{"id":400,"date":"2011-06-08T22:35:31","date_gmt":"2011-06-08T21:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/?p=400"},"modified":"2011-06-08T22:35:31","modified_gmt":"2011-06-08T21:35:31","slug":"welcome-to-the-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/?p=400","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the forest!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the (few) downsides with moving to a new country and starting all over again is that it can be quite lonely. It is a huge challenge to establish new bonds and get to know people. It might have something to do with our age and our family situation, when having kids you\u2019re not that involved in the social scene anymore, instead of being \u201cout there\u201d you tend to end up on the sofa. At least one of us has to, not knowing someone we could ask to babysit, so a social life together is definitely out of the question. Sure we do have acquaintances, and I meet a lot of lovely and interesting people through attending knitting groups and getting to know the customers in my shop. I also know that this will eventually become different, but I have to admit, sometimes I miss my friends so much. Those close friends that you\u2019ve known for years and years, and who know you. <\/p>\n<p>Lately I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about a friend of mine, Veslem\u00f8y. Veslem\u00f8y is a Norwegian name that translates to something Little Maiden. Let me tell you, there is nothing little- or maiden-like with my friend (although I\u2019ve always found her name to be very suitable). She is this powerful, stubborn, big hearted and very wise woman, one of those who will go through life\u2019s difficulties with her head lifted high, no matter what. She will also encourage you, utter those right words in the right occasion, just to make you lift your head higher too. But what I absolutely adore about my friend is her creativity, she is a fountain of creativity. There are absolutely no limits for her ideas, and when she gets them, she most likely will see them through as well. We used to live in the same neighbourhood and we used to share a studio, you might remember that I wrote about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/?cat=24\">the opening<\/a> back then. It seems to me like Veslem\u00f8y is the kind of person who comes up with a creative idea first. Long before knitting graffiti as a concept was known, Veslem\u00f8y had a bike covered in knitting standing in her backyard to put a smile on peoples\u2019 faces. And when I came to London I found bags and belts of recycled tires being hyped as fashion\u2019s next big thing, but Veslem\u00f8y made incredible cool tractor tire bags ages ago. Her creative label is \u201cVelkommen til skogen!\u201d which in English means \u201cWelcome to the forest!\u201d Reading this entry you\u2019ll soon see how these three words in the combination with meeting someone new triggered my brain and made Veslem\u00f8y very present although she\u2019s quite far away.<\/p>\n<p><em>En av de (f\u00e5) negative sidene ved det \u00e5 flytte til et nytt land og starte p\u00e5 nytt er det at det kan v\u00e6re ganske ensomt. Det er en utfordring \u00e5 skulle knyte nye b\u00e5nd til nye mennesker. Det har nok noe med alder og familiesituasjon \u00e5 gj\u00f8re, n\u00e5r man har barn er man ikke s\u00e5 sosialt aktiv lengre, i stedet for \u00e5 v\u00e6re \u201cute\u201d ender man opp p\u00e5 sofaen. I hvert fall ender \u00e9n av oss der, n\u00e5r man ikke kjenner noen som kan v\u00e6re barnevakt s\u00e5 er i hvert fall et sosialt liv sammen helt uaktuelt. Selvf\u00f8lgelig s\u00e5 har vi bekjente, og jeg treffer jo mange hyggelige og spennende mennesker gjennom strikkegrupper og ved \u00e5 bli kjent med kundene mine i butikken. Jeg vet jo at denne ensomheten er forbig\u00e5ende og at jo lengre vi blir her jo mer annerledes vil det bli, men jeg m\u00e5 innr\u00f8mme at av og til s\u00e5 savner jeg vennene mine noe voldsomt. De n\u00e6re vennene som man har kjent i \u00e5revis, og som gjensidig kjenner deg ut og inn.  <\/p>\n<p>I det siste har jeg tenkt mye p\u00e5 ei venninne av meg, Veslem\u00f8y. I den engelske teksten over har jeg fors\u00f8kt \u00e5 oversette navnet hennes, og endte opp med noe som \u201clille jomfru\u201d, men la meg forsikre deg om at det finnes ikke noe sm\u00e5tt eller jomfruaktig over Veslem\u00f8y (selv om jeg alltid har funnet navnet hennes merkelig treffende). Hun er ei sterk, sta, storhjertet og veldig smart dame, av den typen som vil g\u00e5 gjennom livets vanskeligheter med hodet h\u00f8yt hevet, alltid. Hun vil ogs\u00e5 oppmuntre andre, ytre de riktige ordene til rett tid og s\u00f8rge for at andre ogs\u00e5 l\u00f8fter hodet litt h\u00f8yere. Det jeg virkelig beundrer hos Veslem\u00f8y er hennes kreativitet, hun er rett og slett en kreativ fontene. Det finnes ikke grenser for hennes ideer, og n\u00e5r hun f\u00f8rst f\u00e5r en, s\u00e5 er det sannsynlig at hun gjennomf\u00f8rer den ogs\u00e5. Vi bodde i det samme nabolaget og vi delte verksted, du husker kanskje at jeg skrev om <a href=\"http:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/?cat=24\">\u00e5pningen<\/a> den gang da. Det virker for meg som om Veslem\u00f8y er en av disse menneskene som f\u00e5r de kreative ideene f\u00f8rst. Lenge f\u00f8r strikkegraffiti som konsept ble kjent, hadde Veslem\u00f8y en sykkel dekt av strikking p\u00e5 pynt i bakg\u00e5rden for \u00e5 f\u00e5 folk til \u00e5 smile. Og da jeg kom til London oppdaget jeg at vesker og belter laget av gjenbrukte bildekk ble opphauset som den store motenyheten, men Veslem\u00f8y hadde laget enormt kule vesker av traktordekk for en liten evighet siden. Veslem\u00f8y har gitt sine kreative krumspring merkelappen \u201cVelkommen til skogen!\u201d Leser du videre vil du snart f\u00e5 vite hvordan disse tre ordene sammen med et nytt m\u00f8te f\u00f8rte til at jeg opplevde Veslem\u00f8y som veldig tilstedev\u00e6rende, selv om hun er langt borte.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/fruforsell1.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/fruforsell2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><br \/>\n<center>Pictures from our studio\/<\/em>Bilder fra verkstedet v\u00e5rt<em><\/center><\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago I had a customer visiting my shop. She bought some wonderful yarn as a gift to her mom and we started talking, she told me that she\u2019s a visual merchandiser looking to expand her freelance portfolio. We started discussing my window decorations, provided that it should cost (almost) nothing at all, and the lovely Holly came back to me with a few concept ideas. I liked several of them and we decided to make a combined bird and butterfly theme.  Now have a look at my pretty window! This is all created using very simple means, but the end result still looks great! Holly bought the bird boxes online (they\u2019re made of cardboard) and I crocheted the rooftops and fronts, what\u2019s not covered in crocheting are covered in fabric scraps. She found the branches on a park renovation site and painted them white, then gluing on leaves cut in felt. The butterflies on the wall outside and on some of the branches had been used somewhere else before, and so she gave them a new boost spray-painting them pink. I crocheted the birds for the window, and the butterflies displayed inside the shop. <\/p>\n<p><em>For noen uker siden hadde jeg en kunde som kom innom for \u00e5 kj\u00f8pe et nydelig garn i gave til sin mor. Vi kom i prat og det viste seg at hun er dekorat\u00f8r og \u00f8nsket \u00e5 utvide sin freelance portfolio. Vi diskuterte potensiell vindusdekor i butikken min, forutsatt at dette kom til \u00e5 koste s\u00e5 og si ingenting, og nydelige Holly kom tilbake til meg med ideer til ulike konsept. Jeg likte flere av de hun viste meg og vi ble enige om \u00e5 kombinere to i et sommerfugler og fugler tema. Ta en kikk p\u00e5 mitt flotte vindu! Alt dette har vi laget med bruk av sv\u00e6rt enkle midler, men sluttresultatet ser jo allikevel lekkert ut! Holly kj\u00f8pte fuglekassene (som er laget i papp) p\u00e5 nettet, og jeg heklet tak og fasader, det som ikke er dekt av hekling er dekt med biter av restestoff. Greinene fant hun som avkapp i en park og malte dem hvite, for s\u00e5 \u00e5 lime p\u00e5 blader klippet ut i filt. Sommerfuglene p\u00e5 ytterveggen og p\u00e5 noen av greinene er opprinnelig fra et av Hollys tidligere prosjekt, s\u00e5 de gav hun nytt liv med sjokkerende rosa spraymaling. Jeg heklet fuglene, og ogs\u00e5 sommerfuglene som er utstilt inne i butikken.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest1.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><br \/>\n<center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest3.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest4.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s strange how one creative meeting can trigger memories and emotions about something else, for me there is an obvious link between my new shop front and how I feel for my friend. Trying to see a project through with no money, to create something with nothing, is Veslem\u00f8y\u2019s speciality. And considering the result and the look of my window what else can I say than: Welcome to the forest! But what influenced me to think of her the most was finally working creatively with someone again, throwing out ideas and actually getting response, creating toward dead lines, discussing colours, shapes and concepts. I really appreciated this aspect of the project, and I really enjoyed getting to know Holly through the process of materialising it. I might have got a new friend (and maybe a potential baby sitter too). Overall this experience made me reflect on how we should treasure these random meetings that some times can turn out to be the loveliest of friendship. <\/p>\n<p><em>Det er underlig hvordan et kreativt m\u00f8te kan utl\u00f8se minner og emosjoner rundt noe helt annet, for meg s\u00e5 er det en helt \u00e5penbar link mellom mitt nye butikkvindu og hvordan jeg f\u00f8ler for min venninne. \u00c5 pr\u00f8ve \u00e5 gjennomf\u00f8re et prosjekt uten midler, \u00e5 skape noe ut av ingenting, er helt i Veslem\u00f8ys bane. Og n\u00e5r vinduet n\u00e5 st\u00e5r ferdig og ser ut som det gj\u00f8r, hva annet kan jeg si enn: Velkommen til skogen! Men det som virkelig fikk meg til \u00e5 tenke p\u00e5 Veslem\u00f8y var opplevelsen av \u00e5 endelig arbeide kreativt sammen med noen igjen, kaste ut ideer og f\u00e5 tilbakemelding, jobbe mot tidsfrister, diskutere farger, former og konsept. Jeg satte ordentlig pris p\u00e5 dette aspektet ved prosjektet, og jeg satte ordentlig pris p\u00e5 \u00e5 bli kjent med Holly gjennom materialiseringen av det. Jeg har kanskje f\u00e5tt en ny venn (og kanskje en potensiell barnevakt til og med). I det hele og det store har dette m\u00f8tet f\u00f8rt til at jeg n\u00e5 er oppmerksom p\u00e5 hvordan vi burde verdsette disse tilfeldige m\u00f8tene, som kan vise seg \u00e5 ende opp i nye bekjentskap og ikke minst vennskap. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest5.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>          <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/maya-b.com\/blogimages\/forest6.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the (few) downsides with moving to a new country and starting all over again is that it can be quite lonely. It is a huge challenge to establish new bonds and get to know people. It might have something to do with our age and our family situation, when having kids you\u2019re not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,24,35,25,59],"tags":[74,73,71,72,69,70,75],"class_list":["post-400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finished","category-fru-forsell","category-inspiration","category-knit-with-attitude","category-london","tag-birds","tag-butterflies","tag-creativity","tag-crochet","tag-friends","tag-neighbourhood","tag-window-decor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=400"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400\/revisions\/411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maya-b.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}