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Handwoven rugs from Nepal now sold in Tower

Company features no child labor, plus housing, day care, school for workers’ families

Jodi Summit
Posted 12/10/16

TOWER- Marit and Orlyn Kringstad have lived in Tower less than a year, but the couple is already making a mark on this small town.

Orlyn has become known for his plans to develop the area around …

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Handwoven rugs from Nepal now sold in Tower

Company features no child labor, plus housing, day care, school for workers’ families

Posted

TOWER- Marit and Orlyn Kringstad have lived in Tower less than a year, but the couple is already making a mark on this small town.

Orlyn has become known for his plans to develop the area around the Tower harbor, and now Marit has re-opened a favorite spot on Tower’s Main Street.

Nordic Home North is now open in the spot formerly occupied by North Country Quilts. The couple’s strong Norwegian roots are apparent in the selection of items in the shop, as is their love of the Northwoods. The shop features rugs and gift items, with a focus on Nordic and Northwoods-themed gift items, along with a line of custom-produced hand-knotted woolen rugs from Nepal.

The empty storefront was the perfect spot for her store, Marit said, noting she night not have reopened her shop if the building hadn’t been for sale. Marit formerly operated a similar shop in the Twin Cities.

The rugs are clearly the shop’s centerpiece, and feature one-of-a-kind designs that can be ordered in custom colors, shapes, and sizes to match any décor.

“The rugs are why we got into the business,” she said. The couple had been on a trek in Nepal, and had visited rug factories that used child labor, a common practice in that country.

“We came home and wanted to find a better way,” she said, “and then we heard about a company called Rug Mark (now GoodWeave).”

GoodWeave® aims to stop child labor in the carpet industry and to replicate its market-based approach in other sectors. GoodWeave was founded on a simple premise: If enough people demand certified child-labor-free rugs, manufacturers will employ only skilled, adult artisans, and children will no longer be exploited in the carpet industry.

In addition, Marit said, GoodWeave provides housing for its workers and day care facilities for workers’ children. They also work to provide educational opportunities for children who formerly worked in the rug industry. The couple has stayed in touch with the founders, and Orlyn has visited the new factories in Nepal.

Each rug tells a story. The rugs are thick and plush, or soft and subtle, and are hand-knotted in Nepal using 100-percent Tibetan wool, which is hand spun. Rug collections feature numerous designers from around the world and range from Contemporary, Native American, Nordic, Traditional and more. Each rug features the Rug Mark Label that ensures no child labor was used in its production.

The shop and the website feature a catalogue with all the available rug designs, that can be ordered in any of hundreds of available colors. In addition, customers can actually design their own rug. One rug in the shop was designed using Jim Brandenburg’s famous photograph of a wolf peaking out from behind a tree.

“It takes 12-16 weeks for a custom rug order,” Marit said, but the shop also has a nice selection of ready-to-sell designs on display.

Rugs can also be designed to fit specific rooms. Marit and Orlyn showed photos of a extra-large geometrically-shaped rug designed especially for a room in a Frank Lloyd Wright home. Some rugs, they noted, are used as wall hangings.

While rugs are the shop’s centerpiece, there are plenty of other home décor and gifts available.

“Not everybody coming in will buy a rug,” she said.

Giftware items include home and kitchen gifts, imported tableware and dishes, glassware, and other Nordic imports. Other items feature more Northwoods-y themes. The shop also features handmade cutting and lefse boards from Tower’s Lloyd McIntire. The couple is looking for a local artisan interested in producing 1800s-style rustic furniture for sale in the shop. Their former shop carried several lines of imported Norwegian furniture, and a few remaining pieces are available for sale.

Marit said the giftware items will be continually updated.

The shop opened the first week in December, and had a steady stream of customers.

The Scandinavian straw hearts, kitchen gifts, and pillows all have been fast sellers so far, Marit said.

The shop will be open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through Dec. 17. The shop will reopen in mid-January, and tentatively keep weekend hours through the winter. The shop will be open by appointment, year round. Hours will be posted on the website at www.nordic-home.com. The shop can also be reached at 218-753-3313 or by email at marit@nordic-home.com.

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