12.11.2025. Inspiration Intervju

Craft Shapes the Brain – The Joy of Craft at Skärgårdsstadsskolan

At Skärgårdsstadsskolan, the values of KRAM – Friendship, Respect, Responsibility and Courage – guide everyday life. Here we meet wood and metal craft teacher Nina Bengtsson. In her classroom, craft becomes more than just a school subject: a moment of calm in a digital age, a training ground for creative problem-solving, and a pathway to pride in what one has created with their own hands.

Craft as Wholeness and Counterbalance



Nina welcomes us into a newly cleaned and well-organized workshop where tools hang neatly in place and new benches are waiting to be bolted to the floor - a reminder that school environments and hands-on practice belong together. On the walls, signs of ongoing cross-subject projects are visible: a grade 3 project “Under the Surface” where fish will be hung, connecting craftwork to Swedish, social studies, and the water cycle. Interdisciplinary collaboration is important to her, not only to create coherence in teaching but also to build relationships among both students and colleagues.

Skärgårdsstadsskolan is celebrating its 30th anniversary and hosts students from preschool through grade 9 in two parallel tracks. With around 450 students, competition from the International English School has affected some grade levels. The building has expanded over time, and the original architectural vision of large communal areas and a stage has partly been lost as practical needs changed. In the midst of this, craft stands as a calm counterbalance to a fragmented, digital everyday life.

Balancing Freedom and Structure



Originally trained as a recreation teacher but a “multi-maker” at heart, Nina chose wood and metal as her specialization at Umeå University. She could just as well have taught textiles, as pedagogy is her foundation. In the beginning, she wanted to offer maximum creative freedom, but experience taught her that completely open tasks made it difficult to teach techniques. Today, she balances structure and freedom: clear goals and methods, yet always space for personal expression in form and color. This not only makes assessment easier, but also helps students learn the process: planning, choosing materials, carrying out, and evaluating their work.

“For me, order is the foundation. The tools should be well cared for, and the students should know exactly where everything belongs.”

Sustainability, Inspiration, and Order



Sustainability runs like a thread through her work. Younger students often use recycled materials, discussions on paint and material care take place in the paint room, and collaborations exist with both the school kitchen (tin cans and more) and the local recycling station (frames from old panels and driftwood) - though time and storage set limits. She dreams of further developing her own craft skills; courses in woodturning and traditional carving inspire her, and sometimes she brings new techniques straight into students’ extra projects. A favorite method is letting students whittle outdoors during recess: “That’s when a special flow arises,” Nina says, though there is a limit to how many can do it at once.

In the end, she returns to the importance of order in the workshop: labeled places, outlines around tools, and clear systems. This makes teaching smoother, creates safety, and conveys respect for tools and materials. Older students’ projects are also displayed in the windows of the workshop, serving as inspiration and ideas for the younger ones.