Craft ecosystem Dals Langed
and Fengersfors
About Dals Langed and Fengersfors
Dals Långed and Fengersfors in the region of Dalsland, Västra Götaland County, in the West of Sweden. The two towns are about 20 km apart and are situated along a lake. The nearest metropolitan area is Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, at 2.5-hour drive and 170 kilometers South of Dals Långed and Fengersfors.
Dals Långed, with its name signifying the “passage between or along the water,” is an integral part of the Bengtsfors municipality. This small yet welcoming town is home to approximately 1,500 residents, who relish its serene atmosphere and the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
Dals Langed & Fengersfors, Sweden
About ecosystem
Key nodes in this vibrant ecosystem include Steneby, a creative and educational hub with two schools, Stenebyskolan and HDK-Valand Steneby, focusing on wood, metal, and textiles. Steneby also houses an art gallery and library.
Studio Växt offers a co-working space for creatives, fostering collaboration and innovation. Open Wood, known as O-W, is a center for design-driven projects focused on wood, aiming to promote sustainable and circular furniture and interior design in Sweden.
Historically, Fengersfors was a hub for iron, pulp, and paper production. The iconic Fengersfors bruk (mill) ceased its operations in 1978, marking the end of an industrial era. However, in 2003, a remarkable transformation took place, as the site was reimagined and repurposed to become a haven for the arts and crafts, as well as small businesses. Not Quite, an artists’ collective hosting around 80 artists. Not Quite features a garden, bakery, café, bistro, crafts shop, and galleries showcasing their work. This symbiotic relationship with Steneby and the shared roles of craftsmakers and teachers create a dynamic flow of talent and ideas between these interconnected spaces.
Why Dals Langed and Fengersfors is chosen to be one of the HEPHAESTUS craft ecosystems
The ecosystem of Dals Långed & Fengersfors was chosen as one of the Hephaestus craft ecosystems for its peculiarity of being a young and growing place for craft, where local, regional and national initiatives concentrates to explicitly include craft and, broadly, cultural work as a crucial element of the local economy. Over the last 20 years, the intentional community of craft makers, many of whom have moved to Dals Långed and Fengersfors from abroad, has significantly grown and contributed to local social innovation and development as well as to transform old industrial heritage into contemporary and collective making spaces. The ecosystem is in a rural area, which makes it interesting for Hephaestus by contrast to other ecosystems.
The main challenges of the Dals Langed and Fengersfors in the context of craft
- Many of the craftmakers are multitalented and combine several jobs to earn a living. Balancing between different jobs is both rewarding but can also be stressful.
- The lack of public transport infrastructure creates dependency on cars as a means of transport. The customers may be far away from the place where the craftmakers live. Raised costs for rental and gas may challenge future work opportunities.
- There is a lot of interest for many actors in Dals Långed and Fengersfors and a lot of projects starting, initiated by different organizations. One of the challenges is to make projects and their results sustainable over time, while maintaining the community alive and vibrant.
- As a rural community, it is important for craftmakers to reach out outside the ecosystem and to engage with actors and customers that are far away. The sustainable balance between reaching far away and nurturing local relations is also a challenge to be attended to.
Craftmakers in the ecosystem
The community of the craftmarkers is strongly collegial and engaged in community building projects and social innovation projects.
Woodworkers
Carpentry and sloyd Furniture Sculpture
Traditional black smithers
Gates Sculptures Architectural elements
Ceramic artists
Weaving Dying Textile installations Costumes
Stone artists - sculptors
Granite sculptures Public art
Willow weaving
Public installations Sculpture Baskets
Willow weaving
Sculptures Installation Ceramic objects
Craftmakers currently involved in the HEPHAESTUS project
Alice Kettle
Alice weaves spaces and sculptures from willow that invite interaction, fascination and healing, as a way of helping us to re-orientat our thinking to one of co-existence and collaboration.
Jokum Lind Jensen
Jokum manipulates steel when it is hot. He works with historical techniques both in contemporary, traditional and restoration contexts.
Linnea Dalstrand
In textile-based artistry, Linnea builds spatial installations and sculptures, sometimes temporary and site-specific.
Lova Öberg
Lova works with wood making custom made pieces, proposes woodcraft classes for non-binary, transgender people and women, to get more people wanting to do woodcraft.
Lukas Arons
Lukas is a stone sculptor/artist who uses granite, brons, wood or other materials to create his sculptures.
Robert Curran (Rob Curran)
Rob works primarily in wood with a focus on organic forms. His work showcases old woodworking techniques to challenge the viewer as to what a material can do.
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Responsible for the HEPHAESTUS project ecosystem in Dals Langed and Fengersfors, Sweden
Helena is responsible for the Dals Langed and Fengersfors ecosystem in the context of the Horizon Europe project HEPHAESTUS. If you are a craftmaker and you would like to be involved in the project, do not hesitate to contact her. You can contact Helena also if you would like to establish a collaboration or know more about this ecosystem.
“In our ecosystem, each project is a vital thread contributing to positive change for craftmakers and society. The results and findings hold the power to make a meaningful impact, fostering innovation and well-being for all.”