At Home With Annie Samples

NK:
Hi Annie. To start, can you tell me about how you and your family came to live in Copenhagen?

AS:
My husband traveled to Copenhagen in college and always hoped to move here, but we never actively tried to because he was so happy at his job. About 5 years ago, the company that he was working for announced they were opening an office in Copenhagen and asked if we were interested, so of course we jumped on that opportunity right away!

NK:
What part of Copenhagen do you call home, and what are some of your favorite spots in your part of town?

AS:
We live in Østerbro and I am in love with how peaceful it is. So many of our favorite spots are here like Juno the Bakery, Dallas Coffee, Prolog and of course having so many kids I’m so thankful for great toy stores like Superhelten, Banditten and Petite Monde. And of course, we spend a big part of our time in Fælledparken.

NK:
Where did your career and content creation start and what do you love about the community you have grown along the way? 

AS:
I joke that I have been chronically online since the dawn of the internet, which is partially true. Since the LiveJournal days, sharing my life online has felt really natural to me and when I started seeing other American expats sharing their experience living in another country on TikTok, I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve really enjoyed sharing unfiltered bits of our lives so that our family and friends back home can get a realistic view of our life in Denmark, but I also love that I have people from all different countries feeling seen or represented in my content. I also love all the insight and information shared in my comments.

NK:
The first thing I noticed on your social media accounts is the honest and straight forward way you portray your life. How do you manage to share so much whilst raising four children?

AS:
I actually think that sharing honest and straight forward consumes less time. It’s not produced and over-thought so it’s very easy and organic to incorporate filming in my life. I don’t like sharing too much about my kids so I’m thankful I don’t have to balance filming them with raising them. My social media outlets are about my life, not my kids (not that I wouldn’t love to share so much of them with the world, but I feel too much is unethical) and being a mom of four is my biggest role so of course I share a lot about motherhood, and you’ll see my kids from time to time but when it comes to the real-life parenting moments those are all off-camera. As far as editing and voice overs I tend to do that while my kids are sleeping or at school!

NK:
Tell me about your latest adventure, La Fem?

AS:
La Fem is the product of my dear friend and designer Kaila Jensen and I having our babies around the same time and exploring Copenhagen together and wanting to share that experience. As a Copenhagen-based content creator and mom of four, I get asked a lot about family friendly experiences by people traveling and living here. La Fem is a collection of guides, resources, events and tours that we are launching in April and we are so excited to grow a community and share the Danish experience with the world.

NK:
What has been the most surprising thing about your new home and the Danish way of life?

AS:
The trust established here is incredible and like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The level-headedness has been so surprising, too!

NK:
Danes are famous for their cozy apartments and “hygge”. What aspects of the Danish way of living have you adopted, and what aspects have you still yet to come around to (maybe you never will!)? 

AS:
I have really done my best to embrace the Danish way of living as much as possible. I light candles all hours of the day, eat rugbrød for lunch and dove headfirst into the concept of fredagsslik (Friday candy), but I don’t know if I can get on board with leverpostej (liver paté). Then again, I thought I would never be able to like licorice, but it’s growing on me!

NK:
Here at Paper Collective we love how people use artwork to tell a story of who they are and how they live. What do you think your selection of artworks from Paper Collective says about you and your family?

AS:
I think it reflects that we are fun, adventurous, colorful and design minded. I also think it shows how we invite our kids and playfulness into “adult” spaces. It’s important to us that the kids see their interests and preferences reflected in their entire home and I have to say that the kids were so delighted with all our Paper Collective pieces.