ANNOUNCEMENT
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For a while now, career trends have been pointing in a direction that does not favour handcraft, heritage traditions and manual labour in Norway. But we are sensing a shift now! At Dale of Norway, the iconic, renowned, heritage knitting brand - located at Dale outside of Bergen - crucial efforts are being made to preserve Norwegian knitting traditions and the use of Norwegian wool.
- It is with great pride that Oslo Runway goes into partnership with Dale of Norway for our anniversary season, opening the doors to Norwegian textile history, and highlighting the importance of tradition and heritage knowledge in a modern setting, says CEO of OsloRunway, Elin O. Carlsen.
When highly specialized experts meet high-tech machines
A lot has changed at the factory of 12000 square meters, which first opened even bigger in size back in 1879. Today, Dale of Norway employs about 75 people - spread out over the factory’s knitting room, sewing room, design and tech department, outlet shop, and admin offices as well as the marketing department.
- At one point, Dale used to be the largest textile mill in Norway, with a staff count of about a thousand. Today we’re still very local, and still highly specialized, which is exciting, says Singer, head of Customer Services.
Most of these people live locally, meaning themost time-consuming commute is to and fro Bergen, and most of these people possess specified expert knowledge that is invaluable to Dale of Norway and in this kind of work.
The level of specialization is thanks to a seamless collaboration between human and machine.
- At Dale you have employees who have worked 40 years and have loads of handcraft expertise at the tip of their fingers - aswell as high-tech machines that are not only ensuring efficient production, but that are smart and can easily be programmed, and allows for a lot of needed trial and error, explains Singer.
Longevity and craft pride
To Singer, who spends her working hours in the admin section of the factory when she’s not taking care of the guided groups, it’s not surprising that Dale’s set-up and handcrafted work impress the tourists and visiting guests.
- Going on these trips kind of gives you a window into a traditional practice in Norway, and a company which has got a very long history, but has a very modern iteration - we’re a modern textile factory and not still hand-knitting, we’ve gone with the times. I think people are very excited to experience that and connect with that - and seeing a sweater that they’ve owned and loved for years, and how it gets made, she says.
Singer also thinks this shows off the sense of stewardship that rules within Dale of Norway.
- The aspect of the brand being here before us - even those who have worked here 45 years - Dale existed a hundred years before that, and the hope is that it exists a hundred years more. So, we’re managing it now, but it's for a future generation that hopefully also gets to enjoy it, she says.
- Meaning we have a responsibility to kind of walk the line that I think Dale of Norway has walked very well since the beginning: between being a heritage brand based on traditional knitwear and also being innovative and thinking about technologies that allow us to not stay in the same place, she says.
Within the Dale of Norway staff, stories of longevity are common. Some of the people that have worked for decades might call it the only real job they’ve had; others are third or fourth generationemployees - like Singer herself - several met their spouses on the job.
- I think that’s also something that surprises people, and it’s also very important to the brand. This longevity, she says.
Trading Oslo for Dale to work with their passion
Marie Øydvin and Ingeborg Kvalnes are among the youngest staff at Dale. While managing the machines in the sewing room they’ve become friends and collaborators - but from before, they already had in common one, life-changing factor: moving from the capital for only one reason. To work at the Dale of Norway Factory.
- I believe knitwear and wool is something very exciting to work with. It’s possible to knit a garment into a shape, meaning there’s not as much cut-off as with other, woven textiles. The possibilities this brings combined with the durability of wool and its other, desirable characteristics is something that’s important to preserve as a technique, and also to reclaim, says Ingeborg Kvalnes, Product Developer Seam.
Marie Øydvin, Product Manager Seam, highlights the feeling of working for a company that holds values aligned with hers, while moving in the right direction when it comes to more sustainable practices fortoday and the future.
- It felt completely right to seek a place I think has many of the same values when it comes to sustainability and European production. It’s the reason why I chose to go in this direction, she explains.
- How would you describe working at Dale in one word?
- For me it’s got to be two contrasting words: tangible and versatile, says Kvalnes.
- It’s a hands-on, specific, tangible kind of job, working directly with the garments and the textiles, in production, but I also feel that it’s very versatile because we’re working at the factory and there are so many things happening at once. You kind of naturally get to take part in many steps of the process of making a sweater, she explains.
Øydvin’s word of choice is “instructive”.
- It’s a little clichéed, but it’s a fitting word because I truly feel that I learn so much here. Naturally, when it comes to the field of work and how a textile company works, but also on a personal level - due to moving from the other side of the country and trading the city life for a small village! All the challenges that go with it, make you learn a lot as a person, she shares.
Both encountered challenges in moving far away to work at the factory - some expected, others not. However, they both agree it makes sense to go all the way to pursue your passions and your values.
- It was important for me to also look outside of Oslo when I was applying for jobs. Since I really want to work with knitwear specifically, it was important to find the exact right place for that. To me, it felt more right to work at a factory than a small design office or something, says Kvalnes.
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The next generation is more conscious of handcraft
They have both noticed a rise in consciousness and popularity when it comes to physical, handcraft work. That might turn the current career trends around.
- I think the production team is an occupational group that isn’t very visible - the title of designer is very known, everybody has heard of it, and it’s also associated with a certain status. In my experience, it’s not always that visible how there are also a lot of other factors and people involved in the process of creating something. Perhaps young people today simply lack the knowledge about this job as a possibility, Øydvin says.
- There’s a lot of focus on education, and that you should have a theoretical background - but practical experience and expertise is very important too, no matter what. I think many people don’t know enough about the production of clothes - outside of learning to sew something from YouTube. The production of clothes and the whole textile industry remains a mythical thing, says Kvalnes.
Øydvin continues:
- One of the things I find so inspiring by working here is the pride that lies in the knowledge existing here, in the work everyone’s doing, and in the products we’re creating. The focus is on quality and that things should be rightly done. Those are values I believe to be very important - and you meet them everywhere here at Dale, when you talk to people, simply when you look around, she describes.
High-quality, Norwegian wool
An essential thing about Dale of Norway, is their use of high-quality, Norwegian wool. At least as much of it as they can, when they can.
Designer Ingrid Brandseth is all about Norwegian wool. It’s a fantastic material with top-tier qualities.
- Right now, there’s a common value in the air centered on being authentic and standing for who you are and what you believe in, not bending to fit in or to become something that’s maybe far from your original expression. Why should a brand try to be something else than what it is at its core? Which is why it’s so fantastic when Dale of Norway uses Norwegian wool - it’s a Norwegian product and it’s knitted here in Norway, she says.
She’s not the only one campaigning for Norwegian wool, far from it. In her field of work, the trends focusing on authenticity and more conscious choices are prominent. The younger generations are far more concerned about what’s revealed by the tag of a garment - and these attitudes are so wide-spread that they stretch beyond textile production and fashion.
Fast fashion is still very much alive, butwe’re supposed to be fighting against it, Brandseth reminds us.
The production process can be about two weeks to a couple of months long. It really depends. At Dale of Norway, time is gold.
- Do you ever have ideas that are impossible to realise?
- Well, I do sometimes have ideas that can’t be done - but ever since I started here, I’ve wanted to challenge a little bit what we think is possible and introduce things that are different from what’s been done before. I think we’ve by now learned that “everything works”, but what it really boils down to is whether it’s right for the Dale of Norway identity or not, she explains.
- As long as the issue is technical - about knitting technique or something mechanical with the machines - it’s fun for everyone involved to try to solve it, as a challenge. We’re making sure to stay open-minded, and that’s important, she explains.
For more information about the Oslo Runway 2025 Official Schedule, see https://www.oslorunway.no/program
Press inquiries:
sara@oslorunway.no
christine@dale.no
