple’s apparent love for mangling, re-
contextualizing and generally trans-
forming story-laden objects to their
own, utilitarian end. The effect is that
of a sci-fi f lick set in a post-apocalyp-
tic future, furnished with materials
hoarded from the nuclear rubble. It’s
all very cool looking.
“It is semantic play – an armoury is a
place wherein one stocks up on sup-
plies. And it’s a reference to the dark
subtext that seems to be in the work
offered here,” the couple tells me over
coffee and muffins when asked about
the store’s name. My eyes keep wan-
dering off to the sides; there is a lot of
nifty looking stuff around. I ask them
what brought them to Iceland [Sruli is
Israel-born and Megan is a native of
Australia] and how being here fits into
the context of what they want to do.
Says Sruli: “Right now, in terms of
business, surprisingly the answer is
probably that it makes sense. Despite
the current economic situation, this
is a relatively central country with a
high standard of living. And cultural
morality is uniquely polarised – heri-
tage and family values are high on
the chain, yet against a contemporary
global backdrop, there are some star-
tling examples of f lexible morality
here, which allow producers to push
boundaries.”
Megan was living in London and
on the verge of moving back to Austra-
lia to resume her career as a television
scriptwriter when Sruli invited her to
make a life with him in the wild north.
“Maybe it’s the risk-taker in me, or the
romantic, but I found that the utterly
irrational impulse to set up camp in a
place far from all of my comfort zones
refused to abate,” she says.
What is it you want to do? And are
you interested in fitting into whatever
it is that's going on in Iceland now?
Meg: “I want to use my abilities as
a writer and an illustrator to tell people
stories. The purpose of my stories,
both visual and literary, is to shift per-
spective, build empathy, and provoke
thought. While many of my current
projects have an Icelandic audience in
mind, I am really trying to reach any-
one anywhere with an ability to under-
stand narrative. It is a universal lan-
guage after all. That said, I do think
that post-kreppa Iceland provides the
ideal creative conditions for me. Like
a hyperactive toddler who’s broken all
his expensive toys in a fit of orgiastic
play, Iceland is now looking around
and working out what can be done
with the cardboard box it all came in.
Imagination is the new currency here.
And that holds a huge appeal for me.
Sruli: “I make things… products.
I don’t think you would find a cre-
ative who says that what they do is not
linked to their environment. In saying
that, I don’t make things to conform…
or to arouse debate. I make things I
need and that other people need. In
terms of Iceland, it fits into what is
happening here because for the first
time the Icelandic consumer is land-
locked – too financially restricted to
travel casually abroad and unable to
afford to buy things once there.
So now the focus is turned inward
and the situation for Icelandic busi-
ness, from design to fresh produce,
has improved. The consumer market
is only able to shop here now, giving
the Icelandic design community, from
students through to established pro-
ducers and designers, a strong sense
of optimism.”
So despite the sombre economic
landscape and the implied menace of
the name, the future at Vopnabúrið
looks golden indeed.
23
the reykjavík grapevine
Issue 16 — 2009
shopping | Fashion
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