History

Sieva designs' background

Sieva Design is a modern Sami handicraft and design business, that Sara Ellen Anne Buljo Eira established in 2019. Traditional Sami handicraft is the fundament of Sieva Design, where the work visualizes the story.

What is Sieva Design?

The word Sieva is an old Sami word. The word describes something that is especially beautiful, meaning finer than finest, or prettier than prettiest. The word SiEvA was also chosen because it consists of the initials of the owner.

Sieva Design is a business that creates Sami traditional clothes, and Sami inspired clothes adapted for the modern age. Products are made after traditional ways and methods, and the products are also customized through customers wishes. Ecological sustainability is characteristic for our products.

The commitment for traditional Sami handicraft is transferred from generation to generation.

Sara Ellen Anne spent most of her childhood in her mothers craftroom where she would observe her mother sewing. Shearing reindeer hide, that she herself learned from her mother at a young age, her daughters learnt from her as soon as they could hold scissors.

The same way their mother learnt from her mother , aunts, grandmothers and great grandmothers. This is how we preserve traditional crafting and knowledge of crafting from generation to generation. And this way traditional knowledge stays alive.

Our beautiful reindeer and way of living is our fundament and strength.

Sara Ellen Anne is a reindeer herder, together with her husband and their children, they work with their reindeer in the reindeer hearding district of Beaskáđas, that is located between Guovdageaidnu and Alta. Traditional knowledge is central for the families lifestyle when working with the reindeer and producing traditional Sami handicraft.

The beautiful nature gives strength and inspiration to invent new designs and shapes, when working with traditional materials, to produce traditional or more modern products and clothes. Modernised handicraft tells our story, and the products describe our way of living in Sapmi.

Educated by traditional Sami crafting, and through school.

Sara Ellen Anne has always had interest in traditional sami crafting. She knew from an early age that she wanted to attend a crafting school. And so she did. She got to be an apprentice of her mothers, Karen Marie Eira Buljo. With her mother’s good advice, she got her certificate of apprenticeship.

Growing up, Sara Ellen Anne got to craft and sow all she wanted to, and that’s how her interest for crafting grew. As a young woman she started to dream about owning and administrating her own crafting company. She was so lucky to have learnt crafting from her female relatives, allowing her to learn their ways and variations of crafting. She is thankful for these valuable lessons, and also happy she got to learn it, and keep them close to the heart forever.