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COMFORT ZONE Serenity and ease at Cristina Drumm’s Hygge
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People come [to Hygge] with a purpose in mind, looking to buy something that they know is sustainably made.” — Cristina Drumm owner, Hygge
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SAVANNAHMAGAZINE.COM
ON A SUNNY SPRING DAY, Cristina Drumm is chatting with a new customer, sharing some tips on modest purchases that might suit his home. “You want to live in a place that smells nice,” she says, pointing out the tidy bundles of palo santo sticks and Mimi & August Copenhagen candles that adorn a handsome table in the center of her shop, Hygge. When a woman bustles into the store, the tone of Drumm’s greeting suggests they are dear friends; she turns out to be a return shopper who has embraced the principles of this salubrious retail environment. A few minutes later, the woman leaves noticeably relaxed, having acquired a special “Hygge Blend” of loose-leaf tea by Savannah’s own Hale Tea Co. and a coffee chai balm called Skin Tight by skincare company Laughing Tansy. It is a very Hygge moment. “I don’t want people to buy just on impulse,” Drumm says. “I want them to buy because they understand what they’re buying and how it fits into their life. I want them to ask: ‘Does this product make me happy and make my space happy?’ That’s
what I ask myself before I carry a product in my store.” Cue Hygge’s mission statement: “A cozy home and lifestyle shop for all your slow fashion, small-batch apothecary, sustainable wares, jewelry, local ceramics and gifting needs.” The shop’s origin story begins in 2010, when Drumm spent a summer in Copenhagen inspired by the balance between everyday life and sustainability that induces a sense of comfort. The Danish call it “hygge.” A few years later, she came to Savannah, where she earned her B.F.A. in advertising at SCAD. She opened her shop in 2018, just as the comfort concept — and its correct pronunciation (hugh-guh, for the record) — gained steam stateside. Drumm’s idea that a retail shop can foster community hinges on Hygge’s extracurricular offerings, including popular watercolor painting workshops led by her mother, Venezuelan artist Ana Maria Leonardi. Conducted virtually during the tumultuous past 12 months, Hygge’s workshops are beginning to return as on-site events. “As an entrepreneur and
Photography by PAPRIKA SOUTHERN
