Ja, it’s Norwegian. “Have some lefse,” the delectable potato flatbread cooked on a hot griddle and the specialty of Norwegian grandmas everywhere. If you grew up in Pope County, you may have had it on holidays, rolled up with a bit of butter, sugar, cinnamon, or all three.

Returning to the Starbuck Vintage & Artisan Market this year is the iconic, red-handled rolling pin, the signature piece of Lokstad Products. Lokstad rolling pins are made entirely from wood, with no metal to rust or plastic to break. The pins can last a lifetime, and many do, since the first pin was crafted on a lathe in 1950. Each pin is made by hand, one-at-a-time, and comes in one of four patterns: smooth, crosscut, hardtack and grooved. The pins are often associated with lefse, but they're also ideal for rolling out pastries, cookies, and other flatbreads.

Mike Baumann and his wife Sara are the third-generation owners of Lokstad. Sara’s great-uncle, John Lokstad, created the original lathe and five additional machines in a small shop in northern Minnesota to create the custom patterns. Those machines are still in use in Mike’s shop. “John was really ingenious in his designs,” says Mike. “The blade on one of the machines was filed down from a piston pin from a 1938 Ford. Another machine utilizes a tension spring from a record player. We have to wind the machine to create the tension, just like you’d have to wind the record player.”

“Making the pin is just as much an art as making the lefse,” laughs Mike. Lokstad is based in Jenkins, MN where Mike has added a few companion items for the pins: handmade lefse sticks and covers, cozies, rolling pin cleaning brushes, Scandinavian-themed clothing, embroidered aprons and towels, lefse griddle boards, and handmade bottle openers. “We looked around at what is admittedly a niche market and found there were a few items—like the cleaning brushes and an insulated lefse cozie to keep those first pieces warm—that were missing. So we keep growing.”

Lokstad Rolling Pins can be found on their website and in Scandinavian stores across the region. Velkommen!

The 4th Annual Starbuck Vintage & Artisan Market will be held on the shores of Lake Minnewaska in Starbuck’s City Park. Find artisans, vintage merchants, and food vendors on Friday, August 1st from 4-8 PM and Saturday, August 2nd from 9 AM-4 PM with the Lake Minnewaska Classic Car Show on Saturday from 10 AM-2 PM.