Renée Losier Shares Her Passion For Scandinavian Décor In Fredericton Shop
FREDERICTON — Scandimodern is owned by Renée Losier — an interior designer who launched the business more than eight years ago to share her love of decor from that part of the world.
“I’ve always been a lover of Scandinavian design since I was in my 20s,” said Losier. “That was a style that was emerging big time in the 70s, so I got very interested in it.”
Her biggest influence on design is Alvar Aalto, a Finnish architect she was introduced to during the 10 years she lived in Europe, and London in particular where she saw some of his work at an exhibit.
“I was blown away by what he was doing,” said Losier. “I studied art history and architectural history, so I was already familiar. But the exhibit was I would say a big turning point for me.”
This inspired her to go to Finland while her daughter was there studying through an exchange program. Her daughter suggested Losier open a store like the Scandinavian ones they were visiting.
Her trip to Finland was a successful push for Losier to open Scandimodern in October 2014 at 61 Carleton St. Losier said the transition into opening her own shop was natural for her to pick out the Scandinavian items.
In the beginning, she did not sell furniture, but over the last eight years, she has expanded her shop to include pieces from Montréal and Sweden.
Losier is a “lover” of textiles, so Scandimodern sells lots of throws and cushions. They also have all sorts of lighting fixtures, posters, art, bedding, and more. Everything in the store is sourced from quality brands. Losier says Scandinavians have always believed that the items should last and be passed down to subsequent generations.
“My philosophy is not to decorate and accumulate a lot of stuff. It’s more to have items that you will keep for a long time,” said Losier.
Losier has two reasons why she enjoys being a store owner. The first is that being the owner of her own interior design shop means she is a curator. She also enjoys being able to share curated, sourced products with others.
In the future, Scandimodern will continue to add new Scandinavian décor.
As for finding inspiration, Losier said she does not revert to Pinterest. Most of her Scandinavian inspiration comes from magazines and Instagram. She can be found looking through the magazine section at Chapters every month.
She also finds inspiration through travel. When she visits other cities, even Canadian ones like Montréal, Québec City, and Toronto, she explores different stores. On these trips, she gains inspiration from hotels as well, as they are always renovating and updating their styles.
When she travelled around Europe, she explored different historical houses and museums that belonged to architects or artists, which sparked inspiration.
Her path for decor started 22 years ago while she was looking for a career change and decided to go back to school for interior design. Losier knew she could open the store because she had the idea in her mind.
“When you have something in your mind, you’re more open to new possibilities,” she said.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern for Huddle. Send her feedback or tips: [email protected].