Iris Hatverk Collection 2016
Brushes that give "hand-made" a new meaning
Iris hantverk has strong ties to and share their history with the Visually impaired organization in Sweden, SRF. In the 1900s century, Sweden began to change from being an agricultural country and develop into an industrial society. People moved to the cities - also this was the time when the labor movement emerged. In November 1870, Dr. Axel Beskov took the initiative of founding the Manilla School - a workhouse for visually impaired craftsmen in Stockholm. Initially there were nine people, most of them lived at the workhouse. The salary was 75 percent of product sales. Part of that went to pay the accommodation. Work began 6 am and ended at 9 in the evening. In 1889 a group of visually impaired craftsmen founded a political independent organization, "De blindas förening", whose purpose was to encourage, the otherwise much isolated group of visually impaired, to actively participate in society in different social contexts such as musical events and lectures, but primarily to work for equal access to employment and live by their work. A large part of DBF work came to revolve around the development of support for the artisans and their ability to live off their work. In 1902 DBF decided that materials for brush binding and basket making would be purchased collectively in order to reduce prices and be sold to the visually impaired craftsmen for purchase price. In 1906 a property was bought on Majorsgatan 12, it accommodated a number of functions: office and library, brush binding factory, warehouse for raw materials, sales of raw material and a shop. These undertakings made the foundation for what Iris hantverk is today.
