By Randi Berdal Hagen and Håkon Lie
Translation by Lisa Torvik
Translated with permission from the website of NRK Vestfold og Telemark; Published August 27, 2023; updated August 31, 2023. See the original here.
Mette-Marit became a pupil – now there are full courses and waiting lists
A new world opened up for Crown Princess Mette-Marit when she discovered weaving. Now interest for the hand craft is growing, including among young people.
Teacher and pupil: Eli Wendelbo at Raulandsakademiet is one of Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s weaving teachers. Photo: Gry Eirin Skjelbred/NRK
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has become a passionate weaver in the past few years. This has influenced many people to pay attention to this handcraft, says Ingrid Hamberg, who is in charge of the classes offered at Raulandsakademiet [The Rauland Academy, Telemark] . The Crown Princess has attended classes several times there for her new hobby.
Place of honor in the palace office
Her great interest in weaving originated about three years ago. The Crown Princess has spoken publicly about her new passion several times, most recently in a long NRK interview made in connection with her 50th birthday on August 19 (2023).
There she proudly displayed a work that has recently been given a place of honor in her office at the palace; a large and colorful telemarksteppe [overshot technique with threading pattern associated with Telemark tradition] which she wove together with her teachers in Rauland. “I got it home and thought goodness, that has to hang in here, it is as if it’s made for this room,” the Crown Princess said in the interview.
The tapestry has been given a place of honor in her office at the palace. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes/NRK
Interest is growing
In March, the Crown Prince and Princess were on an official visit to Rauland, to visit Raulandsakademiet in particular and the division of the university which is located in the same building. “This is your great passion now, it certainly is,” said Crown Prince Haakon about his wife’s weaving during the visit.
After the royal visit, course director Ingrid Hamberg noticed that interest [in weaving] is growing. “We are in the midst of a great weaving wave, where we are seeing that many, including the Crown Princess, are finding their way to the loom.”
Since the royal visit to Rauland in March there have been full classes and waiting lists for all the weaving courses.
“This year there have been many newcomers, people who have not taken classes here before. Many have discovered that they can come here to learn. We could call that a Mette-Marit effect,” says Hamberg.
And on the same weekend that the 50th birthday program was broadcast, some emails rolled in from people who were thinking of pursuing the same weaving education as Norway’s future queen.
Eli Wendelbo and Ingrid Hamberg in the weaving studio at Raulandsakademiet. Photo: Håkon Lie/NRK
Younger and inexperienced people showing interest
Weaving courses are among the most popular courses offered through Norges Husflidslag [Norwegian Handcraft Association], says Tone Sjåstad, who is the communications advisor in the association.
Though weaving has long been popular in certain circles, she sees a change now. “We see that many younger people, who have not previously been engaged in hand craft, now showing an interest for weaving and signing up for classes. It could have something to do with the Crown Princess,” says Sjåstad.
Praise for the weaving community
Crown Princess Mette-Marit has stressed how wonderful it is to be in a community of craftspeople, as during the official visit in Rauland. “There is so much exchange of knowledge in the way they work together. Weavers are lovely people,” the Crown Princess then boasted.
Tone Sjåstad, Norges husflidslag Photo: Ola Dybendahl
Sjåstad believes this is significant. “People have noticed that this is also such a social experience,” she says.
Now Norges Husflidslag hopes for even more of the Mette-Marit effect. “I hope this great interest also leads to more people choosing this as a vocational path, that they will pursue it as a livelihood,” says Sjåstad.
The weaving education in Rauland is a series of courses arranged by Norges Husflidslag and the Association for Cultural and Traditional Education. In addition there are shorter and longer weaving classes offered by local hand craft leagues throughout Norway.
[Editor’s note: The article included a short video of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess visiting Raulandsakademiet in Vinje, and weaving. See the video clip in the original article.]
October 2023