VikingGold 2.0

Thus, it is hard to sum up the busy week in September – and to separate what was directly a VikingGold 2.0 launch and what was ‘birth help’ for our partners to understand what tools they have at hand to develop their ecosystem for wool.

Our partners from Greenland (Ellen K. Frederiksen), from Åland (Tommi Pohjakkallio) and the US (Lisa Luken) arrived in Oslo on Sunday, and Monday morning we visited Oslo Micro Mill’s store in Oslo. The partners were impressed by Pernille’s story and her stellar products, which use low value wool and end up as spun ‘gold’. From here we travelled on to Arne & Carlos’ home in Etnedal, who had just returned from a knitting cruise to Greenland and the discussion centered around ‘destination tours’ for wool, a new yarn they are hoping to develop with Hillesvåg, and their absolute ‘falling in love with’ Pernille and Oslo Micro Mill. Tommi already knew Arne & Carlos from his time with a knitting factory in Lithuania. Arne & Carlos want to visit Ellen in the future. So, the visit was a resounding success.

From there we travelled to the Institute for Bunad and Folk Costumes, where Camilla Rossing sat us down and described the Norwegian-Scottish artisanal project which for a while was at the Heathland Center in Lygra. The big take-away here had been (according to the Independent article) the ties to the local:

“As fashion faces its environmental impact, perhaps the greatest lesson from Interweaving Threads is that the industry's future may depend less on finding the next revolutionary material and more on rediscovering the relationships that have always sustained it. Between people and place, maker and material, tradition and innovation, there is a wealth of knowledge waiting to be shared by Snaith and other young creatives exploring what craft looks like in a digital age. If we begin to value not just the finished garment, but the time, skill and human connection. In a world searching for climate solutions, a shift in mindset, sharing ideas across disciplines, cultures and generations and inspiring one another through creativity, we create not only better fashion, but stronger communities and a more hopeful future for the planet.” Amen. 

The next day we travelled to the biggest wool station in Norway, which is at Gol. Terje and Pernille (Norilia) showed us around. For Ellen the fact that they shear the sheep after slaughter was an eye-opener. In Greenland, they only shear the sheep in the spring, and the fleeces are more or less impossible to spin except by hand, they have just become too felted, which is a problem. Terje found a fleece they had that was similar to what Ellen has, and later, when at Hilllesvåg, Øyvind said the same thing. For yarns, this is not good. For other products, however, this may work. However, if shearing can be done in the fall during slaughter (or after slaughter) of the lambs, there is a shift of what resources become available.

The classifying system was explained and the system of wool subsidies. We briefly discussed the world market price increase and how this affects businesses in Norway negatively. Which is ironic, and begs a discussion of business models that is urgently needed. Where does the money actually go and who is gaining from what?

We then drove to the Lygra Heathland Center. 

Wednesday morning we travelled to Hillesvåg yarn factory and were welcomed by Øyvind and Arild Myhr. As the brothers are fourth generation and the next generation is secured (a son and a daughter of them both), they are actively investing in new solutions, though they base all the production on old machines. The news was mainly a new storage facility nearby and that they have secured the rights to all of Unn Søiland Dale’s knit designs (except Marius and probably her Paris designs) for knit patterns. This will be launched in 2027. There is a dual-sword here though, the on-going success and the size and volume-constraint has led to Hillesvåg spinning in Lithuania. Which yarns are spun where is not clearly communicated on th yarn labels (internal decision). Let’s keep tabs on where this discussion leads.

The afternoon was spent touring the Heathland Center and fetching Mervi from the local boat, where we were shown a Viking grave site and how the area was almost reforested. Tommi discovered that his farmland area is heathlands, and Jeanette at the Heathland Center, has now involved Tommi in the Norway-Sweden heathland project. MAGIC happens!

Thursday was the big hybrid conference day.

The hybrid seminar, held at Lyngheisenteret, the Healthland Center, brought together all the project partners and external actors from across the Nordic and Arctic regions to exchange knowledge on native sheep, wool, cultural heritage, rural entrepreneurship and local supply chains. The seminar was intended to create a space for sharing experiences, identifying common challenges and exploring opportunities for future collaboration and in this it was successful.  Presentations were given by project partners, as well as invited contributors. 

The day started with a presentation of Lyngheisenteret, Fibershed Norway and VikingGold 2.0 by Torhild Kvingedal, Nina Alsborn and Tone Tobiasson. 

A central theme was the importance of place-based and cross-sector approaches to rural development. Lisa Luken’s presentation on rural entrepreneurship highlighted the need to “build around the local” and develop a “cross-sector local ecosystem” where agriculture, materials, landscape, culture, knowledge and business are connected and inter-weave. Storytelling was identified as an important tool for making heritage relevant today (however based on truth, not the usual marketing spin-doctering) and for connecting people with place, animals and local resources. The importance of creating viable business models was also emphasised, including the need to “make it a business – pay salaries” and managing simplicity as a product model. 

The Greenlandic perspectives, presented by Ellen K Fredriksen, highlighted the close relationship between sheep farming, landscape, family resources, cultural heritage and local knowledge. Her presentation raised questions about how the whole fleece can be utilised and whether current practices fully value the history and resource represented by the sheep. The Greenlandic sheep was also discussed as a potential starting point for innovation and design rooted in Arctic adaptation.

Further, the Åland contribution by Tommi Pohjakallio, focused on the relationship between sheep, wool and place. The phrase “a fibre shaped by place” captured an important perspective: local wool carries qualities and stories connected to its geographical and cultural context. The discussion also explored how traditional crafts and local materials can be connected to contemporary design and new products. One overarching formulation was “from past resources to future solutions”, highlighting the potential to transform heritage into new forms of value creation.

Mervi Honkatukia, representing NordGen and NordWool, then presented perspectives on genetic diversity, conservation and the practical use of native wool. Genetic diversity was described as essential for resilience, while the need for further research and shared methods was emphasised. The NordWool project was presented as a bridge between “conservation, knowledge and practical use”, with stakeholder collaboration and increased knowledge forming important foundations for future innovation.

The seminar also generated ideas for future products and collaborations, including design projects with students, natural colours, knitting and embroidery, exhibitions, wool tourism and exchange between island communities. Minna Korver’s, University of Lappland, contribution from WoolInnovation highlighted opportunities for revitalising heritage wool and connecting wool with design and product development: Link to their book. Karin Flatøy Svarstad and Patt Lucas brought forward positive perspectives from NAW&S and Wool in the North, however also with different messages that we need to address. The idea of improved transport/infra-structure, exchange systems between regions illustrated the ambition to connect currently fragmented wool resources and initiatives.

Overall, the hybrid seminar strengthened the understanding of wool as more than a raw material and a uniform fiber. It demonstrated how nature, culture, genetics, craftsmanship, design and entrepreneurship can be connected through simply a focus on local wool. A recurring message was to “follow nature, follow culture, follow heritage” and use knowledge from the past to develop new solutions for resilient local textile systems. This doesn’t fit with the ‘innovation paradigm, however, it is important. The discussions and ideas will feed into the continued knowledge exchange, networking and development of future value-chain opportunities within VikingGold 2.0. You will find a recording of the hybrid webinar here. All the presentations can be accessed here.

The open dialogue highlighted a shared need for stronger knowledge exchange, practical infrastructure and connected local value chains across the Nordic-Arctic region. Key priorities included facilitating workshops and networks, improving wool collection in regions where there is no infra-structure, classifying in a way that meets market needs and the bottle-neck of scouring where the end-products demand this, Also, strengthening farmer and shearing education, and developing solutions adapted to small-scale production. How to tell the right story to the right audience that resonances with the audience, was of course also a point discussed., 

In all, a result from the whole day highlighted  the need to connect local knowledge, infrastructure and supply chains—from sheep and wool to skills, markets and new products—across the Nordic-Arctic region and will be addressed when building a roadmap further on in VikingGold 2.0

Friday we left and travelled to Norlender, where Astrid Tveiten so graciously received us and told us the family story, that they will be celebrating 100 years next year (they started with cotton and underwear, but Astrid facilitated the transfer to wool). Her daughter, Stephanie is in place to take over, and the walk-through of the factory with their Shima Seiki and older machines and their linking section etc was fantastic, also their noon time gym. Astrid said they get their Norwegian wool spun in Lithuania, they are very happy they took back production to Norway, which was instigated by LL Bean’s demand, who have later pulled out their orders. They do now, see the value and work with projects all the time with smaller designers, they want to give back to the community, they let the employees do yoga midday and all in all, they represent a new dawn of local production. The fact that they have invested in new technology, decided that local is important, and as we understood will be part of a wool-by–the-water tour next year (alongside Hillesvåg and Oleana) makes it clear things are changing in a positive way. We do think, however, that the Heathland Center should be part of such a tour.

We then travelled to Osterøy museum, where we were welcomed by Solveig Jordal who took us through the warp-weighted loom’s history, with its link to the Icelandic tradition, and how the first ‘royal imbursement’ (which successfully made the varafells the go to). This visit crowned our trip in a way that everyone who stayed on for this visit understood as… pure magic. Our Viking Queens are blessing us with their presence? Let’s hope so. 

On our way back to the east side of Norway, the discussion centered around scale and specifically the right scale. Not mass industry size with Soviet Union scale, and not crafts-scale. Something in between that services both small-scale industry AND crafts. This is what we see as the main challenge, alongside the better use of low-value wool in products such as soil-coverings.

We will continue along this line of research and exploration, and for our next steps we have included Faroe Islands and Iceland; and we certainly appreciate the contributions we had from Ullkontoret on Gotland, who joined us.

Image 1: Some of the participants who convened at the Heathland Center. From the left: Lelia Belle Houbé, Lisa Luken, Karin Flatøy Svarstad, Patt uca, Ellen K. Frederiksen, (behind her:) Mervi Honkatukia, Jenny Andersson, Tommi Pohjakallio, Nina Alsborn, Torhild Kvingedal, Hans Bulthuis and Tone S. Tobiasson.

Image 2: Visiting Gol wool station, boss Terje in the middle.

Image 3: Where the magic happens!

Image 4: The heroes in the storytelling.

Image 5: Arild wishes us welcome to Hillesvåg

Image 6: Wool exhibited at the Heathland Center from our partners and collaborators

Image 7: Astrid shows us their Norwegian wool products at Norlender

Image 8: Solveig telling us the story of the varafell, which protected the Vikings in the open ships against the elements. 

Image 9: Visiting the shop of Oslo Micro Spinning Mill, where Pernille explained about how she works.