Ellinor (Lilla) Dagmar Flor née Bjærshol (born 1946) is a Norwegian

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials u ...

. Inspired by

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

, her designs have principally focused on women's hats and costumes, frequently combining knitting and

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

. She has also created church textiles and fabrics for furniture. For her success in renewing Norway's interest in knitting, in 1992 she was awarded the Jacob Prize. Flor is considered to be one of Norway's most distinctive clothing designers. Her works are in the collections of a number of museums, including Norway's

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numbe ...

Biography

Born on 16 January 1946 in

Steinkjer Steinkjer is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Steinkjer which is located on the inner part of the Trondheimsfjord. The town is also the ...

in central Norway, Ellinor Dagmar is the daughter of Einar Bjørshol (1906–91) and his wife Oline née Reitan (1906–96). She studied textile art at the

Bergen Academy of Art and Design Bergen Academy of Art and Design ( no, Kunst- og designhøgskolen i Bergen) or KHiB was one of two independent and accredited scientific institutions of higher learning in the visual arts and design in Norway (The other is Oslo National Academy ...

(1976–80) and continued her education at Brundalen Secondary School in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

where she studied tailoring (1981–82). In December 1967, she married the journalist and art critic Harald Johan Flor.

Career

On graduating, she first designed imaginative hats. In response to a request in 1985 for new designs for machine-knitted clothes from the Housekeeping Centre in

Selbu Selbu is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mebonden. Other villages in Selbu include Flora, Fossan, Hyttbakken, Innbygda, Selbustrand, Trøa, Tømra, and Vikvarvet ...

, Flor's knitted dress "Rosa heimafrå" proved to be an outstanding success. She was able to continue creating a wide selection of excitingly new knitted clothes for women. Thanks to their spectacular and somewhat exclusive look, she quickly gained a reputation as a ground-breaking innovator of Norway's knitting tradition. In the 1990s, she designed costumes for the voluntary aid corps at the Lillehammer Olympic Games and for guides in the tourist industry. In 1997, she designed costumes for

Bertil Palmar Johansen Bertil Palmar Johansen (born 18 February 1954) is a Norwegian contemporary composer and violinist. Johansen was born in Brattvåg. He studied violin at the Trøndelag Music Conservatory (today the NTNU) and took composition classes with Per Hjor ...

ballets ''Tiden bygger byen'' and ''Hjerter Dame til Ringve''. In connection with her 50th birthday, she arranged her first retrospective show at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Trondheim. She published two books: ''Rosa heimafrå '' (1991), which covers the renewal of Norwegian knitting, and ''Diva Donna Darling'' (1993) about hats. Ellinor Flor's works are in the collections of the Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim art museums, the

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum is a Norwegian visual arts museum in Northern Norway. The Northern Norwegian Museum of Art is responsible for the entire northern region and in 2010 established a separate department for the nationwide program. History Esta ...

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 21s ...

and De Sandvigske Samlinger in Lillehammer.

Awards

Flor has received a number of awards including the Teko Forum design award (1987), cultural prizes from both Roan Municipality and

Sør-Trøndelag County Municipality Sør-Trøndelag County Municipality ( no, Sør-Trøndelag fylkeskommune) was the regional governing administration of the old Sør-Trøndelag county in Norway until 1 January 2018 when it merged with Nord-Trøndelag county to form the new Trøndela ...

(1989), and the Aksel Waldemar Johannessen award (1993). In 1992, she was awarded the Jacob Prize.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flor, Ellinor 1946 births Living people People from Trøndelag Norwegian fashion designers Norwegian textile designers Norwegian women artists