Sart strik – A delicate craft business

Interview

31 Aug

The first time I stepped into the space of Sart strik in Copenhagen I was unprepared for the serendipitous encounter I was about to make. Owner Elsebeth Fjord Pedersen and I connected through a mix of languages and immediately found common ground – even beyond crafts! A delicate business run by a gentle soul who leads with her heart: I knew I wanted to feature Elsebeth on the Knit Current!

Elsebeth’s energy is soft and curious, gentle and kind. It’s what guides her life as well as her business, where Sart strik is more than a yarn shop. In addition to offering workshops, her own machine-knitted pieces and natural yarns, Elsebeth wants people to feel welcome to be vulnerable. She says: “People who come into the shop or take workshops are often ‘sart’, which translates to delicate or sensitive. And I want them to be. Many have experienced stress, so they are and need ‘sart’.”

*Sart strik owner Elsebeth Fjord Pedersen in her shop in Copenhagen, Denmark. ©Louise Knygberg*

Crafting a business from scratch

*Sart strik workshops (Danish and English speaking) create a calm space for people to get into a flow state. ©Louise Knygberg*

During her own experience with a stress-related sick leave from her teaching job at a University College, Elsebeth found her way into machine knitting: “It was difficult but rewarding to figure it out and gave me a sense of rest and peace.” In 2018, she started an Instagram account and sold her first own designs at Christmas markets. When she got the opportunity to rent the shop two years later, her concept expanded to include workshops and yarns: “Sometimes all the pieces just fall in the right place”.

Sustainability is important to her since the beginning, and so she exclusively carries natural materials. She even has a polyester-free sock yarn made from linen, which was new to me!

Her Danish- or English-speaking workshops are diverse – some aimed at beginners learning to knit or crochet and others at those who want to expand their skills with for example intarsia or raglan construction. What they all have in common is Elsebeth’s goal to create a calm space for people to get into a flow state – rooted in her education in craft psychology.

For Elsebeth, exploring new crafts is a way to connect with herself. It is where she gets to truly focus, quiet the many thoughts running in her head and be present: “I like to dig into things and I am always interested in techniques and understanding more about it.” Nowadays, she has gotten into mending and now offers repair services for customers whose treasured pieces just need a little love.

“I like to dig into things and I am always interested in techniques and understanding more about it.”

— Elsebeth Fjord Pedersen (Sart strik)

Intertwining life, work and creativity

*Elsebeth knitting in front of her shop on Amagerbrogade 18.*

Her shop is located in the same complex where she lives with her family. Her business is built on her own interests and hobbies. Her personal crafting feeds new business ideas. “It is such a joy to do something you love every day”, says Elsebeth.

Blurring the lines between what many people would strictly keep apart can be tricky. A risk, Elsebeth is aware of as she quotes Danish craft psychologist Anne Kirketerp who warns: “Don’t let your passion be polluted.”

There is danger that this happens when economic aspects are introduced into your life and craft, as part of the work. Balancing it all in a healthy way is a question of boundaries for Elsebeth, who says that she always ends a long day behind the computer with some knitting in the evening.

Finding yourself in the creative middle

I see the beauty in intertwining your life, work and craft like Elsebeth who notes: “I am a shop owner, but not only. It’s not my whole identity.” You create your own reality and share your whole identity, not just certain parts in certain settings. It is like finding yourself in the messy but creative middle.

Elsebeth is a fascinating person. Starting and running a business is not easy, yet Elsebeth remains ‘sart’. There is an undeniable strength to Elsebeth because despite life’s hardships, she is open, vulnerable and authentic – sharing this energy with everyone coming into the shop.