Riga has some very cool design shops featuring Latvian and Baltic designers and artists.
I wrote this Riga design guide after spending a couple of weeks in the Latvian capital and enjoying the creations of its local designers.
Here’s my guide for design lovers in Riga.
riija – beautiful latvian design shop
Riija is a large concept store with a beautiful display that is quite striking as you enter.
The selection is huge: ceramics and kitchenware, furniture, all sorts of interior design items, fashion, bags, jewellery and other accessories, toys, and even organic skincare and some books.
They feature mainly hand made items by Latvian designers and few from neighbouring Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania.
The store has its own brand products in the shop, focusing on linen items, like towels, bags and dresses. They generally aim to use natural materials, like felt and clay.
It’s a great place to go shopping in Riga if you’re looking for useful items for the home, and thanks to the large selection you’re very likely to find great gifts there.
bold – design concept store in riga
Visiting this Riga design shop is a pretty special experience.
Bold is an impressive design concept store. It’s a large space spreading over two floors, with a cozy café inside the store.
It’s relatively new, just a few months old. It started out featuring Baltic designers and then expanded to other nearby countries, like Ukraine and especially Georgia.
The featured designers are not always the most familiar ones; the store introduces more unique, niche styles.
Their selection is hand picked, featuring elegant, high end products and focusing on fashion, jewellery, accessories, some interior design items. They also host exhibitions with art items for sale.
look at riga – design shop & 5d cinema
A very cool concept store in the old town, right next to Riga’s Tourist Information Centre, so quite hard to miss.
The owner hand picks the designer items herself to make sure they’re unique.
She features mostly Latvian designers, but also a few from Estonia, aiming to expand further to designers from more nearby countries.
Items include fashion, cushions, jewellery, postcards, phone cases, organic toys and many more surprises, big and small.
The store is big enough to wander around for a while, and you will notice it has an odd shape. That’s because of the 5D cinema in the middle of it!
This is an experience you definitely want to try. You’ll be flying over Riga on a moving cinema seat, with 3D glasses and special effects.
You’ll hear the story of the city while flying above some of its main monuments and seeing the beautiful views.
Here’s a short trailer to give you an idea:
m50 – baltic design boutique
It looks like a fashion store at first, but as you enter you discover there’s much more on offer – accessories, jewellery, paperware and more, alongside a range of clothing, from elegant to funky.
The shop has its own brand of fashion design and it has initiated collaborations with local artists to have their artwork printed and sold in the shop.
Two female partners opened the shop on Miera Street, the street with the best creative vibes in Riga. Read more about it on my Riga Alternative City Guide.
They feature mostly Latvian designers, plus some from the rest of the Baltic states and a selected one from Greece.
It’s easy to see they love what they do and care about all the small details.
xcelsior – furniture and more
It’s a gorgeous store with three branches around Riga. I visited the one in the city centre.
If you’ve been to some local design shops in Riga by now, you’ll recognise the style here is very different.
This is not a store featuring local Latvian or Baltic designers, but items imported from other countries, notably Italy, Switzerland and Scandinavia.
You’ll find a stunning display of furniture, lighting, interior design items and also some small gifts like mugs and cards.
art nouveau shop in riga
Riga has many amazing Art Nouveau buildings (you can see some in my post on architecture in Riga).
Right opposite the entrance to the Art Nouveau Museum, there’s a beautiful shop dedicated to the style.
The shop has been around for the past 10 years. It started selling lamps and replicas of antiques and grew bigger over the years.
Now it offers jewellery, painted tiles, pictures books, postcards, notebooks and greeting cards, mugs, pillow cases and even some furniture, all inspired by Art Nouveau.
The owners also reached out to artists for collaboration and now feature works from many local artists and designers.
This is definitely one of the most unique shopping experiences in Riga.
Design hotels in riga
For those who like to stay in style, Riga has a nice selection of beautiful design and boutique hotels to offer.
I recommend you stay in the Old Town area, so you can have easy access to Riga’s attractions.
Dome Hotel – Relais & Châteaux combines traditional and modern interior design in its individually decorated rooms.
Also check out Grand Palace Hotel in a good locations the Old Town for its elegant design.
More guides for design lovers
I’ve written more guides to design shops in cities I’ve been to. Check out all of my City Guides for Design Lovers.
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3 Comments
[…] Riga for design lovers […]
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for such informative blog post, excited to discover them as a graphic designer 😁