Danish design brand HAY opened its first UK store in Bath last year, and they are now partnering with Cereal magazine to create a spring installation: INTO LEAF. For the occasion, Cereal interviewed HAY’s founder, Mette Hay, to discuss taste for their the publication’s volume 9.
She is an interesting and talented entrepreneur I definitely look up to, so I enjoyed finding out what inspires her and how she decides which products is HAY-worthy. And I’m sure you’ll do to!
Q: What does good taste mean to you?
“That is a very difficult question and I don’t think it is possible for me to answer it completely. I like that there are so many different tastes. Good taste for me is when things are put together in a way that is curated, but also unexpected – cheap and expensive, colourful and monochrome, vintage and new. It’s more interesting when there is a thread running through it, connecting it all. Good quality and plenty of personality are, I believe, also vital to good taste.
Q: How do you distinguish between good taste and bad taste?
Instinct. The feeling I get in my stomach is my only tool. There are many things in life about which I can be doubtful or insecure, but when it comes to picking things out for our collection, I always have a very strong feeling one way or the other.
Q: Where does your taste come from?
I grew up in a furniture and design store in Jutland. Design was always a priority for my parents, both in their store and also in my childhood home. Then, my husband Rolf and I met our business partner Troels Holch Povlsen. He is passionate about antiques and restoring old houses. Working and travelling with him has been a great inspiration. I think my taste is continually evolving, and it needs to be fed. I am a very open person. I love to travel to new places, and I love to meet new people. I find great inspiration in that.”
Read the full interview here.
Photos: Line Klein and Rich Stapleton
