Ment: Visit a sustainable porcelain factory by the river

Surrounded by hills, down by the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, in the village of Fåberg, lies an old factory building. For a long time, it was used to make wooden skis, but today it is run by Ment, a company that crafts and sells sustainable porcelain and ceramic products on site.

CEO Sidsel Forr Hemma and her sister Ingvild Hemma founded Ment in 2012. In a world dominated by ever-changing trends and cheap, low-quality throwaways, they wanted to create timeless, long-lasting and sustainable products.

Quality takes time. Ment does not rush anything. The whole process of making a new product takes seven days. It starts with mixing colour powder into the liquid porcelain before casting in plaster moulds. Almost all of their products are colour-tinted porcelain, mixed and poured by hand. This means every product will have some marbling and may have a slightly different shade.

The location of their factory was important. Nature and botany are vital sources of inspiration. “We express this in our designs in both colour and organic form,” says Hemma.

KRUM collection, tableware.

There is more to explore at Ment than just the factory and the shop. “We have a gallery on the ground floor where we share collaborative projects and our own projects,” says Hemma. They have a beautiful garden and use what they grow to decorate their show room and gallery. “It is a different experience from a regular shop,” she says.

Ment is a great destination for a pre-Christmas trip. It is only a few kilometres outside Lillehammer, easily accessible by car or bus. It’s very family friendly – both children and adults enjoy seeing how the products are made. If the children get a little restless, there is plenty of room to run around in the garden.

With their slightly remote location, away from any big cities, opening hours are limited, depending on the season. However, that does not mean they are closed to visitors outside opening hours. “We love getting bookings,” Hemma explains. “We get more time with the guests, more time to tell them our history, properly show them the production side and explain our designs.”

Sidsel Forr Hemma, CEO. Photo: Anne Skartveidt

Web: www.ment.no
Instagram: @_ment__
Facebook: ment.no