The Original Sea Urchin

Aristotle's lantern is the complicated jaw apparatus of regular porcupines. It consists of five pyramidal calcareous plates around the mouth opening. Each plate has a tooth, which protrudes from the mouth opening. Together, they have the shape of a lantern, and can be moved with powerful muscles that are attached to the animal's skeleton.

Read more onWiki

During my swims - around Vestvågøya, I discovered the colorful and lovely underwater fauna. This is where the idea was conceived. I wanted to make something decorative out of the sea urchins. This resulted in a long process and painstaking work with a lot of trial and error together with Rino over several months. Many codes had to be solved until we were satisfied with the finished result:tealight holder in a real sea urchin. The sea urchins are hand-picked from the sea and processed in ten phases over a period of 4 months before they are ready for sale. They are all different, in size, shape and in their natural color. The sea urchin tea light holder is a genuine and unique product, and sustainable not least. These beauties are, for example, well suited to decorating the dining table when dishes from the sea are served, or as a genuine and original souvenir from Lofoten. 

The sea urchins vary from about 5-12 cm in diameter, and they also vary in height. Suitable for tealights up to 8 hours, but can also use 4-6 hour tealights. Then build up with coins so that the tealight goes side by side with the sea urchin for a nicer "look" :-) The product is fireproof.

The last time Rino Wilhelmsen left Lofoten, he had 400 sea urchins with him in his kayak. Now he and his girlfriend Tanja Solberg make tea light holders from the fragile catfish.

"Kråkeboller - more than a delicacy", write Tanja Solberg and Rino Wilhelmsen on the newly launched website kråkebollen.no.

Solberg says that it was during one of the couple's many swimming trips in the "Vestvågøya round" project that the idea of making something decorative from sea urchins was conceived.

It resulted in a long and meticulous process, with a lot of trial and error before Tanja and Rino arrived at the desired result: Tea lights in a sea urchin.

Three month process

The process takes around three months in total, and begins with gathering the sea urchins.

- They are not found everywhere. They must be located. And they have to be picked up on the open sea, so that we don't have to dive "forty-four" meters down.

- And preferably in the summer, when the temperatures are livable, says Solberg, and says that they can collect as many as 200 sea urchins on a good day.

Discard the offal

The offal must then be removed.

- What do you do with it? Does it eat, or sell expensively on the Asian market?

- No. Others may have to take care of that. This is also not the kind of sea urchin that is used for food, says Solberg.

When the sea urchins have been emptied of their entrails, the spines must be removed. It's not just, just, according to Solberg, who has got several spikes in her fingers even though she wears gloves during the painstaking work.

Sea urchins everywhere

The drying process takes time - and it requires space.

- There are sea urchins everywhere. In the house, the garage, on the balcony - there are sea urchins everywhere, says Solberg and chuckles.

After drying, the sea urchins are filled with plaster. From then on, Solberg does not want to reveal too much about the procedure.

Production takes place both in Lofoten and in Vestfold, where Rino lives on a daily basis.

- The last time he left Lofoten, he had 400 sea urchins with him in the kayak, says Solberg.

Sea urchins "over the pond"

The couple has received good feedback on the original tea light holders.

- People think they are beautiful, says Solberg, who has gradually started selling the tealight holders via his own website.

- We have packed and sent several sea urchins south. We have even received orders from New York, says Solberg.

​

Link to article in Lofot-Tidene