Durable fashion

In the early 2000s, the craft company Kero was half an hour from bankruptcy, just as cousins Emma and Erik Kero were about to take over as the third generation in the family business. Some decades later it’s been proven a true Torne Valley success.

– It’s amazing to live and work in our part of the country. All the seasons of the year are important to us. The silence on a cold winter morning or the sound of the ice breaking on the lake on a sunny spring-winter day; it’s absolutely delightful.
– Of course, the region carries a legacy. People here know what good-quality items look like, and feel like.

Classic and durable

Kero, in Sattajärvi, outside of Pajala in Swedish Lapland, designs leather goods like Sámi shoes and bags made of naturally tanned reindeer and cowhides, produced in the shoemaker’s workshop in the village Sattajärvi. The tanning process has been known since ancient times and is the most environmentally friendly method, using only natural substances.

Designs are based on creating classic, durable products that can be used for a long time. The tradition goes back a long way. Kero has made the same basic products since 1929.
– It’s not about mass production. Every Kero product is unique, born from a craft tradition handed from generation to generation.

Durability and tradition are important to Emma and Erik as individuals, but also to the company. The reindeer skins come from the Sámi reindeer husbandry industry. An industry that’s of central importance to Sámi society.
– Living according to existing conditions is imperative. Nothing more, nothing less. Using raw materials found in our immediate environment is also very important to us.