Ann Skum-Lindström

Ann is a Sami artisan living in Värmland, a Swedish province that borders Norway. She is inspired by the bright wool clothing traditionally worn by the Sami, and uses wool inserts in her bracelets onto which she embroiders designs. These designs are based on ancient Sami patterns: wavy lines that suggest the gentle contours of Lapland's mountains, small spikes that suggest newly sprouting tree branches or the horns of young reindeer and moose, flowers that blanket Lapland's tundra in May and June. She comes from a very creative and famous Sami family: her great uncle, Nils Nilsson Skum (1872-1951),was perhaps the most renowned Sami artist in history, and her father, Nikolaus Skum, is also a highly acclaimed Sami painter and printmaker.

Britt-Inger Lindgren

Britt-Inger became interested in handicraft when she was a child – Swedish elementary schools emphasize woodworking, weaving, and sewing. For more than twenty years, Britt-Inger has been tanning her own reindeer leather – an old Sami man in her small town took Britt-Inger under his wing and shared with her the traditional tanning methods that he had learned from his parents. She tans leather in a very old-fashioned way – she uses no modern tools or processes. Britt-Inger lives beside a lake, which is a virtual necessity, since the tanning process requires a lot of water. Willow bark is used for tanning. Only the natural leather she uses is hand-tanned; the black is commercially tanned, since there are no natural black dyes. In the fall, Britt-Inger buys reindeer skins from local Sami. In February and March she buries the skins in the snow in order to loosen the hair. After scraping the skins clean, Britt-Inger puts them in the freezer. In June, when sap is running, she strips bark from willow trees and lets it dry. Once dry, Britt-Inger uses the willow bark to tan the skins. Each skin takes many weeks to tan; she tans it until it attains the tone she wants. Then, she oils the skin and softens it using only her hands by kneading it. This labor intensive process results in supple and beautiful leather. But this is only Britt-Inger’s leisure time work – she works full time for Sweden’s national guard.

Marianne lives in a village near the town of Piteå on the northern Swedish coast. She has been knitting and embroidering since the age of five and designed and sewed clothes as a teenager. Her engagement with reindeer and pewter jewelry began in 1995, when she and her family were vacationing on their boat. Her three daughters bought reindeer leather bracelets on that trip, and Marianne became inspired to take a course in reindeer jewelry making. She enjoyed it so much that it became her favorite hobby. Her jewelry is sold at several boutiques in Sweden and she enjoys selling her products at handicraft fairs.