Most of the best shops in the Faroe Islands are found in Tórshavn, the islands’ friendly and walkable main town. Since the green slopes of the Faroes are dotted with around 70,000 sheep, it’s no surprise that locally made hand-loomed or knitted woolen clothing is a great buy. Tórshavn also has a small but interesting contemporary art scene and a terrific one-of-a-kind record shop specializing in Scandinavian music. Here’s a selection of our favorite stores.

Guðrun & Guðrun

Perhaps the most famous retailer in the Faroe Islands, this clothing label and flagship store was founded in 2002 by Guðrun Ludvig and Guðrun Rógvadóttir, two Faroese women who were horrified to learn that so much of the wool sheared from Faroese sheep was being burned for want of a market. “We were shocked by the idea of destroying this good wool,” explains Ludvig, the label’s designer. “We also wanted to create work for local women.” Their big break came when a costume designer working for the hit Danish television series “Forbrydelsen” (“The Killing” in an English-language version on AMC) came across their modern take on the traditional Faroese fisherman’s sweater and made it the sartorial signature of the show’s female police detective, Inspector Sarah Lund. Their casually chic lines of organic hand-knit clothing swiftly gained international renown.

Guðrun & Guðrun
Niels Finsensgøta 13, Tórshavn. Tel. (298) 315-166