- The laid-back 3
DIY from the Home of Lässig
Upcycling and do-it-yourself is the trend. If you can, you can reach for a hammer, scissors or sewing needle yourself. But for really casual results, the jumping idea, the time or the necessary talent are often missing. The three creative do-it-yourself makers from the Home of Lässig, whom I visited for this story, are not lacking in that!
Nice and sick
...this is the name of Nürnberg-born Eno Mendoza`s label, under which he has been selling unique upcycling belts, T-shirts and parkas for some time now. 13 years ago the enthusiastic snowboarder and biker came to Saalbach Hinterglemm. And who still remembers - Eno was at that time Biketrail Shaper and the "good soul" of the indoor Dirtjump plant between Saalbach and Hinterglemm. Today Eno works as a bike mechanic and guide, and in winter in a snowboard shop. By incident he founded his "nice and sick" label. "It actually happened out of necessity. I wanted to repair my torn belt and only had the strap and buckle of a broken snowboard binding by my hand. The result was pretty cool and so I had the idea to create something new and sustainable out of 'workshop scrap'. In my search for suitable material for the belts, an old downhill tyre fell into my hands in the bike workshop. That was the initial spark for the nice and sick belts aka 'enormous sling'. The basic idea was to breathe a second life into the old tires, which have already completed a lot of casual meters of altitude on the bike trails and could tell endless stories. But it takes a few hours of work, because the tire has to be washed, cleared of the studs and the sidewall, before I print it and add buckle and strap. In the meantime, I've made my own machine that I can use to simplify a few steps," says the creative head, presenting me with his next product line: "Old military parkas from the German Armed Forces. These are treated with genuine organic beeswax by means of a self-developed wax pistol and refined with 'bike waste' such as shift cables and chain links. The 'nice and sick' collection consists of a lot of handmade and upcycled individual pieces - soon there will also be tailor-made trousers in the range, but in order to give them a casual cut, I still have to work on my sewing skills...". With the sparkling creativity of Eno it will be exciting to see what will soon be created under the label "nice and sick" in the Home of Lässig.
Woolystuff
Anita Kendler's all about needles. Her knitwear is always with her and in every free minute she lets the needle play clatter. The Bergbahnen employee is known for her fluffy wool beanies under the name "Woolystuff.at". "In my small chaotic workshop at home, warm hats made of the finest merino wool, tiny knitted baby chucks and woolly headbands have been made for seven years now. Ten years ago, out of pure boredom, I picked up wool and needles and enthusiastically knitted my first pair of socks. But they were unwearable. As a memory I still have them at home. I continued knitting with tips from specialist books - with success, the demand for my socks from my circle of friends was enormous. At some point I switched to the production of wool hats and really got started. That was also the time to found my small business. The highlight of my knitting career were the plait pattern hoods, which I was allowed to make a few years ago for the advertising motif of the Ski Alpin Card. I knit 365 days a year and create a supply for myself which I sell at Christmas markets, such as the Flying Advent Market in the gondolas of the 12 Xpress on 15 December in Hinterglemm. The Baby Chucks are very often ordered as a casual 'Weisert' - the first gift for newborns. I relax totally while knitting - and so I also reach for the needles when my friends play cards in the inn, between palms and beach on vacation, with a view from the summit of the Schattberg or in the car - as a co-driver of course. My friend has got used to it a long time ago and helps a lot with the construction when I exhibit my woolly accessories at the Advent markets. I'm already looking forward to the 'Flying Advent Market' on December 15th - the unique Christmas Market, where I'll get a complete gondola as exhibition space for Woolystuff.at. Then you simply get into the gondola and during the ride you can try and buy hoods, headbands and gloves," says Anita Kendler, while she is even busy knitting a two-tone patent pattern hood during our interview.
Healing herbal oils and ointments
Birgit Kohlhaas loves to simmer in her little fine (herbal)witch's kitchen and produces fragrant and healing oils, ointments and tinctures. Birgit has been working in her main profession as a masseuse in Saalbach for 23 years and her beginnings also led her to herbology. She says: "The wrong massage oils caused me a lot of skin problems on my hands. They were all sore and inflamed. An old man from Saalbach, Franz Dullnig, who unfortunately had died in the meantime, gave me the tip to try St. John's wort oil and my skin problems quickly became history. Franz gradually introduced me to the secret of medicinal herbs. In 2011 I completed my training as a TEH practitioner. TEH stands for Traditional European Medicine and is part of the Immaterial Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. I discovered that in front of our door in the Home of Lässig all the medicinal herbs that I need grow! Over the years it became clear: ointments and oils are my thing. St. John's wort oil is still my favourite oil. I collect all my herbs during walks on the mountains of the Home of Lässig and buy nothing. Collecting in our beautiful nature is pure relaxation for me. I produce the oils in my small witch kitchen at home with much love and experience. This also results in the finest ointments with beeswax from the beekeeper Grünwald in Hinterglemm. Popular with skiers is my 'muscle lubricant' which helps super against tension and muscle soreness. But also the ,venous flatterer' against varicose veins, the arnica or marigold ointment against inflammations, the comfrey for fractures or, perfect for kissing at après-ski, the ,anti-squeak balm' for the lips are absolute bestsellers from my range. All my ointments and oils are of course tested and certified and I sell them in my practice Therapie im Glemmtal or at the Flying Advent. I'm already looking forward to moving into my gondola at this unique Christmas market on 15 December and to being accompanied by numerous herb enthusiasts on the gondola rides."
Flying Advent Market
You can marvel at and purchase these and other valuable unique pieces, homemade and regional items at the Christmas Market "Flying Advent Market" on 15 December, which is probably unique in the Alpine region. The 15 gondolas of the 12er Express will be transformed into cosy Advent stands from 4 p.m. and invite you to taste and stroll. Simply enter the gondola, float up and do your last Christmas shopping. Wise blowers, top Austrian winemakers, chestnut roasters, regional delicacies and alphorn sounds round off the pre-Christmas atmosphere. Admission is of course free!
