Hei all!
There’s a crisp note of fall coming and I’m reminded how quickly this summer has gone by.
There were so many Scandinavian related events I participated in like Syttende Mai at Norway House in Minneapolis, MN, Gammeldag in Peterson, MN and Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa. So many bracelet classes and folks strutting their sølje as far as the eye could see! I also had the distinct pleasure to be invited to meet Norway’s President of Parliament Masud Gharahkhani and present him with a pendant for his wife.
Big news right? But not the biggest! Following Nordic Fest in July I was so honored and excited to take a reindeer leather bag class from the mighty Coastal Sámi instructor Hege Nilsen at Vesterheim’s Folk Art School where I teach as well. I believe it’s important to be a student in order to be a good teacher and my week in class with Hege while exciting was very humbling as well.
Hege prepares and dyes her own reindeer hides and brought a wonderful variety of skins from Norway for us to choose from. Check out her video here and prepare to be amazed! Her traditional style bags and bracelets are incredible and she quickly sold out of many of her pieces (yup – I got stuff). Her teaching style and amazing knowledge made even the most tentative of students relaxed and on task. We all finished our projects by the end of the week and we were treated to traditional cakes made by Hege and rosmaler Anne Hesvik on our last day.
I always come away incredibly inspired from learning something new. I’ve got new kit ideas and class offerings in the works and I hope you are ready to be inspired to learn new braid styles and techniques too! Check out these fall class offerings and be prepared to be everyone’s favorite secret Santa!
Questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact me – I’d love to chat with you about your projects or help you with ordering:)
Thank you again for supporting saamisupplies!