Lannem Keramikk
Ole Lannem (1914-1972) established the pottery in 1956. The original name was 'Ole Lannem Terrakottaverksted'. The name refers to the production back then: flowerpots and pottery in red burned clay.

By 1968 the pottery moved to the present premises at Gjulem. In 1972 Hege and Thor Lannem took over. Since then the development has been fundamental regarding production techniques and models.

Today Lannem Keramikk is a state of the art craft-shop offering a wide variety of utility articles.

The History of Ceramics
Clay has throughout the ages been used to make articles for daily use and for decoration. The word, ceramic, stems from greek 'keramos', which describes both the clay and the finished product. 6000 BC the art of pottery developed in the Middle East and the Nile Delta.

By 3000 BC the first glazed objects appear. One assumes that potters began their trade in Scandinavia at the same time.
We had a short upsurge during the large migration, 200 - 600 AD. One might say that the ceramics- and chinaware-production of today originates from the establishing of the Herrebøe Fajance Fabrique in 1758.

Later, several outstanding potters have been working from smaller private studios, for example Andreas Schneider, William Knutzen, Erik Pløen, Dagny and Finn Hald and others.

The School at Gjulem
The Gjulem School was established in 1931 and was a typical rural school with a classroom on the ground floor. Back then, lots of children lived on the many farms nearby, and at the most the school had 86 pupils. In these days no more than 10-15 children from the same area takes the school bus to another school.

The school was closed down in 1966 and the pottery moved in by 1968. In Østfoldstua you may see many photographs from the time when the premises used to house the school.

Lærerstua
Lannem Keramikk's factory outlet was established in 1973 in the kitchen in the old schoolmistress' appartment on the 1st floor.
The shop was extended in 1975, when the schoolmistress' living room also was included.

In 1978 the shop was moved to the teacher's appartment, and was named Lærerstua. The giftshop extends today throughout the 1st floor of the old school.

Ole Lannem


Hege og Thor Lannem

Bowl from the 16th century,
found in Nigeria

Gjulem Skole, 1931


Lærerstua, 2002