Next tme May 3th
Course in Nature’s Crafts
Learn to make beautiful products from natural materials and spend a day outside in the beautiful monastery landscape. Teacher and garment designer Regine Thomsen takes you through the entire process of the different crafts.
Take a break from the screen and spend some time learning a new craft with roots in cultural history.
All courses take place outdoors where we both harvest and make beautiful products
Tickets
Thursday + Sunday 28th + 31th
Fish Skin Tanning Workshop
NB Two days workshop
Thursday 18:00 - 21:00
Sunday. 10:00 - 13:00
900 kr.
Learn how to make beautiful products from natural materials.
At our courses, you’ll not only hear the stories behind traditional crafts, but also learn hands-on methods for gathering natural materials and receive one-on-one expert guidance in the techniques. We take our time, allowing space for learning, conversation, and deep immersion in the craft.
With years of experience as an outdoor educator and bushcrafter, Regine Thomsen specializes in crafting with materials sourced directly from nature.
Hopefully, you’ll head home with lots of inspiration to keep working on your own
Practical info
- Please see the individual course times listed on this page.
- Meeting point: We’ll meet in the courtyard at Møllegården, right in front of the Mill Café.
- Refreshments: We’ll be serving tea, coffee, and cake during the day. Lunch isn’t included in the course, so please bring a packed lunch or buy something at the café.
- Remember: Dress for the weather. We are outside all day.
- The courses don’t require any prior crafting experience—just a willingness to learn something new.
Sunday May 3th: Bark Weaving
Weaving is one of the oldest cultural and historical crafts. People in all times and cultures have woven from the branches, plant fibers and bark that were available in the landscape they lived in. Many of the most important everyday objects have been woven – baskets, containers, fishing nets, knife handles and much more.
The course starts with a short walk around the landscape of the monastery and where we find materials suitable for wicker. We go through methods to harvest bark and prepare it for use.
And then it’s time to weave: You will have the bark in your hands and learn to weave a container from willow bark using the diagonal weave technique. The instructor will also provide inspiration for making simpler bark containers and will demonstrate other weaving techniques such as plaiting, twining, and twill.
Thursday and Sunday, 28 & 31 May – Fish Skin Tanning Workshop
In the nature around lakes, streams and coasts, a special material hides itself – fish skin, which over time has been both practical and wonderfully beautiful. When tanned correctly, it transforms from raw and shiny into a durable, soft, and lively leather.
The course begins with an introduction to the tanning process and the history of the material. We work from scratch: from the raw fish skin to the finished leather. On the first day, you will learn how to fat-tan the skins, making them supple and ready for drying.
On the second day, we take down the skins, dry and stretch them until the desired leather texture emerges – a process where patience and attention to detail make all the difference. The day concludes with an introduction to tanning fish skins using bark and tea, and you will receive recipes and methods to take home so you can continue the work on your own.
Sunday June14th – Plant Dyeing & Botanical Printing Workshop
The landscape around the monastery is rich with herbs, flowers, and trees that can be used to dye textiles and create beautiful botanical prints on fabric.
The plants act as living archives, telling the story of the landscape’s evolution. Some are native to this particular area, while others were introduced by monks in the Middle Ages and have since escaped the monastery garden to grow freely in the surrounding countryside.
The course begins with a short walk through the monastery landscape and garden, where we’ll share the stories behind the plants and gather materials for natural dyeing and botanical printing.
Og så skal farves og trykkes: På første del af kurset lærer du at farve stoffet med forskellige planter. Du lærer teknikkerne til at forberede tekstilerne inden tryk og klargøre farvebadene. I anden halvdel af kurset skal vi lave de botaniske tryk.
Vi eksperimenterer med farver og former, fordeler blade og blomster på stoffet og bunder dem i ruller, som dampes i en gryde over bål.
Under denne proces vil planterne afgive deres naturlige farver til stoffet, som herved frembringer et smukt aftryk.
Sunday 13 September: Wool Felted Seat Pad
For thousands of years, wool has been one of the most important natural materials for humans. Wool can cool, warm, insulate, and provide protection. Even when it gets wet from rain, it retains its many properties.
It can be transformed into a wide range of products, from clothing, shoes, and blankets to sails, mattresses, and containers. Wool is also a highly sustainable natural material. It requires far less energy to produce compared to many synthetic materials, is durable, resistant to wear, and naturally biodegradable over time.
The course begins with a short walk through the monastery meadow where the sheep graze—the very same meadow where monks kept sheep over 500 years ago, precisely because of wool’s many valuable qualities.
And then it’s time to felt: You will get the soft, fragrant wool in your hands and learn the wet felting technique. We will felt a practical seat pad that you can take on trips, providing both warmth and a dry place to sit. Along the way, there will also be time to learn how to card the wool.
Sunday October 4th– Natural Fibre Weaving Workshop
Making rope, string, and baskets from natural fibers is one of the oldest traditional crafts in human history. Across all times and cultures, people have twisted and tied plant fibers from leaves, stems, and bark—using whatever the local landscape had to offer.
The course begins with a short walk around the monastery grounds, where we’ll explore and gather different plants—such as linden, nettles, soft rush, and more. We’ll go over how to harvest the plants and prepare the fibers for use.
And then it’s time to twist and tie: You will have the natural fibres in your hands and learn how to twist a two-ply rope or cord.
Next, you will be introduced to the running binding technique and will be able to make a small bowl or basket.
