Swiss born designer, Nikki Kreis, has built a thriving, hands-on business around a deceptively simple idea: beautifully crafted pegboards.

After years working all over the world as an architect, she returned from her last role, in Sydney, back in 2011 and began exploring furniture design as a new path.

 “During my architecture years, I’d always had all these ideas of furniture designs, too” she tells us when we drop by her Kreisdesign studio and workshop, on the ground floor of the new Tradestars up on North Road.

“I experimented with a few different things at first, including metal tables, and took them around trade shows in Italy, New York and all the rest, but everywhere, everybody was most into this idea of the pegboard. So I focused on that, and I've been doing it ever since.”

The concept was actually born in her Berlin apartment, where she wanted a better way to display her footwear collection without damaging the walls.

“I bought these really big nails and put them in a wall to display all my shoes,” Kreis laughs. “But then I thought, it's a rented apartment, I probably shouldn't do that. So I grabbed a board and put some holes in it.”

From that initial inspiration, her pegboard concept evolved, and today features a beautiful solid plywood construction, CNC cutting, and an ever-growing range of accessories way beyond the simple, original pegs.

“People really seem to like the different accessories. Little clips for pinning things, big balls for hanging coats. We're now doing numbers, laser cut Scrabble-style tiles so you can create little messages on your pegboard, and then also the different colours, designs and finishes. Oak is very popular at the moment.”

A business that started out – quite literally – at her kitchen table has now grown into a global, largely digital success story with a loyal customer base, particularly in the US.

“I used to drill the boards, oil them and have them shipped worldwide, all from my house,” Nikki continues. “So, moving to this dedicated space make it feel like a proper business. Just being able to have meetings without it being embarrassing, having other people around instead of working alone, its warm, unlike the garage I was in before, there’s a café and even a ToolStation right next door.”

The new space will eventually allow her to train someone up and grow the business, which is impressively running at capacity simply through word-of-mouth and organic search traffic.

Tradestars is a creative workspace in London, home to entrepreneurs, founders and growing businesses. They offer private, customisable studios with 24/7 access, reception support, shared amenities including meeting rooms, cafes and podcast studios and a strong community across multiple locations.

As an exclusive offer, Camdenist readers can get 50% off their first 6 months when signing up to a private studio or the first month free on a Tradestars membership.

Offer open until 31st March 2026. Please quote ‘Camdenist’.