The Treasures of Fornubúðir: Gára and Sign
Crafts and jewellery. A number of businesses have set up in Fornubúðir at the harbour in Hafnarfjörður. There you can find the gems Gára and Sign, which are featured in the Christmas issue.
The companies in Fornubúðir
Numerous businesses have set up in Fornubúðir and it's well worth a visit. These include Gára Handverk and Sign, which are featured in the Christmas issue of the Hafnarfjörður municipal magazine.
Open at the Gára Handicraft workshop
„It's cosy and lovely here,“ says Asta Henriksdóttir, one of five artists who have the Gáru Handverk studio at Flensborg Harbour. They come in in the mornings and stay until late in the day. „We're happy to welcome visitors when we're here,“ she says.
Gára Handicrafts is holding open days twice before Christmas. The last weekend in November and the first weekend in December. But what can you find there? „Pottery. Bowls, cups, plates, vases, candle holders. Very varied,“ says Asta. „The five of us all work with clay. It's a bit of a cut-throat competition,“ says Asta, laughing.
Everyone is welcome and there is usually someone on site between 11 am and 4 pm, except on Fridays.
Gára Handverk has its workshop at Flensburg Harbour. The workshop's open days will be on the last weekend in November and the first in December.
Gára Handverk has its workshop at Flensburg Harbour. The workshop's open days will be on the last weekend in November and the first in December. Elsa, Edda, Asta, Elsa and Jóna Steiney. Photos/Óli Már
Sign's world of adventure
„The set-up at Fornubúðir is the showroom. People who step into the shop, which is inside the workshop, watch us working. That's part of the experience,“ says goldsmith Sigurður Ingi Bjarnason, who makes jewellery under the Sign label.
The jewellery is available nationwide, as well as in the duty-free shop and at the Blue Lagoon, but the heart of the business is at Fornubúðir 12 on the harbour front in Hafnarfjörður.
„The property has been in the family for a long time. There were facilities here for mackerel fishermen and this is where my dad and his brothers kept their fishing gear,“ Sigurður Ingi. „My dad and his brothers actually owned the flat I first moved into.“ Christmas is the time. „We here at Sign are the bringers of joy in the run-up to Christmas, and you are all welcome.“
- The shop is open every weekday from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.
Þórdís, Dúa, Sigurður Ingi and Kristín at Sign.