The nordic people thoroughly explored the craft of leathermaking. They developed a way to use fish skin, namely wolf-fish, to make waterproof shoes and other important functional items. The ancient connection to the sea was direct, and the value of it’s resources was expressed not only in their crafts but also their traditions, rituals and beliefs. Aegir, subtle giant of the depths; Mimir, guardian of nourishing sources; Njord, wild and courageous; Freja, light and free; Saga, flowing with wisdom; and Ran, bold and decisive; are but a few of the deities that embody these oceans and their different forces.
Perhaps the times we live in are far divided from those ancient worlds and their beliefs, and they only remain with us as vague myths, fantasies and storytales to entertain. We do not pray to the same gods nor even tread the same soil. Yet somehow our oceans are theirs, unchanged and ever-changing through centuries, a constant drum beating its beat on our shifting shores through the immesurable passage of time. The ocean is ancient, timeless in its sway. This, the Nords had understood. The Nord Collection is an ode to this same ocean, it’s power, it’s nourishment and it’s timeless nature, but equally to the link between those great natural forces and the subtler ones of the mind, for it is in this relationship that stories find the reason to become myths.
The fish speaks to origins, it is from the fish we have all evolved. The journey home of the salmon represents this transition even more closely; from salt water to fresh, from vast and boundariless oceans to meandering rivers, upstream against currents, with a determination that can even have it leaping out above the waters of its creation, all to reach a quiet breeding place so that life itself may continue. It is a generational journey that re-tells our ancient path. Those immesurable histories – the seemingly infinite cacophony of events and seperate moments that led us here together – ask us to recognise that life is not ours alone but very much shared. This in turn shows us our place in this flourishing world, and in doing so, offers the re-discovery of a more accepting nature within: one of power, but also surrender; of death, but also nourishment; of change, but also constants. A nature that looks inwards and outwards in equal measure and thus finds balance.
I aim to also integrate ancient values of respect for nature into my sourcing and production processes. Conservation and recycling has always been relevant to my practice. To be able to work with a company that shares these values is wonderful; all of the salmon skin is retrieved as a waste bi-product of the icelandic fishing industry and sustainably tanned and dyed using geo-thermal energy. You can find out much more about the history and production processes here
