Words
⁄
Mandi Keighran
Photos
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Morten Heiselberg
OLEANA BY NORWEGIAN
In 1992, when textile factories acrossNorway
wereclosing, an idealistic triodecided to found
anew kindof textilecompany. Today,Oleana
produces someof theworld’sbest knitwear
N
orwayhasa longhistoryof tourism, andever since thefirst
tourists landedhere,Norwegianknittedpieces,with their
distinctivegeometricpatterns inspiredbynature,havebeen
popular souvenirs.Yet, it’ssurprisinglydifficult tofindknitted
garments thatareactuallyproduced inNorway.
Insidea 170-year-old factorybuiltoverafjord inpicturesqueBergen,
however, asmall teamof textileworkerscreatessomeof themostbeautiful
knitwear in theworld.Here, 31huge industrial knittingmachinesclatter from
6am to 11pm, producing the intricatelydetailedknittedpieces thatwillbe
assembled intoanewOleanagarment.Around themachines, factoryworkers
link thepieces together–a time-consuming technique inwhicheachpiece is
essentiallyknitted togetheronacircularmachine.Others inspectfinishedpieces
forquality, snip threads, fastenbuttonsandattach labels.
Oleanawas founded in 1992byhusband-and-wife teamKolbjørnValestrand
andSigneAarhus, alongwithHildegunnMøster.Together, theywantednot
only tocelebrateNorwegian tradition,but tocreateanewkindofcompany that
wouldsupport itsworkforceandprove it ispossible toproducequalityclothing in
Norway inasustainableway. “We’renotafter fast sales,”saysAarhus. “Wewant
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