North House Folk School

Lauren has always been drawn to the boreal forests of the north. Wheedled by their whimsy, she’s spent countless hours walking, skiing, running, and biking within them. The forests have left Lauren with a deep curiosity, and a strong sense of reverence for the Earth. With undergraduate degrees in English, Norwegian, and environmental studies from St. Olaf College, Lauren has been exploring the way that Nordic folktales and craft traditions have influenced the nature-culture divide in Scandinavia. As a steward of the environment, she strongly believes in the power of storytelling through writing, illustrating, making, and moving. A few years of teaching Kindergarten at a Waldorf school in Minneapolis introduced Lauren to even more craft and handwork. This fall, she realized it was time to return to the boreal forests. She left the Kindergarten for a few months of farming in Sweden, where she weeded, woodworked, baked bread, and bottled apple cider. She is eager to continue crafting with her hands at North House Folk School, and is certainly delighted to be back in the northern forests of her home state.