Scan Magazine | Mini Theme | Made in Norway
Helica jewellery – handcrafted in Norway It all began when Helene Flatby discovered a bracelet she desired and decided to attempt to create one of her own. After handcrafting more pieces as gifts for friends and family, she was soon receiving requests from people wanting to purchase these unique bracelets. What started as a fun hobby finally turned into her own business and a full-time priority. The word Helica is a combination of her name, Helene, and the beads used in her eye-catching creations, Delica. In fact, these particular beads are what make her bracelets so unique. Miyuki Delica are 1.6-millimetre-wide Japanese glass beads, perfect for creating delicate patterns and designs given their small size. The designer has more than 250 different colours to choose from, and she often adds beads coated in 18-carat gold, as well as crystals from Swarovski for a luxurious look. All bracelets are fastened with a strong magnet, making them easy to put on and take off.
“I’m always working on new designs, and I find a lot of inspiration in old Norwegian patterns as well as the Native American style,” says Flatby. In addition to the large selection of bracelets and earrings found in her online store, customers can order customised pieces. Among other
By Ingrid Opstad | Photos: Helene Flatby
things, she has created items matching a particular dress, a ring or a company logo. Customised bracelets to go with the Norwegian bunad have been in high demand, adding a modern twist on this traditional garment. The possibilities are endless and Flatby is happy to create personalised pieces tailored to any style and wish.
Helica will be attending this year’s Design By Me at the Norwegian Trade Fair on 22-24 September. For more information, please visit www.helica.no and follow on Facebook or Instagram at @helica_bracelets.
Bamboo is the new sustainable cotton Environmentally friendly, super soft and comfortable, temperature-regulating, bacteriostatic – what is not to love about bamboo? Norwegian clothing brand Badaboom is aiming to get everyone wearing bamboo to benefit from its distinctive qualities. By Line Elise Svanevik | Photos: Kind Norway.
After buying some bamboo underwear many years ago, co-founder of Badaboom, Britt Ingelin Rongve Hillestad, was hooked and decided to start designing and selling bamboo clothing and bedding for the whole family, alongside her business partner Hege Marie Sørensen. “It was the best material I’d worn and I couldn’t find it anywhere else, so I realised there was a gap in the market,” says Hillestad. Six years have passed since the company was set up. Its most recent loungewear collection was meant as a sleepwear collection, until a keen user called the owners and said they had to change the name of it “because you can’t wear pyjamas to the shop”, says Hillestad. 86 | Issue 100 | May 2017
Bamboo features many of the same qualities as wool, in the sense that it is both temperature-regulating – meaning it is warm when the weather is cold and vice versa – and bacteriostatic, meaning it prevents bacteria from reproducing. The production of it is also much more environmentally friendly than cotton, which requires a great deal of soil and water. The brand won a gold medal for the design of its packaging at Visuelt Festival in Oslo, hosted by Grafill, a Norwegian organisation for visual communication. “Each item is packaged in the same bamboo material we use for the clothes and bedding, which means that what you see is what you get,” says Hillestad.
For more information, please visit: www.badaboom.no