Come to Bjarni's annual Christmas market
Bjarni Sigurðsson's ceramics are often featured in Bo Bedre magazine. He has maintained his connections in Denmark since studying there in the late 1990s. His annual Christmas market at his studio at Hrauntunga 20 will be held from 21st to 24th November.
Bjarnir invites you to the Christmas market
Bjarni Sigurðsson's ceramics often feature in the magazine Bo Bedre. He has maintained his connections in Denmark since studying there in the late 1990s. His annual Christmas market at his studio at Hrauntunga 20 is a tradition that many residents of Hafnarfjörður enjoy time and again. All welcome.
Bjarne's ceramic products are well-known and sold all over the world, for example in Illum Bolighus and Designer Zoo in Denmark, where he trained. It proved to be the right decision to leave the bank and start working with clay.
The ceramic sourdough bread
„I attended an evening course in sculpture and drawing alongside my banking job. Then we were given clay to work with, and it was an explosion. I thought: This is what I'm going to do,“ describes Bjarni, who gave up his poetry in the late 1990s. There was no turning back.
„Now this is my livelihood,“ says Bjarni, who is currently making products for the Australian shop Tekstura. Despite being busy, he doesn't miss his annual Christmas market, which is always held on the third weekend in November, this time from 21st to 24th November. Preparations begin in the spring, and he offers a discount of up to 25% on all products.
„People who collect my ceramics flock to the place.“ Bjarni produces nearly 15,000 items each year.
Cookies and raffles
Bjarni is from Reykjavík but moved to Hafnarfjörður in 2007 after years in Denmark. Right from his first Christmas, he held the Christmas market, which has grown and thrived ever since. „I always bake biscuits, all homemade, and serve them to guests. There's light food, hot dogs, drinks and various things for the children,“ says Bjarni, who not only treats his guests well with goodies but also offers them the chance to take part in a raffle.
„A lucky visitor wins a box of ceramics every day, sometimes worth up to 200,000 krónur. I don't pick the lucky winner myself, but get someone else to do it, all according to the rules and regulations – so as not to favour anyone,“ he says, laughing. „All the children who come also get a pottery pack from under the Christmas tree.“
The Christmas market has become a tradition for many. „One twenty-year-old first came to me when she was three. She has come to every Christmas market since and loves it. I didn't realise what a tradition the market had become and considered cancelling it during Covid. There was an uproar, because this is where people get into the Christmas spirit.“
Where and when?
Thursday to Sunday
21-24 November, 10 am - 6 pm at Hrauntunga 20.