Hemslöjden – the National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies

What Hemslöjden – the National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies does

Hemslöjden (legal name: Svenska Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund) is a Swedish national non-profit umbrella organization founded in 1912 that coordinates approximately 90 regional and local handicraft societies serving roughly 14,000 individual members across Sweden. Its core mission is the preservation and transmission of intangible cultural heritage related to traditional Swedish slöjd (handicrafts) — textile crafts, woodwork, metalwork, and related techniques — delivered through courses, workshops, exhibitions, instructor training programs, a quarterly member magazine (Hemslöjd), scholarship funds, and journeyman's/master's certificate reviews.

The organization operates a federated delivery model. The national riksförbund maintains a small central staff (7 employees) headquartered in Stockholm and coordinates a digital activity calendar (Slöjdkalendern) where member associations publish approximately 70 activities per week. Underlying technology is intentionally low-tech — traditional craft knowledge — but supported by digital infrastructure including a member portal (Mina sidor), collections management through Digitalt Museum (housing roughly 1,700 craft objects from Västerbottens län alone), and event ticketing integrations with Billetto, Dinkurs, and Tickster. The riksförbund is also the sole owner of the publishing company behind Hemslöjd, Sweden's largest handicraft magazine.

Revenue is generated through four streams: recurring membership subscriptions (adult 300 SEK/year, family 400 SEK, youth 50 SEK, corporate 500 SEK in the Stockholm region); course and workshop fees (e.g., 7,500 SEK for the 60-hour instructor training, 3,900 SEK for folk-costume sewing, 2,000–2,500 SEK for festivals); a state operational grant (statligt verksamhetsbidrag) from Kulturrådet (Swedish Arts Council); and publishing revenue from the wholly-owned Hemslöjd magazine subsidiary. The organization serves three primary segments: individual craft enthusiasts (largest), children/youth (Slöjdklubben for ages 7–12, family programming), and professional craftspeople (certification, advocacy). It is governed by a board elected by member societies, with Lena Lundkvist as ordförande (chairman) and Maria Jacobsson as verksamhetschef (operations director).

Name

Hemslöjden – the National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies

Legal name

Svenska Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund

Website

https://hemslojden.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hemslöjden is the Swedish national umbrella non-profit (founded 1912) coordinating ~90 regional handicraft societies and 14,000 individual members, delivering courses, workshops, instructor training, and cultural-heritage preservation programs for slöjd enthusiasts across Sweden.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fees that provide access to member associations, the Handaslöjd magazine (4 issues/year), discounts on courses, and access to member-only benefits at handicraft shops.
2. Course and workshop fees: Revenue from organized courses, workshops, and educational programs across various craft techniques. Pricing varies by course type and duration.
3. State operational grant: Riksförbundet receives state operational funding from Kulturrådet (Swedish Arts Council) to support the organization's activities and mission.
4. Handicraft magazine publishing: Owns the company that publishes Hemslöjd, Sweden's largest handicraft magazine, providing both revenue and reach for the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hemslöjden operates as a non-profit national membership association coordinating ~90 regional handicraft societies across Sweden to preserve and transmit traditional Swedish slöjd (handicraft) knowledge. It offers membership subscriptions, crafts courses and workshops, instructor training programs, a quarterly handicraft magazine, scholarships, professional journeyman's and master's certificates, and a digital activity calendar (Slöjdkalendern) for discovering and registering for craft activities.

Product overview

Hemslöjden operates as a membership-based non-profit organization offering a unified portfolio of cultural heritage preservation services centered on traditional Swedish slöjd (handicraft) knowledge. The core offering consists of the Slöjdkalendern activity calendar for course and event discovery, combined with instructor training programs (Hemslöjdens Handledarutbildning and Slöjdhandledarutbildning) that build capacity for teaching slöjd. Members receive access to the Hemslöjd magazine, scholarship funds, and retail discounts at affiliated Hemslöjdsbutiker shops. Additional offerings include digital collections through Digitalt Museum, the journeyman's and master's certificate review process, and participation in international initiatives like Nordic Craft Week and UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage programs. The organization functions both as a direct service provider and as an umbrella coordinating nearly 90 regional associations across Sweden.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Slöjdkalendern (Handicraft Activity Calendar)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• UNESCO (Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2024Hemslöjden became an accredited NGO for the UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage in June 2024. This provides an advisory role to UNESCO and support to the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO and Isof (Institute for Language and Folklore). The accreditation gives legitimacy to Hemslöjden's work and formalizes its role in safeguarding craft knowledge as intangible cultural heritage.
• Nordic Handicraft AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHemslöjden is a member of the Nordic Handicraft Association, which includes member organizations from Norway (Norsk Husflid), Finland (Taito), Denmark (Fora), Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Estonia. The association exchanges knowledge and experiences, and collaborates on projects like Nordic Craft Week.
• European Craft OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHemslöjden is a member of the European Craft Organization, participating in international craft network and collaborative initiatives at the European level.
• Digitalt MuseumcoreTechnology or IntegrationHemslöjden manages its collections at the Digital Museum (digitaltmuseum.se), making craft objects and cultural heritage materials accessible digitally. The organization's collections are searchable through the museum's platform.
• Kulturrådet (Swedish Arts Council)coreOthersRiksförbundet receives a state operational grant (statligt verksamhetsbidrag) from Kulturrådet. This government funding supports the organization's national activities and mission.
• Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish National Heritage Board)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports the Methods for Living Cultural Heritage (MLK) project 2024-2026, working on issues related to intangible cultural heritage convention implementation.
• Isof (Institutet för språk och folkminnen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHemslöjden supports Isof, the government body responsible for intangible cultural heritage in Sweden, as part of their accredited NGO role. Isof leads the national inventory of living cultural heritage (Levande kulturarv).
• Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan (Study Association)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple collaborations with Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan on courses, workshops, and events across various regional associations, including handicraft festivals and educational programs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heritage Crafts Association: UK charity dedicated to safeguarding traditional heritage crafts through advocacy, training, and the Red List of Endangered Crafts. Highly comparable to Hemslöjden's cultural heritage preservation mandate, though UK-focused.
• Norsk Husflid: Norwegian national handicraft association and direct Nordic counterpart to Hemslöjden. Member of the Nordic Handicraft Association alongside Hemslöjden, operating an analogous federated membership model focused on traditional Norwegian crafts.
• Taito Group Finland: Finnish handicraft association and fellow Nordic Handicraft Association member. Operates a similar federated craft-education and membership model in Finland, with comparable UNESCO-aligned cultural heritage preservation mission.
• Fora (Danish Craft Association): Danish handicraft and design association within the Nordic Handicraft Association network. Comparable in mission to Hemslöjden — promoting traditional craft knowledge, courses, and membership-based community — but serving the Danish market.
• The King's Foundation: UK charity (formerly The Prince's Foundation) that trains young people in traditional crafts and heritage building skills. Comparable to Hemslöjden in offering craft-based education, instructor training, and a cultural heritage preservation mission.

Regional players

• American Craft Council: US national nonprofit focused on advancing contemporary and traditional craft. Comparable in mission and structure to Hemslöjden, but serves the North American market and skews toward contemporary craft rather than intangible cultural heritage preservation.

Others

• Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan: Sweden's largest study association and an active partner of Hemslöjden on courses, workshops, and educational programs. Comparable as a Swedish adult-education ecosystem player but broader in scope (not craft-specific).
• Folkuniversitetet: Swedish adult-education association offering courses across many disciplines including crafts. Operates in the same Swedish lifelong-learning ecosystem as Hemslöjden but is not craft-specialized.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hemslojdens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hemslojden
• Instagraminstagram.com/hemslojden

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hemslöjden – the National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies