Frank and Regine Juhls

Frank and Regine Juhls were true pioneers who started out empty-handed to build up something in the wilderness. In the Fifties there were no roads across the tundra yet - not even a path to where they wanted to build. And therein lay the challenge. At first the building materials had to be rowed over a river and then carried up a mountain. With indefatigable pleasure in their work the two of them put up a house which gives the impression of having been built over several generations.

   

It was profound interest in the life of the nomads that encouraged people from far away to settle among them. At that time tourists weren't even thought of. Gold- and silversmiths were unknown here. Because of their unsettled style of life it was difficult for the Laps to develop a complicated craft that would have required fixed workshops. Nevertheless the Laps had centuries old traditions concerning the wearing of particular jewellery which they acquired through trade. Driving the Laps' enthusiasm for self-adornment to greater heights and thereby taking into account the particular ideas of the Samit is still an important task for this workshop - the first of its kind in all of Lapland.

  

Regine and Frank Juhls are, however, modern artists. They work enjoys international acclaim. He paints - she creates sculptured jewellery. Both of them are inspired by immense, untouched Nature. Most important for them has always been the structural development of the house. In this it was very important for them to include the surrounding countryside of gentle slopes. Thus, for example, the roofs spread out over the variously-shaped rooms like snowdrifts over the Tundra...

      

Yet perhaps it is because of the atmosphere inside the building that people from distant lands make the long journey here. Not only does it provide a framework for the jewellery and artistic craft, which in themselves would be reason enough to visit this house, but also there is a special mood that permeates all of the rooms. You feel as if you are participating in the unusual life of a family whilst at the same time discovering yourself.

  

Amongst other things the house contains the first small collection of older Lap utensils. Alongside their own work they also display a fine selection of Nordic art in a variety of materials which are offered for sale.

 

Then you are taken by surprise when you see the fantastically decorated rooms of the 80's. Here selected handicrafts from the other side of the world are on display. For once, the visitor is presented with arts and crafts from a global perspective. In order to increase his appreciation for this he should ask to be told the story of how an interest in nomadic cultures led the Juhls family via the Laps to other nomadic peoples and their forms of self-expression. - These were key experiences which also made their mark on the unique architecture of the house. After walking round you may well feel as if you were in a small world of its own. Many a person then thinks about the unexpected opposites it thrives on: - the simple and the complicated; the familiar and the exotic; the old and the new; - Nature and Culture... here the contrasts merge in a rare harmony.