Since we can't credibly include Marimekko's Helsinki flagship in this section (it's in Finland, not strictly a Scandinavian country), the next best thing is the brand's concept shop in Oslo. It's packed with the brightly coloured, retro-style floral patterns (and all manner of items made from them, from around £9 for a mug), that have made this Finnish brand famous. It's also on one of Oslo's great shopping streets – where you can pick up fancy fashion at Filippa K or Kemt, or rummage around the area's still excellent second-hand shops.
• Hegdehaugsveien 29, marimekko.com Photograph: PR
You can't exploit the Danish art of hygge (roughly translates as "cosy") without a good place to put a candle. The locals opt for delicate, almost opaque candle holders (from around £15), such as the kind handmade by Inge Vincents, who also sells vases and crockery from her lovely shop Keramiker Inge Vincents. Up the road, on the famous (for foodies) Jægersborggade, is Uh la la Ceramics. This smart shop was opened by Bonde Bülck (who cut her teeth at the upmarket Royal Copenhagen brand) to showcase her own range of simple (but expensive) bowls and plates (from £48).
• vincents.dk; uhlala-ceramics.com Photograph: PR
On a pretty cobblestone street in Stockholm's Old Town (Gamla Stan) is the E Torndahl Scandinavian design shop, which has been selling jewellery, toys and gifts from around the region since 1864. A nice respite from all the starkly minimalist retail spots in the city, this old-fashioned shop is brilliant for toys beautiful enough to be ornaments (the Kay Bojeson Songbird, for example) and, especially, the vibrant animal posters and prints by OMM Design (from £12).
• etorndahl.se Photograph: PR
Not many people know that the outdoor gear brand began in Norway, back in 1877, when salty sea dog Captain Helly Juell Hansen started making oilskin jackets and trousers that would make life for his crew at sea more comfortable. The company's flagship store now sells all the things a rugged outdoor type might need, from waterproof trousers to underwear designed for "strenuous activity", and has been designed to remind customers of the vagaries of the Scandinavian weather – with stormy landscape photography and a soundtrack of rain playing in the changing rooms.
• hellyhansen.com Photograph: Berit Bergestig/PR
For 60 years, Danish babies have been mesmerised by the elegant "lucky storks" of Flensted nursery mobiles. In recent years the company has developed its range to include a wider selection of brightly coloured "bedroom sculpture", featuring hot-air balloons, animals, vehicles and even trolls for kids of all ages. Current bestsellers include the graphic "flowing rhythm" (around £35). You can pick them up in design shops all over Denmark (and beyond) – try Artium (artium.dk) on Vesterbrogade.
• flensted-mobiles.com Photograph: PR
It takes a special skill to make shopping for cleaning products exciting. Iris Hantverk does just that in two cheery stores in Stockholm, both stocking the range's simple wood-handled brushes, dustpans and tea towels (from around £3). All of the brushes are made by visually impaired staff in Sweden and Estonia, which might explain why they are so appealing to hold.
• Kungsgatan 55 and Västerlånggatan 24; irishantverk.se Photograph: PR
A bit like Liberty of London, Svenkst Tenn, one of Sweden's oldest brands, has something both fusty and modern about it. Its beautiful prints are epitomised by the work of Josef Frank, whose intricate, botanical textile designs now adorn trays, mugs and all manner of home items (from around £6 for a napkin), and are sold from an Aladdin's cave of a shop stacked with light shades, cushions and printed nick-nacks. The cafe is worth a stop for its delicate open sandwiches served on elegant Svenkst Tenn-patterned plates.
• svenskttenn.se Photograph: PR
It's hard to know whether the quality of the shopping underlies Aarhus's reputation as the happiest city in the world. Either way, this small town on the east coast is a surprisingly good place to tap into Danish style. There are loads of expensive design shops here but, if you want to do it on the cheap, Tiger is the place to start. Its USP is a design-focused range of homewares and toys at Ikea-like prices (practically everything costs less than £5). You can buy Tiger products in the UK now but the shops in the brand's home country seem to sell more stuff, and in a calmer environment. Stock up on funky storage boxes, stationery and kid-pleasing retro games.
• Ryesgase 18, tiger-stores.com Photograph: Mads Lauritzen/PR
