introductionTen people, ten stories, ten worlds on the edge of Earth, the Westfjords of Iceland. What does life look like through the window of the Westfjords?
The project The full story: Dynamic cultures of the Westfjords is a collaboration between an anthropologist from Ísafjörður and a design student from Reykjavík over the summer of 2022. They set out to study the outlook on life of the inhabitants of the Westfjords and how the area has an impact on their lives.
Qualitative research based on interviews, field notes and visuals was used. Different population centers with a considerable geographical distance between them were taken into account. The stories come from Patreksfjörður, Strandir, Ísafjörður and Flateyri. The main findings of the study were that, although the interviewees lived diverse lives, they had in common the experience of living life on their own terms. Community, family, and the freedom to create were factors that were very important to the interviewees and something they emphasized in their daily lives.
In the interviews, it became clear that there was a special feeling that came with living in the Westfjords that was difficult to put your finger on. This summer's research is an attempt to put a finger on this feeling. Together, the stories paint a clear picture of life through the eyes of the residents of the Westfjords.
The grocery store is a social center here, the hot tub a parliament. Tomatoes grow in sync with the stream in the garden, and the dinner is cooked on an open fire when the stove fails. The kindergarten is next to the workplace, which is placed next to the home, and the key is left in the register of the car in case someone needs it. Ideas are born in the safe haven of the mountains, and brought to life by the community. Far away from the noise of the city, people have found ways to change the tempo of their daily life and march to the beat of their own drum.
As the communities in the Westfjords are quite small, the value of each inhabitant becomes bigger in turn. Every individual has their own unique perspective which shines a light on the community, making it grow and flourish.
So we have gathered ten stories of everyday life
that originate in the fjords. Ten unique perspectives on life
that together create a window to peek through
and get a glimpse of the world in the Westfjords.
The archery
of ideas
“I never really saw myself as someone who would make pancakes. But once we went in and started the food truck, it seemed very natural. I might do something different tomorrow though. The tempo is different here. I was born in Croatia and studied information science in the capital city, Zagreb. My partner and I lived there for over a decade. I feel like, in Croatia, there is a pattern you are raised to follow. You go to school to find a good job, which always seems to be in an office. Then you have a nice safe job that checks all the boxes. But there was just something missing.
My partner and I wanted some kind of change from our daily lives, jobs and the routines we had there. That was why we came here, to this beautiful country. To try and find other things in life. It is definitely the right decision. I feel happy, safe and calm here. This is a healthy and functioning community. People are always willing to help and if you want to create something for yourself and the community, it is always welcomed. People will make space for it and support you on your way. For instance, we started an archery group one winter. There was just some equipment lying around that nobody was using. I did not know anything about archery, but it all worked out and we had a great time. People can get lethargic here in the winter time, so it is important that someone takes the initiative and plans these get-togethers. I am definitely invested in seeing the community here get better and grow. Even if my contribution is only like, one percent of something, that is fine. I am happy to contribute, for sure.”
These are the words of Aleksandar Kuzmanic, a Croatian living in Hólmavík. Alexandar and his partner are small business owners. They make delicious crêpes for the people of Hólmavík, and are currently planning to open a brewery with the participation of the community. Aleksandar has lived in Iceland for the past few years and is starting to enjoy the peace that the Westfjords bring.
On our own terms
“We bought this house and moved in a year ago. The apartment was in dire need of renovation and slowly, but surely, we have been working on it. We decided to give ourselves time to do it, but there have been all sorts of distractions pulling us away from the build-up. For example, we bought this amazing stove and ended up waiting nine months for it. In the meantime, we just had one primus in the kitchen, a BBQ grill, and a pan that is used over open fires. We cooked a lot in the garden on the fire. For Easter, we went to Sweden and took a course to increase our knowledge on how to cook on an open fire. It was just out in the forest. Throughout these nine months, we mostly cooked in the garden. It surely took more time. We had to start a fire and mostly ended up cooking stew. It felt a bit like we were Bjartur í Sumarhúsum*. People around us were like, "Dear god, how can you live like this?" That just made us more excited to keep on doing it. We do need the challenge in life and want to keep on doing things on our own terms.”
*Bjartur í Sumarhúsum is a character in the novel Independent People written by the author Halldór Laxness. He is depicted to be stubborn and independent.
This story belongs to Alda Hrannardóttir from Patreksfjörður. She lives in a bright apartment that she is renovating along with her husband. She is very active in the social life of the town, does volunteer work, and has a particular interest in cultural events. In her life she tries to keep her life active and exciting. Taking on new challenges is very important to her, for example, by signing up for a PhD in her later years, going as an exchange student, or cooking in her garden for nine months.
“If you want anything done, you just gather the people. That is the mindset you need to have when you live in the Westfjords. We have had so many amazing events. One of the most memorable ones to me was when the main street was dug apart. All plumbing underneath it was damaged. For a whole winter, we had to walk it in hiking boots. It was not fixed until a year later. When the asphalt had been laid, I created an event on Facebook. I named it “In your dancing shoes to the cinema.” Many ladies joined as we strolled down the street towards the movies in our fancy shoes. We noticed that the men from the Lions Club in town had gathered by the cinema. They greeted us with a red carpet and a glass of sparkling wine, then joined us for the movies. Together, we celebrated the inventiveness of the event and the new asphalt.”
In your dancing shoes to the cinema
Guðrún Anna the storyteller is an inhabitant of the small town of Patreksfjörður. She was raised in Ísafjörður but moved away for higher education like so many others. After living in various places over the years, she moved to Patreksfjörður in 2013 along with her family. To her, community participation is important. Inhabitants' contributions matter to the community and the skills you possess are quickly noticed and utilized. Anyone can make an impact and small events like walking down the main street in your fancy shoes can leave a mark.
“There is more time and space to create something by yourself here. We work in shifts, which gives us the time to do what we are passionate about. We don't know what we are doing, we're just having fun, creating, and meeting new people.
When I was younger, there was no music school here. I was very interested in music, so I ended up knocking on the door of the organist in town, asking if he could teach me to play the piano. By doing so, new doors swung wide open. In the year2006, when I was 16 years old, I moved away to go to high school. In high school, I was able to join a choir which opened a door to music for me. Now when I look back, the source for most of my songs and photographic work has its foundations here. I have always been able to reach back to my roots in Patreksfjörður for inspiration. “My heart beats a bit here—I feel a connection to nature and some nostalgia.”
The source
of music
These are the words of the artist, Guðný Gígja Skjaldardóttir, who lives in Patreksfjörður. Gígja moved to Reykjavík to go to high school when she was 16 years old and didn’t move back to Patreksfjörður until 2020. The decision to move back was based on many things, but the possibility to slow down in life, not having to work as much as in the city, and having time and space to create were big factors in her decision. Gígja is a musician and photographer. She runs Flak, a multipurpose artistic hall, bar, and restaurant with her partner.
Into the world
and home again
“All this traveling has altered my way of thinking. In high school, I focused on business subjects. I thought I would work in a bank. But then I went as an exchange student to Brazil for a year. It was a total turning point in my life and affected everything in it. My vision went from Bolungarvík to Brazil and I suddenly saw that the world was so much more than just Ísafjörður and Bolungarvík. While I was there, I caught the travel bug. After four years of traveling, I started to wonder what to do next and ended up studying social anthropology. If I had not traveled, I certainly wouldn't have ended up in that field. It laid the foundation for who I am today and how I conduct my life. But on all my travels, I was always searching for something that felt exotic. I was searching for interesting people, mountains, and fjords. At one moment, I was somewhere in Argentina when I thought to myself: “Wait a minute, Haukur. You know you have all of this at home.” I don’t have to go all the way to South America to find great communities and beautiful nature. It is all already there. So when I finished my master´s degree, I decided to go back home. Give it a try to live here - and here I am still, nine years later.”
This is the story of Haukur Sigurðsson from Ísafjörður. He is an anthropologist and lives with his wife, Vaida, and their two sons in a multi-generational family home built in 1890. They have spent the last years renovating it. Haukur and his wife are adventurous people. For example, when they moved back to the Westfjords from Norway, they lived in a Mongolian yurt for a year. For Haukur, it is important to have a good home, raise happy kids and belong to a creative and interesting society where he and his wife have the opportunity and freedom to do what they want in life.
“When I first came to The Westfjords, I went to Hornstrandir for a week with a fox expert and a small group to monitor arctic foxes. We arrived by boat and were dropped off on shore with our camping gear. Each day we would hike to a den and observe the activity of the foxes. One day, while sitting next to a den that was situated just above a small lake, I noticed two swans. Simultaneously they took flight and circled the lake. Before they landed I saw two other swans flying in their direction. What came next was incredible. The first two swans began honking loudly, chasing the others away, and then they gracefully landed back on their lake.The swans were defending their territory and there was nothing like it. Nothing like defending your territory. Once again, I was able to sit quietly in this magnificent landscape where nature was doing its thing. It was a powerful, authentic experience and it puts things in perspective.
Flateyri and this fjord are very special to me. I do a walk three to four times a week out to the end of the fjord. There is magic there that I cannot put my finger on. Something about this place just feels like home.”
Nothing but
nature doing its thing
These words belong to Jean Larson, an artist and inhabitant of Flateyri. Jean is originally from the USA but in the past years, she has been living in Flateyri, France, and the USA. Last summer, Jean completed a project called the “Birdwalk”, which involves painting birds on houses in Flateyri. One can discover the birds throughout the village. It can be said that with her art, Jean has been able to enrich life in this small town. She has experienced many things in her life and traveled widely. However, according to her, the relationship she has with the Westfjords and Flateyri is unique. The connection she feels to the community and the area gives her great tranquility and well-being.
“My family has been running this store for 108 years, which is considered special in Iceland. The store, as well as my great grandparents´ apartment, have remained unchanged since they passed away in 1950. I can walk right into their home even though I have never met them. They both passed away before I was born, but you can still sense them. You can get an idea about the kind of people they were. I can sit in my great grandfather's chair, read the books he read, read what he had written. I can go through all their belongings that have been left in their place and have been there since they moved into the house in 1915.
When I stand in the store, I stand in their footsteps. Older people would come in and tell me stories about them. It is of great value to me to get these stories— to know where I come from, and be able to trace myself this far back in time. The frame of time becomes strange. I have stopped thinking in years, instead, I like to think in decades. What I do now will be observed a century from now. So, for instance, if I put up this shelf now, will it look cool in 2100? We must think about the fact that our time is the past for the next generation. What do we want to leave behind?
We made a sealed time capsule in 2018 that will be opened in 2118. Everyone who lived in town came together and put some belongings into the box. Letters, photographs, and drawings were all put together in a box, which we then sealed. Underneath the sealed time box is a time box that stays open. Anyone can put things into that box.
The idea was born because I thought it would be fun to look at it in a hundred years. I am always observing things that are hundred years old in my bookstore. Old diaries from my great grandfather. I love to observe old photographs and I want the future generations to also be able to enjoy observing things from our time.”
Our time is the past of future generations
Eyþór Jóvinsson is a business owner, filmmaker, and an architect living in the small town of Flateyri. He was born in Flateyri but moved away for further education. Over the years, he has lived in Reykjavík or Flateyri, depending on projects or studies. Today, Eyþór has fully settled in Flateyri with his family. He is a storyteller and likes to incorporate stories into every project he takes on. He believes in the fact that if you help others and elevate the community around you, you are also elevating yourself.
“I do really love my home. But I would probably also feel at home in another house in a similar area. Knowing that my kids and family are at peace here brings me happiness. I think the people you love are what make a home, rather than the walls. Being a mother is the most important to me today, I am very aware that time is limited and the kids are only small for so long. But our interests all seem to connect back to nature. I was raised on a farm and I have always felt that utilizing nature is something that I should do in my life and in my future. It gives me joy to be able to live in harmony with nature, and to know that I reap as I sow; if we nurture nature, it will take care of us in turn. The relationship is very romantic, but it is a practical one too, and it works. I also know that it is not a given that nature is always kind to you.
Living in such close contact to the elements, an avalanche or a landslide, has given me tremendous respect for nature. It has made me aware of the fact that nature both gives and takes.”
Nature and nurture
These are the words of Guðfinna Lára Hávarðardóttur.
She holds a degree in agricultural science and is a farmer
in Strandir. Her love for nature influenced her decision of becoming a farmer. She describes it as never ending 24-hour work, but with some flexibility. She feels that farm life gives her the flexibility to perform the role of motherhood to her best abilities and while her children are young, that is the most important role she has in life. Farm work
makes her happy and gives her this connection to nature described above.
“This is a place where I can bloom as a writer. I decide myself how I would like to spend my days. Before I came here, I used to always try to fit into this imaginary puzzle. I thought that if I tried hard enough to fit in, then life would be good. But it all changed when I moved to Iceland, because I did not know the rules, what was acceptable and what was not. I had to make my own puzzle. I was able to drop any act I had on before, and just do my own thing. I knew that I could always return home if I wanted to. That was when I started to write again. Then, I had the idea of creating writing workshops.
To my surprise people showed up and they would bring their friends the next time. Even though I did it first and foremost because of my own passion for writing. Instead of trying to fit into someone else's position, I offered people my ideas, all naked and vulnerable. I dared to take a risk, but I soon realized that, as long as I am just being me, there is actually no way of losing or failing. I can always find another town, another time, or another angle. But luckily, the writing workshops were very well received. People kept on coming back and I kept getting inspired from them. It has made me feel like I really belong, to a level that digs deeper than simply being accepted as a coworker, a neighbor, or a kid's mom in the kindergarten. I also bring value on top of that to the community, something very important and beneficial. That makes me proud.”
The writer who
grew roots
Greta Lietuvninkaite-Suscicke is a Lithuanian writer living in Ísafjörður. In Lithuania, Greta found her dream job within the field she had studied in. After two years of working and climbing up the corporate ladder, she felt that she had gotten stuck in a hamster wheel. When she had the opportunity to move to a small town in Iceland, she jumped on it. For her, it is important to be able to create and have space and time to grow as a person. Today, she finds herself to be in the right place for this phase of her life.
Then four of them
showed up
“I remember when I moved here. It was the day before Þorláksmessa (23. December). We brought all of the furniture here but we could not bring them into the house. So we called people, a man in Drangsnes, and I asked him if he could lend us a hand to carry everything inside. “Is it okay if I come in 30 minutes?” he asked. When he arrived, he was not alone. They just showed up, the four of them. He had gone and gathered people. I thought it was amazing, so I kept on talking about it. I’ve gotten more used to this helpfulness now.”
These are the words of Kristín Einarsdóttir. Kristín lives in a small bay in Strandir along with her husband and takes pleasure in every day of her life. According to Kristín, she has had an amazing life in which many things gave her joy—in both her personal and work life. However, nothing compares to her life in her little bay. She had never gotten as much peace to her mind nor had she been able to enjoy each day as much as she does there. To her, community matters and she strongly holds the opinion that no one is more important than another. Everyone is equal.
Meet the Team
Mjólkurfernusögur is the fruit of a cultural identity research by With Love, Iceland’s multi-disciplinary team, Arndís Dögg Jónsdóttir (folklore and information science) and Svava Þorsteinsdóttir (product design).
During the summer of 2022, the duo traveled around the Westfjords and interviewed local residents about life in the countryside. This collection of stories explore the deeper layers of social life and culture in the Westfjords.
Interviews and writting: Arndís Dögg Jónsdóttir & Svava Þorsteinsdóttir
Illustrations: Svava Þorsteinsdóttir
Creative director, webpage designer and editor: Jamie Lee
Qualitative research supervisor: Jón Jónsson
This project is made possible by Nýsköpunarsjóður námsmanna, a student innovation fund.
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Folklorist, Information ScienceArndís is a folklorist, adventure guide and master’s student in Information science. Raised in the Westfjords of Iceland, she moved away in her early 20s to pursue her dream of travelling the world and working as an adventure guide. For 8 years she studied and worked as a guide, travelled and lived by the minimalistic philosophy that if you own more stuff than you can fit in your car, you own too much. In 2020 she felt the need to move back to the Westfjords, slow down and simplify her life. Now she lives in Bolungarvík with her husband and son, where they are renovating a small but cosy little house from 1931 and is trying her absolute best to keep her life as stress-free and relaxed as possible!
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Product DesignerThe designer of the duo is Svava Þorsteinsdóttir. Svava is studying product design at the Icelandic University of Arts and lives in Reykjavík. In her previous work, Svava has often cultivated a poetic approach to her subjects, focusing on what often misses the eye, hidden in the space between words. When Svava is not on the road, she is likely to be found at the nearest café, reading, drawing up her ideas or writing poetry.