Your Story, Our Craft

A prominent local doctor once shared a story from his younger years, describing the challenges of starting his practice and frequent moves to different communities. The constant relocation became particularly challenging with two young children, and even more traumatic as they reached school age.  The young doctor sent his daughter and son to spend “moving” week at grandma and grandpa’s so the doctor and his wife could make the transition as efficiently and quickly as possible.  The children knew what was going on and had been quite irritable and anxious for the elderly grandparents. 

"After a well-deserved dinner and expressing their gratitude to the grandparents, the couple returned, anxious to introduce their children to the new home.  The children, tired and irritable from the journey, dragged their feet through the new house. Their parents, brimming with hopeful anticipation, watched as their faces fell with each room revealed. Dissatisfaction deepened with every turn until they reached the children's bedrooms. Initially, the rooms elicited little reaction. But then, their eyes widened as they saw them: their familiar, solid wooden beds, transported from each previous home. These were not grand or ornate beds, but they represented something far more valuable. The soft, slightly overstuffed mattresses and sturdy frames held the comforting echoes of countless nights, whispers of bedtime stories, and the embrace of childhood safety. Without a word, the children crawled into their old beds, snuggled under the sheets, and found immediate peace.  

 

Those beds became a symbol of stability and safety for every move they had to make. 

The doctor eventually established a stable practice in our community, and the children blossomed, attending college and then venturing out on their own. The beloved bedrooms, steeped in memories, became warm havens for guests and, eventually, for the doctor's own grandchildren. Through it all, the beds remained, silent testaments to a lifetime of shared experiences. Years later, as retirement approached and downsizing became an unavoidable reality, the thought of dismantling those beds, of simply carrying them out to the curb or donating them, felt like severing a vital connection to their past. The task was emotionally wrenching. As he reluctantly began to break down one of the frames for the last time, a small, almost imperceptible etching caught his eye: the word 'Home' carved into the headboard by his son years ago. This simple word, a powerful symbol of their journey, brought a lump to his throat and tears to his eyes. He couldn't part with it. Instead, he sought out the artisans at “Holtetajet,” known for their skill in transforming cherished objects into new vessels for memories, to create a beautiful flowerpot from the very wood of that irreplaceable headboard. Now, this unique flowerpot stands as a living testament to their family's journey, a portable emblem of 'home' that continues to travel with them, carrying the essence of their past into every new future chapter.