The quirky brainchild of owner Attila Boros, Repülő Tehén (Flying Cow) has been keeping Budapest stocked up with offbeat design and funky, sometimes furry, gifts since spring of last year.
“The main idea behind the place”, offers Attila (surrounded by neon Buddhas, cowboy boot wellingtons and the like) “is to offer fun”. Instant fun, in fact, as the shop’s tag-line goes. With an obvious desire to pile on smiles, “We want to make people happy, whether they buy anything or not”, he adds. The atmosphere of the place is certainly chirpy – with walls adorned with purple and pink camouflage, windows decked with glistening bead curtains, funky tunes and shelf after shelf of smile-inducing stuff, from the teeny tiny pocket sized to the pride of place in your living room sized (we particularly like the huge, red ex-boyfriend kitchen knife holder… and the heart shaped frying pans for when you’ve found his replacement).
The concept came about six years ago, after Attila came across shops and design markets abroad featuring similar products. “This kind of place just didn’t exist in Hungary”, he recalls, and thus the cow took flight. The focus is on “idea and design led” unusual and imaginative gifts and treats, from retro sewing kits, through scented picture frames (available in bubble-gum and apple flavor, really) to huge golden teddy bears. Based upon regular visits to design fairs in Milan and Frankfurt, designers featured include those from Holland, Germany the UK and America. The plan is to begin to stock the work of Hungarian designers, too.
The brightly colored treasure-trove of goodies manages to span a wide range, including the likes of cheeky hen-party straws and a related range, home décor, bags, accessories, framed prints, smoking products, as well as a digital camera range and instant photo printing facilities. I managed to find some guitar shaped ice cube cocktail stirrers, a selection of voodoo dolls and a toast tattooer… have a rummage!
It’s definitely not a run of the mill Magyar souvenir shop – in fact, according to Attila, most customers are Hungarian. The only hungaricums I could find were some ironic looking magyar-branded mugs. If you’re here for a party weekend or summer festival, though, it’s perfect for picking up some essentials – pink shades with dangling mini disco balls, green German spirit shots in an over-sized syringe; you know, the kind of stuff you can’t party without. Some funky bird emblazoned bags, perfect for festival days and nights caught my eye, too.
“We wanted to create a shop we enjoy, as well as customers”, smiles Attila, and as I left the scented, shiny, furry, sparkly, multi-colored happy-land, I certainly had a smile on my face.
1065 Budapest, Hajós utca 19.
Open Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tel.: +36.20.204.5574
1051 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 5.
Open Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Tel.:+36.20.464.0902
www.repulotehen.hu