Three days in, three days filled with information, new people and new materials.

As I have mentioned I am studying leather and fur, the school is in the middle of the forest, deep forests all around and a great river in the middle. I will take some pictures of the view from our classroom soon, it is magnificent it really is. I think that Swedish people might understand but for you other people I think that it might be hard to imagine how it all looks here. It is really beautiful!

The class is filled with 12 other creative people ages 19-26 and we have two main teachers that seems awesome; I have meet both but only really had one of them as a teacher yet.
We have already started with the materials and to practice on the machines we are sewing squares together, 36 squares of leather and 36 squares of fur. The materials are so beautiful but at this moment a bit tricky to handle since they differ from fabric and other textiles.

I had this long talk with the teacher I have had so far, talking about who I am and what I want. I got the same thing as I always get, that I seem a bit quiet in big groups. But I told her that I have no trouble with taking space when I want to, one of my good traits is to both be able to blend in nicely in groups and stand out from them.

We also got talking about my jewellery quite the bit and she was excited about it, and told me that I have a really good Idea that is actually finished, a well thought out working business just to start up whenever I feel like it is the time. Which is funny since that is the same thing as I and peter talked about just a few days ago; that all my jewellery making business wants and need is attention and some of my time. I have already proved that I can make a profit out of it, not such a profit that I in any ways can live from it, but on the other hand It have always been a hobby project and not something that I have really invested in with time. He always say such good things that boy; “you just need to rationalize your production and learn to take more money for you things”. He is a wise boy even after too much absinth.
My teacher told me that I should not see or labelling it as crafting, it sound so amateur like and what I am doing is not amateur like “it is so much more that that”.

She also was excited to see how I can incorporate my jewellery into the leather and fur materials and so am I, the materials fit so well into the aesthetics of my pieces and my line of thinking.
Fun thing there are people in my class that have heard of steampunk and actually know what it is, two guys of course, second time that I meet someone on real life that knows what it is. It is nice to finally get to mention the word “steampunk” without getting blank faces in response.

So after a long summer of inactivity in the creativity department, it is time to move on to new creative projects and as I love new things I’m starting a new school.
It is really exiting and new, things that I have no knowledge about and what it is?

I am going to study “leather-skin-fur” (läder-skinn-päls) at Stenebyskolan in the forests of Dalsland province in Sweden. I am really exited about it and the school seems to be such a wonderful and creative place. I am sure that I am going to have a wonderful time there and to fill my blog with more projects then you have been given under these summer months.

This includes moving away from the tiny town I have been living in for my year at Textile and fashion design.
Moving into a new apartment and a new town (or well I don’t think you can call the place a town it is really small!). I am super exited about my new apartment, it is two room and kitchen, built in late 1950 and probably never renovated (except from the bathroom which is quite newly done) so the place still breaths the era. I’m in love with the place!

But there is no Internet in the place and is not going to be installed until the middle of September. So I will be inactive for some more time.