Hovden Wear - BLOG

We finished up our trip by visiting the lovely town of Trondheim.  Our good family friends, Kari and Daniel, moved to Trondheim the week before from Spokane, and so our goal was to not only see the sights, but also to welcome them to Norway.

The next day we felt a little better, so we went to Ulsrud farm. Ulsrud is kind of like a mini version of Maihaugen.  The man who lived there willed the whole farm to the Gausdal History Society and when he died, it became a museum.  There was an art exhibition by local artists, hand-knit mittens, locally made cheese for sale, and games for the kids.  We also got to go inside the old farm buildings and hear about Gausdal through the ages.

The next day we went to Maihaugen in Lillehammer. Maihaugen is a collection of old farm buildings from around Gudbrandsdalen. Some of the buildings are on their own, others are part of a grouping that came from a single farm.  There is also a section that has houses from different areas, including the current Queen´s childhood home.

The alter was set up in a clearing by the side of a beautiful lake with trees around us.  Ida rode in on a horse driven sleigh, looking beautiful and extremely happy. The ceremony lasted about 40 minutes and included songs, vows, a blessing and a funny pastor with meaningful anecdotes and a few jokes.

Sylvsmidja is now the leading producer of bunad sølv in Norway. They are still focused on craftsmanship, quality, and history. They create items with origin stories that go back to the 1300s, as well as modern day items. Now they are letting people know that these jewelry items are not just for bunads, but can be used with modern clothing as well.

A zero waste garment is a piece of clothing that is produced without creating, and ultimately throwing away, extra material.  It is a difficult task, and one that many designers and companies don´t care to take on.  For Hovden Wear, it comes completely naturally.

Cultural sustainability ... has to do with the maintaining of cultural beliefs, cultural practices, heritage conservation, culture as its own entity....