Meet the Maker: Hornvarefabrikken
Hornvarefabrikken
BØVLINGBERG, DENMARK
Across the moorlands of Denmark’s far west, in a quaint town called Bøvlingbjerg, stands a workshop that has become a legacy of Danish horn craftsmanship.
In the early 1800s, the simple spoon, for some rural areas, was the only household utensil afforded, and could be seen hanging from the roof rafters of many homes. Crafting spoons from horn soon became a local trade and a highly sought skill to have for supplementing a poor farmer’s income.
One of these masterful craftsmen was Hans Husted, and he passed on this unique craft to son Peder. No longer able to work the farm, Peder began making and selling mustard spoons and shoe horns and in 1935 Hornvarefabrikken was established. A legacy of craftsmanship that remained within the Husted family for 55 years, is now being preserved by designer Sara Bruun Buch.
Sara’s craft and artistic direction has evolved and expanded Hornvarefabrikken to include a contemporary range of homewares, accessories and jewellery. The minimal and timeless designs work effortlessly with the natural beauty of horn, and Sara has ensured that the cultural and heritage traditions intrinsic to the brand, are still used by the artisans that work in the Denmark studio today.
Each product at Hornvarefabrikken’s workshop is proudly made by hand from horn that is sourced from domestic cattle breeds in Nigeria. The horns which would have been waste is now reused to craft goods that showcase the exceptional beauty of this unique and natural product.
Crafting products from horn is an intricate process, that requires many steps from raw state to a cut, sanded and polished product. Hornvarefabbriken is proud to be the only company in Denmark that continues to preserve this culturally rich craft and you can still find their collections being handmade in the original studio today.