About us

My father looked somewhat doubtful as he studied the first 150 Skäggtomtar I had just finished and lined up in front of him.
“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “You have to sell them too.”

Several hundred thousand gnomes later, he no longer doubted either my ability to make them or their ability to find a home.

It all began at the kitchen sink. I worked wool by hand with water and soap, shaping the first felted hats with their long, tapered tops – and earning some seriously aching muscles in the process. There was no plan and no strategy. Just curiosity, persistence and a strong desire to create something of my own.

The very first gnomes were small, entirely felted and, to be honest, rather ugly. Yet they found their buyers – around fifty of them at a Christmas market in Gislaved, Sweden. That was where something began to take shape.

At the time, Åsas Tomtebod did not exist. It was just me and my gnomes.

Over the years, the Skäggtomte gradually took shape, developing into a distinctive design that at the time could not be found elsewhere: a pared-back Swedish Christmas gnome defined by its hat, prominent nose and beard, with no visible face. Over time, this original design became influential. Today, many Christmas gnomes share this distinctive expression – an expression that began with those early handmade Skäggtomtar.

Everything changed when we exhibited at the Formex design fair in 2000. What had until then been a personal craft was presented in a much larger setting – and proved that it belonged there. NK in Stockholm was among our first major retailers, and that relationship continues to this day. The gnomes had found a place not only in our own shop and at local markets, but also in professional retail environments far beyond Småland.

For us, continuing in the same spirit has always been the natural choice: working by hand, using natural materials and respecting both the materials and the process. Many variations have grown from the original design, but every gnome that leaves us carries the same foundation of craftsmanship and expression.

Today, Åsas Tomtebod is a craft company with roots in Småland, Sweden, and our gnomes have found homes around the world. They are available through a small number of carefully selected retailers – including NK, Illums Bolighus and Heath Ceramics – and are chosen by people who appreciate natural materials, craftsmanship and a quiet, distinctive design that speaks for itself.

More than three decades later, we remain just as committed to the process, the materials and the design. That is where everything begins – and where it continues.

Åsas Tomtebod AB

Gnejsvägen 9

SE-224 78 Lund

Sweden

info@tomtebod.se

+46 (0)371-98008