SWEDART's Profile

Bio

I grew up in northern Sweden and I have always loved handmade craft from the 10,000 year old reindeer herding Sami culture that I was surrounded by. My Sami artist friends have taught me everything I know about how to make stunning leather bracelets and necklaces of vegetable tanned soft and luxurious reindeer leather. The Sami bracelets are embellished with braids of spun pewter wire with 4% silver and handcrafted antler buttons. Today, these cottage-style made Swedish Lapland bracelets are sold as very trendy and sought-after fashion pieces all over the world but usually only in high-end boutiques and fashion houses at very high prices and usually in very limited collections. I started SwedArt almost 6 years ago and my goal was to make bracelets and sell to individuals so I would get a chance to explain the unique ethnic background and materials and sell them at reasonable prices. Today, I sell SwedArt bracelets to 15 countries and over 100 celebs wear SwedArt bracelets! Each Sami bracelet has been meticulously crafted by hand and I cooperate with one of my artist friends in Lapland near the Arctic Circle in Sweden on designing and making them. Many SwedArt bracelets are my own design and not sold anywhere else. I was the first designer to add pearls to reindeer leather bracelets, for instance, something I had wanted to do for several years and they instantly became a big hit! I have designed bracelets for Drea de Matteo on Desperate Housewives, Steven Tyler wears SwedArt and Sheryl Crow has worn SwedArt reindeer leather bracelets on concerts all over the world for the past 5 years. By wearing a SwedArt Lapland bracelet, you will become an honorary ambassador for the Sami People. We help the dwindling amount of reindeer herders keep their livelihood by buying products derived from their livelihood reindeer husbandry. Antlers are shed every year and only the tips can be used for carving buttons out of because there is no marrow in the tips. The Sami invented the shiny spun pewter and silver wires and used to make them by hand! One of my Sami friends spins the wires on a small machine today and sells them to other artists. Another friend tans her own reindeer hides with bark and it is very time consuming and labor intensive work. I hope you enjoyed visiting my SwedArt Handmade Artists' Shop and learning about this ancient craft. Please email me if you have any questions or can't find the style, color or size you want. I have a lot more in my inventory in Boston since I sell at craft shows and cultural festivals as well. Margareta

Female, Born on

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