MY PERSONAL STORY

I love designing and letting textiles come to life, as well as building new houses and pretty much everything related to crafts. Initially, it was weaving that captured my interest.

I graduated as a craftsman from Capellagården with a specialization in weaving and as a handcraft teacher from Skals with a focus on weaving and knitting. I published my first weaving book, "Woven Scarves," in 1998 – at just 25 years old. It still happens that I meet people who wear my designs from that time, and it makes me happy!

I was involved in starting "The Experimental Textile School" on Djursland in 1995 and worked there for 7 years. During those years, I discovered how textiles and handcraft can liberate people. The experience of immersing oneself in handiwork and forgetting time and place – just being happy. It's this feeling that, at that time, I didn't have much theoretical knowledge about, but it's what always draws me back and makes me miss having craft in my hands.

Gradually, I wanted to have scientific answers to why we become so joyful and content when creating with our hands. I wanted to understand "what is creativity." This led me to a desire to study psychology to find out how to explain the joy of handcraft and what effect designing and creating something physical has on people. I dreamt of "having a bigger public voice about creativity" because someone needed to advocate for why we should make textiles – that it really holds value and isn't just pastime.

This journey led me to a Ph.D., which ended up being about entrepreneurship – how one goes from having an idea to acting on it. The overarching theory of developing entrepreneurship is called "entrepreneurship didactics and the push method. 

This took me far from being a craftsman and into the world of research, becoming a academic leader at Aarhus University and a research leader at VIA UC.

But I wanted to combine my expertise! Today, I dedicate all my time to developing the field of Craft Psychology – the part of psychology that describes the health benefits of engaging in craft.

I do this through education, workshops, and research/publications.

Privately, I live with Hans Henrik Knoop, a lecturer at Aarhus University. I have two boys – Johannes and Peter. In the picture, I am sitting at our new cabin in Ry, a place I've been searching for for 15 years! And there, I am extremely content with life :-)