Buy Less ... Knit More!

If you’re a knitter (or want to be), I hope you enjoyed September's issue of Viking. Our cover story, “Knit, Purl, Improvise,” by Denise Logeland, provides plenty of inspiration, resources and even a couple of great patterns to get your needles clicking. On page 9, you’ll find an article about the popularity of Norwegian sweater designs from Oleana. The brand got a boost recently when Michelle Obama bought four sweaters while visiting Norway.

Viking isn’t the only magazine lauding Oleana. In her article, “Wearable Art from Norway,” (which appeared originally in Nordic Reach magazine) writer Eva Stenskär highlights Oleana’s feminist philosophy, its profit-sharing practices and its refusal to outsource its labor. Stenskär quotes Oleana’s founder Signe Aarhus: “Our sweaters aren’t cheap, but we want to teach people that they need [fewer] but more beautiful clothes. It’s better to buy one beautiful item that you can wear for a long, long time than a lot of cheap stuff that you end up not wearing more than once anyway. This is in keeping with the ecological movement, too. We should all buy less.”

Yes to beautiful sweaters. Yes to buying less. And knitting more, I might add.

Amy Boxrud is editor of Viking magazine. She lives with her family in Northfield, Minn., where she’s a member of Nordmarka 1-585.

Oleana photo courtesy of Flickr user lazysaturday.