TYPICAL CLOTHING STORE
- Sell clothes from the other side of the world, often made in questionable ways by people who are not treated well.
THE STORE CONCEPT
Our store is not an ordinary store. Sure, we sell clothes and make money from it, but can we do everything the opposite of what typical clothing stores do? Our goal is just as much to open eyes and minds to the fact that it's possible to do things in a completely different way, with a completely different footprint.
NORTHERN PLAYGROUND STORE
- Local production (and repairs) in the store! Visible to guests and done by people from our local community who otherwise struggle to find jobs.
- Don’t care what happens to the clothes after they’re sold.
-Repair clothes that can be fixed. Collect clothes that cannot be repaired and give them new life either as repair material, through redesign, or send them for recycling (as opposed to the Atacama Desert).
- Have large windows full of advertisements for their clothes.
- Use the best window as an "Activist Window"! We donate the space to share inspiring, provocative, and humorous messages that move the world in a slightly better direction. Customers decide month by month what message will be displayed in the window.
- Have fitting rooms with mirrors designed to encourage people to buy.
- Use the fitting rooms for storytelling, so you meet the materials and people involved in the supply chain. This creates respect for the garments, so they might be worn even longer. One of the fitting rooms is made deliberately provocative to make you think about your consumption.
- Have staff that push customers to buy “just one more product.”
- Have employees who inspire behavioral change and long-term use.
- Maximize store space for sales.
- A long table in the middle of the store, where people can engage in new ideas and conversations. The table is equipped with machines and tools so guests can repair things themselves.
- Sell products other than clothes, and focus on selling items with the highest volume and profit margin.
- Cooperation with great people who create great things and only sell products that are good (for the world)!
- The space and furniture built from new materials.
- The entire store built from reused materials so no trees or steel were taken from the earth to create it.
- Have premises that remain empty in the morning and evening.
- The space is open for good people to use for events when it’s not in use.
Local production at the Microfactory
Do the people who make your clothes have to be poorly paid and forgotten? What if we got to know the people and craftsmanship behind them instead? Maybe you'd appreciate the garments more – and take better care of them?
We believe so. That’s why we produce some of our products locally. Visit the Microfactory, meet the seamstress, and see how our "Made in Oslo" products are created.
Watch a film about local production and get to know Mina:
Fitting rooms
We've all been in a fitting room at some point. Some go there rarely, while others visit almost daily. The experience can vary—some find it stressful, a hassle, while others enjoy retreating from salespeople and the noise of the store. No matter which type you are, fitting rooms have one goal: to get you to buy clothes.
Let's do it a little differently!
THE STORE
WHERE?
Korsgata 24 (entrance Markveien)
0551 Oslo
OPENING HOURS?
Weekdays 11.00 – 18.00
Saturdays 11.00 - 18.00
Sundays 12.00 - 17.00
Special opening hours in December:
23.12 : 11 - 16
27.12 - 28.12, 30.12: 11 - 18
24.12-26.12, 29.12, 31.12, 1.1: Closed
(We currently have 2 stores, and our 'old' store inside Folketeaterpassasjen at Youngstorget remains open until December 23rd, but with some reduced services that have been moved to Løkka. See both locations here.)
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
What do you associate with the store of the future? How can we create an experience that surpasses everything else? We have many questions and need your thoughts! Think out loud and help us create the coolest store in the world by sharing your thoughts with us in person or by email to: aktivist@northernplayground.no.
See you!
