The cousins in Húsasmiðjan that became a TikTok sensation over night

Alexander Björnsson and Halldór Snær Óskarsson work in the painting department of Húsasmiðjan . However, they are not any ordinary employees, because when they are not helping people choose paint products or building materials, they play the role of comedians and record hilarious sketches for Húsasmiðjan's TikTok account, which have been a huge hit.

Alexander and Halldór, or Dóri as he is most often called, both started working at Húsasmiðjan in 2017 and say they formed a "toxic duo" there from day one. However, their first meeting was not in the painting department of Húsasmiðjan.

„Dóri is my big „smaller“ cousin. I remember when I was little that I always thought it was fun to be with my big cousin, because he was so much fun always joking around with people and making all kinds of messes. He quickly became my favourite cousin," Alexander says.

"I am nine years older than Alexander, but despite that, he immediately became my favourite cousin. He has always been cheerful and positive, and you can always trick him into something fun," Dóri says.

"Mostly something that we find funny and entertaining"

More than a year ago, the idea came up at the marketing department of Húsasmiðjan to create a TikTok account in collaboration with Egill Árni Bachmann, who had been involved in popular TikTok company accounts before. The idea was to get a fun staff within the building to come to work on ideas with Bachmann and play in videos.

Since then, the account has evolved and today more than 14 thousand followers are waiting eagerly for new sketches.

“Before we started making sketches on TikTok we had made various scenes and sketches for weddings, birthdays and such, mostly for friends and family. But that was nothing we published,” the cousins say.

Alexander, Dóri, Egill and other employees of Húsasmiðjan meet every two weeks at the Skútuvogur store after the store closes, where sketches are filmed for TikTok. “We make all kinds of sketches, e.g. from incidents we’ve been involved in, advertisements, anything that’s trending or re-making old sketches. But we mostly do something we think is funny and entertaining,” they say.

“Often it’s Egill and Dóri who come up with ideas for sketches and then we all work on it together. The ideas are often different but we all help to make them better,” says Alexander.

The best sketches are those that come naturally

But what kind of sketches are getting the most attention?

"The sketches that get the most attention are the ones where we're not talking but using sounds or songs that are trending. Those seem to reach more people," says Alexander. He enjoys making sketches that are not too elaborate and come more naturally.

"Alexander's sketches get the most attention. He is obviously unbelievably handsome because he is my cousin," Dóri says. “I love doing sketches where Alexander has to lift me up. He is outrageously strong," he adds.

Over a million views in one weekend

The cousins ​​say they are happy with the reaction to the sketches and admit that their popularity came as a surprise. "People are enjoying this much more than we expected. It also happens that we get customers who recognize us from TikTok, but it's always fun when that happens," they say.

"One time, for example, we went to lunch together and a cute little girl came to our table and said she was following us on TikTok. This was the first time anyone had said anything to us about the TikTok sketches in person. Dóri started by thanking her profusely for her support, while I was completely puzzled and wasn't sure if I should hug her or give her french fries," Alexander says and laughs.

"It was also a pleasant surprise when one video went viral and in a very short time, or in one weekend, received over a million views worldwide. Since then, most of our videos have received tens of thousands of views, which is crazy," he adds finally.