Short, dark days and obscenely cold weather from October to April make Minnesota winters brutally unforgiving at times, especially as December festivities die down, leaving many of us coping with Winter, rather than thriving in it.
My incredibly talented friend Melissa Coleman of The Faux Martha has been throwing Nordic parties (on a smaller scale) the last few winters bringing friends together to find light in darkness and creating a reason to celebrate when hibernation is our natural tendency.
This year Melissa masterminded her annual Nordic party, but on a much larger scale for our Minneapolis community to gather, eat, drink, craft and embrace the season.
The Nordic party was hosted at Kate Arends' Studio 125 where Melissa had brought in hygge-forward elements like candlelight and warm throws + cozy textures. She also hung candle wreaths in the windows and peppered the walls with origami paper stars.
Quince created the most delicious Scandi-inspired spread, and Vikre Distillery wet our whistles with their new rose cocktail, Frenchie (which is incredible, BTW! Strong & craveworthy).
Fairbault Woolen Mills and Minnetonka Moccasins sponsored the event and generously wrapped everyone up in scarves and slippers to take home!
Melissa headed a pointelle-style gingerbread cookie decorating station in Studio 125's kitchen space, and I taught origami star folding as an inexpensive way to decorate our places post-Holiday.
Towards the end of the event, we all came together for Kate's engaging and honest talk on ways of managing SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) + mental health, and general well-being this time of year.
And last but not least, the entire event was captured by the insanely talented Jennifer of Sage E Imagery.
It was a blast of an afternoon! I was lucky to get to share my love of crafting, connect with a few former colleagues I'd lost touch with over the years (!!), and meet new friends too. Thank you to our fearless leader, Melissa, for brainchild-ing this afternoon of fun and wellness and bringing us all together. It just the boost I needed!