Scan Magazine – August 2018

38 | Issue 115 | August 2018

In 2015, in the Norwegian mountain village of Vågå, artist Sofie Kleppe started up

her own traditional tannery and sewing workshop, Jutulskinn. Here, she tans skin

and sews it into beautiful products.

By Synne Johnsson | Photos: Jutulskinn

Hunters from all over the world come

to Jutulskinn with skin that they want to

have turned into unique, personal prod-

ucts. Kleppe and her trainee Roni Öhman

do everything, from the tanning of the skin

to designing and sewing it into whatever

their customers wish. “What we do is cre-

ate modern products in traditional ways;

for example, an alternative to high-tech

hiking clothes,” Kleppe explains.

She makes everything from lendbreski,

which are traditional leather covered skis,

to bags and clothes, and has also had

more special requests. “One of the most

interesting things we have been asked to

make was actually a wedding dress from

black reindeer skin,” she says. “We had

to tan it and turn it into quality leather

that we could use. After that, we had to

design the dress and sew it together. It

was a lot of fun,” she smiles.

Everything Kleppe makes is 100 per

cent organic and handmade. She picks

the bark for tanning herself, from

Scandinavian trees, and the skin, which

is mainly from reindeers, comes from

wild animals that have been hunted and

would otherwise be left in nature to rot.

“Nature is so important for me and I focus

a lot on the ethical aspect of production,”

Kleppe says. “I work with natural meth-

ods and on nature’s premises, and I treat

the skin properly and make it into durable

products, in honour of the animals.”

A big part of her work is teaching, and

she offers courses on traditional tanning

and sewing of skins. She also organises

Jutulcamp, a camp where children learn

to make their own products of leather,

bone and wood in the same ways that she

herself does.

Traditional tanning for modern people

Kleppe points out that Jutulskinn is

not just a job, but also a lifestyle. When

asked what she likes the most about her

profession, she finds it almost impos-

sible to choose, but eventually settles

on her love for the material she uses:

“What I love about working with skin and

leather is that each product has a long

history and each is unique because it all

comes from an animal.”

Web: http://www.jutulskinn.no

Facebook: jutulskinn

Scan Magazine | Mini Theme | Norwegian Artisans

Jutulskinn creates traditional clothing for modern people.

Jutulskinn tans skin in

traditional and natural ways.

Wedding dress made of

black reindeer leather.