Last Wednesday Michael and I attended the Oslo Design Fair in Lillestrøm. As always it was a great opportunity to meet Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk since they are located in Bergen on the coast and also other designers, as well as yarn companies and agents. Michael and I arrived in time for the press breakfast talk that introduced to the trade fair and its current topic: ”Rethink”. The modules in massive wood by Vardehaugen Arkitekter exhibited will be given a new life after the fair as cottages at Træna and in Sweden. The modules can easily be changed and put together depending on your need. Below you see a photo Michael took of the so-called Tower.
All the talks and most of the interior companies were located in Hall C, while the yarn companies were in Hall B, at the fair. Below you see me talking to MD Øyvind Myhr and Anette Toft at the Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk stand. They have made a new catalogue with my latest designs: Epona Pullover, Macha Jacket & Cowl and Gillah Swoncho. I am pleased to tell you that they wanted 4 new designs for the spring and that I have started working on those.
House of Yarn, consists of several separate companies some of them with previous lives but now joined into one: Dale Garn, Du Store Alpakka, Gjestal Garn, Camilla Pihl Strikk, Gullungen Garn, Oransje Skjerf Garn, Rosa Sløyfe Garn, and Linde Garn. The 1980s have come back and I am not too keen on the revival since I lived through it once already. There was no fashion show but House of Yarn did have a video of their fashion show running on their large stand. There were plenty of new yarns to look at and fondle.
I also talked with Thomas Kvist of House of Hobbies. He is the Scandinavian agent for the Italian yarn producer Lana Gatto and for the American Distributor Knitting Fever. Thomas talked me through the new yarns. On his stand was also designer Tove Lindtein who has used a number of the Lana Gatto yarns in her upcoming book that will be launched in November. We had a long talk about making books and knitting workshops.
Michael and I met up with Tove Fevang (centre), Bente Presterud (right), Sidsel Høivik (left) and Gro Sandvik (next to Bente) for lunch. I had not met Gro before but know the other designers from years back. It was a great opportunity for us to meet and update each other.
I must also show you a photo of the marvellous Japanese inspired stand that Kaja Gjedebo Design had set up in Hall B.
Kaja had commissioned fashion drawings to have on the wall of her stand. They were graphic black and white drawings, that lured you into her stand. Her artistic jewellery is so stunning and so beautifully displayed on the fair. I did enjoy hanging out here, I must admit. Late in the afternoon Michael and I headed home. The trade fair was on both Thursday and Friday too but this time the trade fair ended on Friday without any public days.
