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Entrenched in the high-flying world of business in Hong Kong, Norwegian brothers Chris and Bjorn Fjelddahl and Frenchman Nicolas Gontard would escape each year to what they considered the ultimate winter playground – Niseko, Japan. When, on a whim, Nicolas bought a piece of land in the alpine paradise, the trio seized the opportunity to indulge their love for design, architecture and sustainability. Combining their nous learned from decades working with the world’s most iconic brands, the trio created Odin – a property development and design company that would redefine the concept of luxury. In addition to building a stable of breathtaking ‘personal luxury sanctuaries’ (houses) throughout Niseko, Odin also dabbles in the design of exquisite furniture and, in December 2009, opened the doors to its first boutique hotel, Kimamaya by Odin.

How did Kimamaya and Odin Properties come about?
Bjorn and I work together in Hong Kong running a brand consultancy working with big brands like the Apple and Starbucks of this world. Nicolas was a client who became a family member by marrying the sister of Bjorn’s wife. We’d been going to Niseko for years and one day Nicolas came back and said ‘I’ve bought a piece of land, let’s do something’. From our point of view, having always served multinational brands and being involved in design and shaping brands, when you’re in that business you’re always frustrated that you’re doing it for someone else. We decided this was our opportunity to combine our love of Niseko and skiing with our design, architecture and eco-friendly ambitions.

You identify the Odin aesthetic as ‘intelligent luxury’ – can you describe the Kimamaya by Odin hotel experience?
The hotel is more Nicolas’ baby simply because he is now retired and has the time to be hands on. But what we’d seen, and even prior to the financial meltdown, was a certain change in the luxury bracket. People worldwide were looking for more emotional depth and memories from an experience and less flashy opulence and external signs of wealth.  We’d been tracking this change in the market and found that it really jived with what we wanted to do. It’s true that when you start looking at quality materials it’s not cheap and it almost placed us by default in the luxury bracket. But the hotel is more of a passion project. It’s only nine rooms, so it’s tiny, really. The name Kimamaya means in Japanese ‘be yourself’ – it’s a very casual word – and it was the name the building had prior to us buying it. It has quite a Swiss chalet roof, which has a very unique charm for Niseko. We very much wanted to keep that charm in the service signature and the experience when you walk in. It’s small and cosy and there’s real timber everywhere and it’s peaceful, quiet and slightly dim. It’s meant to be intimate so that people can go out and have a wild day in the snow and then come back and really have a change of tone.

What sets boutique travel apart from larger luxury hotels?
I think it’s the personal touch. Not in the ‘we satisfy your every desire’ kind of way, but personal in that it demands a little more adaptation from the traveller. It’s not like at the Four Seasons where you can snap your fingers and get something – it requires a little more from you. We describe the experience as almost like being invited into a person’s home – without, of course, infringing on someone’s personal time.

Why do you think so many people are turning to boutique travel?
I think they are tired of the cookie-cutter stuff. What people will invest in now in terms of luxury is themselves and their own time. And they don’t mind spending a quite a bit of money for a very unique memory, rather than the satisfaction that they’ve acquired something or collected a brand. It’s become very clear that people are now investing in their personal experiences more than anything.

What makes good design?
I’m very biased by concepts like simplicity, but then again I see designers who make complex stuff look beautiful and I’m in awe. I’m very much guided by Scandinavian purity of lines and single-minded ideas and I do believe that good design generally should solve a functional problem. But you shouldn’t close your mind to pure play and aesthetics either. Generally I like to start with the reality of the context, the place and the materials that are available, and if you’re sensitive to that then you’re well on your way to doing good design. Japan and Scandinavia are very much on the same latitude and I think there’s a joint sensitivity and style.

Odin integrates sustainability and nature into its design philosophy – why did you make this a focus?
It was actually just a personal choice. We’re all thinking about our children and we know that we’re going to have to all reshape our habits to make this planet green again, so why not do that ourselves in what we’re doing everyday? I don’t want to overclaim on that score and say that we’re completely green and sustainable – I think we’ve just embarked on it and achieved a few things. We’ve looked at the technology that is available and built it into the design process as much as we can. But we’re not a zero-carbon-footprint house, as much as we’d like to be, but hopefully that improves with each generation of our projects.

What was your childhood dream?
Funnily enough, I’ve almost drifted into the design/brand/architecture business by accident. I studied finance in Paris, which was probably more of a rational choice than anything. But when I look back throughout my childhood, I did cartoons and comics, and namecards for people, so it’s funny to see where I’ve ended up.

What is success to you?
I think success is achieving your full potential, knowing that you’ve given it your best and you’ve gotten as high as the bar you’ve set for yourself. I’m a very self-competitive kind of person rather than competing with others. I like beating myself!

What has been your greatest challenge?
What’s always surprising is how much time you have to spend selling and convincing those around you of an idea or direction and motivating them to understand it. You have to help people to understand your vision and motivate them to come along on the journey with you.

What made you not give up?
I never give up! I think I’ve got the marathon mentality that you’ve got to keep hammering away and eventually you’ll break through.

What has been your greatest achievement?
My family and my independence – having been able to draw a road map that is my own.

Who inspires you?
Anyone with a positive outlook on life. I’m very positive – I wake up in the morning and smile and I like that in designers and other people. Anyone who has a vision, by definition, must be an optimist.

What inspires you?
Nature, love and friendship. I’m very lucky in life to have been able to live my life the way I want to live it and nature is something I absolutely need. I love getting up and watching the sun rise each day and then going back to bed – my wife thinks I’m crazy! And whenever there’s a good sunset in Hong Kong, I grab my wife and kids and a bottle of wine and climb up to the hills to watch it.

Where do you find peace in life?
Usually out in nature on a trail running or paddling in a kayak somewhere.

What is your dream now?
I think Niseko is poised to become the number-one international ski destination in Asia. It’s an opportunity to keep going with the Odin projects and raise the design and aesthetic standards to turn Niseko into a more beautiful place than it perhaps is today. I think we have a responsibility in that sense, but without overpowering the local village and customs.

What are your words of wisdom?
Persistence is underrated. Keep at your dream or vision and you’ll get there. It pays to keep trying and to be patient.

Interview by Mikki Brammer.