Baltic Crafts

[sand piper]

I am also interested in seeing craft demonstrations and in places to purchase hand made items of any kind.

In other words tell me about 'all things crafty' that you have discovered in the Baltics (Helsinki, Stockholm,St P. Tallin, Warmemude, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Thanks for any tips,

Salley

[dogs4fun]

I am also interested in seeing craft demonstrations and in places to purchase hand made items of any kind.

In other words tell me about 'all things crafty' that you have discovered in the Baltics (Helsinki, Stockholm,St P. Tallin, Warmemude, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Thanks for any tips,

Salley

Tallinn - If you want to buy hand-made knitwear, head to the sweater wall near Viru Gate: locals set up their stalls along the town wall and sell their traditional items.

Estonian Handicraft House - https://www.visitestonia.com/en/estonian-handicraft-house

Amsterdam - we visited the Albert Cuyp Market - some interesting crafts here as well as a large flea market.

lots of info on crafts here: http://onebuntingaway.blogspot.com/2013/06/craft-stores-in-amsterdam.html

Edited May 4, 2016 by dogs4fun

[GradUT]

One craft item from Estonia that I had read about before our Baltic cruise were juniper hotpads (or trivets). They are about 8 - 9 inches in diameter and flat, so they are easy to pack to bring home. They are also very fragrant and, supposedly, the scent is brought out when you put something hot on it.

 

I saw these hotpads in several souvenir stores in Tallinn and in one stall on the "Sweater Wall" (where we bought ours--the price was cheaper than those in the stores.) Last summer, we paid 9 euros each.

[dogs4fun]

One craft item from Estonia that I had read about before our Baltic cruise were juniper hotpads (or trivets). They are about 8 - 9 inches in diameter and flat, so they are easy to pack to bring home. They are also very fragrant and, supposedly, the scent is brought out when you put something hot on it.

 

I saw these hotpads in several souvenir stores in Tallinn and in one stall on the "Sweater Wall" (where we bought ours--the price was cheaper than those in the stores.) Last summer, we paid 9 euros each.

Hi GradUT,

Funny - I found those same trivets at my local Hallmark store (they came in a variety of fragrances - I particularly love the Pumpkin Pie spice fragrance) but, of course, they were not made in Estonia - they were made in the USA. Small world.

Edited May 4, 2016 by dogs4fun

[Desdichado62]

For Stockholm there are several stores:

Svensk Hemslöjd Norrlandsgatan 20 http://svenskhemslojd.com

Norrlandsgatan 20

http://maps.google.com/?q=Norrlandsgatan+20%2C+111+43+Stockholm&ftid=0x465f9d5c8b882d69:0xe7c08c69d201d646&hl=sv&gl=se

 

Iris Hantverk http://www.irishantverk.se/ either at Kungsgatan 55 or Västerlånggatan 24

 

Kungsgatan 55

 

http://maps.google.com/?q=Kungsgatan+55%2C+111+22+Stockholm&ftid=0x465f9d67318ce8a5:0x93c3cbc983eac434&hl=sv&gl=se

Västerlånggatan 24

https://goo.gl/maps/TPm9WfaG77D2

 

Wooden Horse Museum http://woodenhorsemuseumsweden.se/EN/visit.en.html located at Stortorget in the Old Town.

Stortorget 14

https://goo.gl/maps/oJ3AdRgWkEE2

[mickeysgal]

Hi GradUT,

Funny - I found those same trivets at my local Hallmark store (they came in a variety of fragrances - I particularly love the Pumpkin Pie spice fragrance) but, of course, they were not made in Estonia - they were made in the USA. Small world.

 

Are you sure about that? Most of their stuff is made in China.

[dogs4fun]

Are you sure about that? Most of their stuff is made in China.

Yep, sticker on side says made in the USA. Unfortunately, all of the Hallmark ornaments are made in China. :(

[Pet Nit Noy]

I am also interested in seeing craft demonstrations and in places to purchase hand made items of any kind.

In other words tell me about 'all things crafty' that you have discovered in the Baltics (Helsinki, Stockholm,St P. Tallin, Warmemude, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

 

Market Square in Helsinki has stalls that range from Made in China touristy stuff all the way to personally crafted wonderful items. There are a couple of stalls that use last season Marimekko prints to sew tote bags. These market purchases are significantly cheaper than buying the new season print tote bags at the Marimekko flagship store.

 

Tallin's shops and stalls in Old Town offer a similar mix of touristy things and beautiful crafts. The sweaters all over town are rarely hand knit in the sense of one knitter, a ball of yarn, and two knitting needles. Most of the home knitters are using knitting machines; the patterns get set into the knitting machine and resulting pieces are assembled to create a finished sweater. That said, the finished products are appealing. If you have a grandchild, you may want to consider the sweaters with a creature that looks like a hippopotamus. I ignored all those sweaters wondering why I would want a sweater with an African animal on a Baltic sweater. After arriving home, I found out the creature is a Moomin, a wildly popular star of children's books, television series, and a comic strip. I now wish I had bought one of the books and a sweater for my grand daughter. Incidentally, I didn't buy a sweater at the sweater wall, but I did buy hand-made shearling booties for my grand-daughter and several other friends' grand children.

 

Copenhagen has a cooperative craft shop, Kunst & Handvaerk located near the Round Tower. (Incidentally, the Round Tower is the location of an organic, prize winning hot dog street vendor. Here's the link to the web site for his stand http://www.xn--dp-lka.dk/en/ )

Edited May 5, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[Desdichado62]

Nordiska museet (next door to Vasa) have a shop which also offeres a small selection of crafts.

 

http://www.nordiskamuseet.se/webbutik/produkter/hantverk

https://www.google.se/maps/place/Nordiska+museet/@59.3290107,18.0920793,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x465f9d538319a8c5:0xd78b9c1c85cfa918!8m2!3d59.329008!4d18.094268

 

Obviously there are also allot of different craftsmen at Skansen which sells most of their crafts.

http://www.skansen.se/en/artikel/shopping

http://www.skansen.se/sv/kategori/stadskvarterens-hus (only available in Swedish).

https://www.google.se/maps/place/Skansen/@59.3270453,18.1015569,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x465f82aafeda9437:0x2c35b6cfd6468531!8m2!3d59.3270426!4d18.1037456

Edited May 7, 2016 by Desdichado62

[sand piper]

Thank you all so much! I look forward to visiting all these places.

If anyone else has tips don't hesitate to chime in.

[phxbne]

Some of the things I found in 2014:

- Helsinki - some handmade things at the market on the water - I got a Christmas ornament that looks like a pine cone but made from birch (?) chips.

- St Petersburg - we did a matroshkya doll painting class - the teacher painted the dolls - watching her paint the faces, especially the eyes! was fascinating

- Copenhagen - I saw more 'design' type stuff - it was beautiful, but the prices were crazy so I resisted.....

Have a wonderful cruise!