Atlantica - 01.06.2011, Page 8

6 A t L A n t i c A
TINYEST GALLERY IN TOWN
With only just enough room for a counter and coffee machine, the
Italian style Kaffifélagid makes space for friendly staff, a long line of
regulars, Italian coffee—from a small, family-run Milan roastery—and
tiny art exhibitions: The smallest art gallery in town, hiding in the back
of the coffee shop, measures a grand 33 cm high, 85 cm wide and 30 cm
deep. The exhibition calendar mainly features local artists, with a new
opening the first Monday of each month. Next up is visual artist Bjarni
Massi (Bjarni Thór Sigurbjörnsson), who will squeeze a video artwork
into less than a cubic meter. With opening hours from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, the town’s smallest gallery
also has the earliest opening. Skólavördustígur 10
COTTAGE CONFIDENTIAL
In the summer, Icelanders flock out of town to pasture in their
summerhouses. A couple of years ago 28-year-old entrepreneur Haukur
Gudjónsson planned to join the migration, but without a house of his
own. With a day wasted trying to find one to rent, his summery hopes
were shot down. “There must be a better way,” he thought, and created
bungalo.is, a handy catalogue of summerhouses owned by Icelandic
families, available for rent—either as a holiday home in the country or
an alternative to hotels or camping when travelling in the countryside.
Most of the summerhouses sleep between four to eight people and the
site lists the comforts and features for each one—anything from hot
tubs and barbeques to bare bones rustic minimalism. Gudjónsson’s top
tip when heading to the Icelandic summerhouse: “It is always important
to take something good for the barbeque, like a good steak and some
red wine.” bungalo.is
on the fly
CUT FISH
Icelanders certainly know their fish, and this summer they will be slicing
and dicing it on Cutfish, a cutting-board designed by Fanney Long and
Hrafnkell Birgisson. Coming in salmon, redfish and herring shapes and
sizes (the smallest herring is a perfect souvenir size for a full suitcase,
whereas the salmon-shaped board is close to 50 cm long), the series of
cutting boards honor the nation’s decades-long fishing tradition. “I grew
up eating fish every other day. A lot of salmon, but also white fish like
haddock, cod, redfish and halibut. And since my father runs a fish farm for
arctic char in southeast Iceland I inevitably became familiar with the pro-
cessing,” explains designer Hrafnkell Birgisson. Made of recyclable, durable
and easy to clean HD-PE plastic, favored by kitchen professionals and
widely used in the fishing industry (produced by Fast Plastics in Reykjavík),
you can use the plain side of the board for cutting and the carved side for
serving. Available at Epal, epal.is.