Fragments of Emma's life, documented during Bolette's visit to Emma in Nordvest, Copenhagen, in May 2026. "My Muse" is presented through the lens of Bolette Nord, founder of Bolet.
Emma opens the door to the apartment she shares with her husband and their two children. Before I meet Emma, I’m greeted by the scent of freshly baked cookies. Then comes a hug. Her hair smells almost as sweet as the kitchen itself.
For what must be the 101st time, she is baking the same cookies. Chocolate, sugar, butter, and flour. Nothing more complicated than that.
With my cookie, she serves a hand-brewed coffee made from beans sourced from a newly founded roastery. She prepares it thoughtfully, telling me that it is usually Emil who makes the good coffee at home. But this coffee is perfect. The ingredients are perfect.
Emma is a craftswoman. With a background in graphic design, she has found her canvas in the worn shirt, the hole in a pair of jeans, the jacket that has already lived a life. With needle, thread, and a keen eye for colour and composition, she gives each garment a patch and a new story. Her repairs are never hidden. They are highlighted, becoming small works of art.
On her website, she writes about her desire to bring people together through craftsmanship and to inspire more people to repair their own clothes. Because the more of us who know how to mend, the more garments we can care for. It’s that simple. That is also why she hosts workshops, sharing her techniques and her approach to repair so the craft can live on through others. I see her work as a form of thread activism, a quiet insistence that what we already own has value. That wear and tear is not necessarily the end of a story, but the beginning of a new one.
I believe we need more people like Emma. More people who insist on quality. Who choose to care for what they already have. Who choose well and let those things live long lives
Emma first wrote to me because her Kære Glasgow I ring needed company.
She received the first ring from her husband when their son, Ivan, was born. Back then, Emil decided that the ring should hold a small diamond to mark his arrival. Now another little boy had entered the world, and naturally, he should have a ring of his own, a second stone to become part of the story.
At the same time, Emma had lost her father. She wanted to use part of the inheritance he had left her to create a ring for him, to let him become part of the story too. It is one of the things I love most about the Kære Glasgow rings. They can grow alongside life. New people can find their place. New stones can be added. The story is never quite finished.
Her father's stone would be the largest. A lemon tree stands on the windowsill. It was his gift to Ivan on his birthday. Not the easiest plant to keep alive, but never an ordinary gift either. Together, we chose a sapphire in shades of lilac and dusty pink. It feels like the right choice.
Emma talks a lot about time. About making something from scratch. About allowing the material to set the pace. A sweater should be allowed to take months to knit. That is part of its value.
Time has taken on a different meaning since she became a mother. Between raising children, running a business, and the rhythms of everyday life, there is still a desire to keep evolving. To become better at her craft and to show others that there are alternatives to the fast and the mass-produced. That takes time. Perhaps that is the whole point.
Dear Emma.
Thank you for your hands. Whether they are guiding a needle or tending the earth, they seem to be doing the same thing: caring gently for what is already here.
