Troels Holch Povlsen and husband and wife Rolf and Mette Hay founded Hay in 2002 with the idea of making well-designed products available and accessible at affordable price points. Since then, the Danish design firm, which offers everything from glassware to stationery, has attracted a global following. A year-and-a-half ago, they launched the first Hay Mini Market in Milan, garnering the attention of retailers like Le Bon Marché in Paris and Selfridges in London – which both hosted subsequent Hay Mini Markets of their own – before the platform went to Tokyo.
The pop-up caught the eye of Museum of Modern Art merchandising director Emmanuel Plat, who invited Hay to hold a Mini Market at the MoMA Design Store when he visited Copenhagen last February. 'I said, "Yeah let's do it right now!",' recalls Mette. 'And now we are here.'
The MoMA Design Store x Hay Mini Market, which launches this week, doubles as Hay's introduction to the American commercial scene, offering aisles filled with more than 230 items, 42 of which are totally new. 'Most of the products are new here in New York, but there's a new clock in our collection, which is in retail for the first time here,' says Mette. 'We have some bedspreads, and a pinboard by Inga Sempé, and then there's a lot of the small things which are new.'
Other items at the store include bright graphic tote bags that Hay collaborated on with Memphis Group member Nathalie Du Pasquier, illustrator Jody Barton and fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm; the angular Volet Hook by Dimitri Bähler; a deck of cards; and paper fans, perfect for cooling off in the unbearable New York summer heat.
'To be here at the MoMA Design Store is very special because it's the best place that we could open here in New York,' concludes Mette. 'It's a very good beginning.'
The basement floor of MoMA's Soho boutique is filled with Hay products – including several new objects available worldwide for the first time
Left: clever storage solutions courtesy of Hay's Box Box Rectangle Set. Right: Inga Sempé's Pinorama boards
Cover designs from Hay's Scribble notebook collection, also available in store
Hay's Mini Market at the MoMA Design Store will be open through to the holiday shopping season. A limited selection of products are also ready to buy online
ADDRESS
MoMA Design Store
81 Spring Street
New York, 10012
-
How Le Corbusier defined modernismLe Corbusier was not only one of 20th-century architecture's leading figures but also a defining father of modernism, as well as a polarising figure; here, we explore the life and work of an architect who was influential far beyond his field and time
-
For a taste of Greece, head to this playful new restaurant in London’s ChelseaPachamama Group’s latest venture, Bottarga, dishes up taverna flavours in an edgy bistro-style setting
-
Lucy Dacus on her Renaissance-inspired new album cover and intimate museum tourLucy Dacus' fourth album, 'Forever Is A Feeling', is an intimate exploration of love with visuals inspired by the romanticism of classical art
-
Designer Danny Kaplan’s Manhattan showroom is also his apartment: the live-work space reimaginedDanny Kaplan’s Manhattan apartment is an extension of his new showroom, itself laid out like a home; he invites us in, including a first look at his private quarters
-
New Superhouse show captures the rebellious spirit of Dan Friedman’s Manhattan apartmentIn the late 1970s, graphic designer and artist Dan Friedman transformed his apartment into a Day-Glo laboratory of ideas. Now, a new exhibition at Superhouse in New York revisits his vibrant, rebellious world
-
From migrating elephants to a divisive Jaguar, was this the best Design Miami yet?Here's our Design Miami 2024 review – discover the best of everything that happened at the fair as it took over the city this December
-
Design practice Astraeus Clarke is inspired by cinema to tell a story and evoke an emotionIn a rapidly changing world, the route designers take to discover their calling is increasingly circuitous. Here we speak to Chelsie and Jacob Starley the creative duo behind Astraeus Clarke
-
California cool: Studio Shamshiri debuts handmade door handles and pullsLos Angeles interior design firm Studio Shamshiri channels the spirit of the Californian landscape into its handcrafted hardware collections. Founder Pamela Shamshiri shares the inspiration behind the designs
-
Is Emeco's 'No Foam KNIT' a sustainable answer to synthetic upholstery textiles?'Make more with less' is Emeco's guiding light. Now, the US furniture maker's new mono-material textile, the 'No Foam KNIT', may offer a sustainable solution to upholstery materials
-
Smooth operator: Willett debuts new furniture at Design Miami 2024, with a playful touch of retro allureLA furniture designer Willett turned heads in the design world with the launch of his eponymous brand earlier this year. Ahead of his Design Miami debut, he told us what’s in store for 2025
-
Hella Jongerius’ ‘Angry Animals’ take a humorous and poignant bite out of the climate crisisAt Salon 94 Design in New York, Hella Jongerius presents animal ceramics, ‘Bead Tables’ and experimental ‘Textile Studies’ – three series that challenge traditional ideas about function, craft, and narrative
