A julenisse (Christmas Nisse) is a mythological creature from Nordic folklore but today it is typically associated with Christmas season. They are generally described as being short, having a long white beard, and wearing dark colours with a red hat. When I first started creating these iconic Scandi creatures some 7 years ago they were rarely seen or featured in Christmas here in the UK, in 2022 they are everywhere! I had actually started making them as gifts for family and friends, who all encouraged my to make them to sell.
Like many Scandinavian things they often become a craze which last like ‘hugge’ and are then replicated again and again, for a small business owner who at Christmas wanted to share ‘ a little Taste of Norway’ it becomes more important I ensure I stand out amongst the mass produced gnomes.
As I’ve spoken about in some of my other posts Christmas making is an all year event, as it is only me making them all, I have to start early. I always aim to introduce new things or design each year, and looking back to my first editions I can see how they have evolved and the range has expanded. I thought id show you my little Nisse in a little more detail:
Materials
Materials are important to my Nisse’s over all look but also aesthetic feel. I’ve loved watching over the years as beards have been stroked when selecting which of my nisse they’ll pick, it almost seems impossible not to want to pick them up and stroke. I use real wool and whether you love the smooth silky feel of the merino straight wool or the wild curly Wensleydale wool, both help create a real character and style. I also use a premium wool blend felt which is 40% wool to keep it soft yet strong, I believe my decorations should last and be enjoyed year after year.
Workmanship
I also pride myself in the workmanship of my Nisse to ensure they remain as good as they day they were bought. I double stitch all seams to ensure their stuffing remains stuffed and I hand sew the noses on to ensure they are secure and fixed in position. I make all my own little noses, there not wooden balls but folded felt which are painful slow for production but I feel add a little extra to them as I can mix up the sizes and shapes depending on how big I make them or how much stuffing I add, meaning no two Nisse are identical.
Finishing touches
The finishing touches for me are equally important and what I add to my Nisse to make them uniquely mine. My designs have continued to evolve and in my second year of Nisse making I invested in getting Scandinavian ribbon (most of it from my trips to Norway when visiting family) to add little hat trims to my Nisse characters. I also add a detail which isn’t always seen from my photos as this little addition features on the back of my Nisse, a small ribbon tag in Norwegian flag design. This is my little nod to my heritage and that these Nisse are specifically Norwegian, as you maybe aware most Scandinavian countries have a similar character known by names like tomte, tomtenisse, or tonttu and they all share the same visual look. With all my Norwegian Nisse I also supply a little card with the story of the nisse, specifically the julenisse and their role at Christmas, as I believe this is a nice touch to get some background information on these festive gnomes.
I even take the time to groom their hair, wax styling and finished with ribbons (for the girls) to complete their looks.
Personal touch
If I’ve ever met you at a fair I’m sure I will have spoken about how each Nisse design is named, yes! they have names with differing characteristics. I spend so much time loving making these Nisse that it only seemed right that they should be named as well. All their names have a personal link to me and my making journey, you can read more about them on this blog post: the collection “a little taste of Norway”
Everything in my range is inspired by my proudness of my heritage and this year especially i have invested the time to grow the range and offer even more designs including my 7 little julenisse characters, here is a snap shot of some of my new editions…..
dippydesignmakebake 