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About Us
Phillip Odden and Else Bigton make their
living as wood carvers and furniture builders in the
Norwegian traditions. Else was born and grew up in Norway.
Her grandfather transported milk cans every morning with
his trusted fjord mare. Phillips paternal
Grandparents emigrated from Norway to Northwestern
Wisconsin.
Phillip and Else together with their son
Ole and several fjord horses live on a farm in a
community where there have been Odden's now for four
generations. Naturally there have also been horses on
Odden farms in each generation. Previously the horses
were used as farm power. Now the horses are used in
recreation, sport, and as willing companions.
In our lives the fjord horses are a
connection to the land we live on and to the Norwegian
mountains of Elses childhood. We learn from them as
we teach them to be good horses and gentle working
companions. Our goal is to raise the finest fjord horses
in North America. Horses with inherited first class
dispositions, sound conformation, and solid training.
In addition to training fjords Phillip
and Else have melded images of fjord horses in their
carvings and furniture. Horses have long been a prominent
subject of Norwegian folk art. This is not strange. A
good horse represented wealth, power, and status. A
majestic stallion was paraded and promoted. When a
notable stallion passed through the neighborhood on a
breeding mission people stopped to watch. Horses have
always thrilled people. A horses image is good for
a mans heart. I have heard it said that the outside
of a horse is good for the inside of a man, or woman.
In our carving business, Norsk Wood Works LTD,
which was established in 1979, we have carved statues of
fjords to represent individual horses. Fjord horse images
have been carved on trunks, mantle pieces, and in deep
relief painted pictures.
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