5_ScanMag_77_June_2015_Text_Q9_Scan Magazine 1 05/06/2015 16:48 Page 49
Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Norway
With a touch of the northern lights One look outside her workshop window is all the inspiration Merete Mattson needs. From the mesmerising beauty of her surroundings she creates the most wonderful jewellery, capturing the essence of the North’s cold winter days and long summer nights. Wearing the northern lights around your neck is not as impossible as you might think. By Stine Wannebo | Photos: Julia Marie Naglestad
Hemnesberget is a little village in Norway, just south of Mo i Rana. In the midst of mountains and right by the fjord, the homes here house many creative souls. Goldsmith Merete Mattson is one of them. Her combined studio and shop was built right by the water, so close that the gush of water reaches her front door every time a storm is brewing. It is far from one house to the next and there is hardly any traffic to speak of. That leaves room for the untamed nature to flourish. There is no place like it. “The views are fantastic, even when the sky is grey,” Mattson explains.
And it is in these stunning surroundings that the 52-year old finds the passion to create her jewellery brand Gullblom. She designs necklaces, earrings and bracelets that are all unique to the North. While one of her collections consist of glimmering silver shells, another has the familiar shape of the northern lights. She uses precious metals, shimmering stones and both rough and fine shapes to form her jewellery. The nature outside Mattson’s window is always changing and so is her work. Her latest necklaces look like sparkling snow crystals, undoubtedly inspired by the white winter months. She of-
ten incorporates wavy motions into her extraordinary collections, representing the waves of the sea, the northern lights and that of the wind. “You find inspiration in what is close to your heart. In my case, that happens to be the nature of the North,” Mattson says. It is not always easy to run a creative business from the rural parts of Norway, but it seems the unique style of Gullblom is starting to get attention from across the country. Soon Mattson will be welcoming guests to her very own café and gallery, where she plans to exhibit her own work as well as that of other Northern artists. There is no doubt that the Gullblom adventure is only just beginning.
For more information, please visit: www.gullblom.com
Issue 77 | June 2015 | 49