Martis Karin Ersdotter (

Våmhus Våmhus is a locality situated in Mora Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 857 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated by the Orsa Lake's northwest beach. Våmhus has a characteristic local dialect, ''Våmhusmål'', distinct from other Daleca ...

, 2 July 1829 – 5 January 1902,

) was a Swedish businesswoman from

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland Värmland () also known a ...

. She is the best known of the ''Hårkulla'' ("Hair-

kulla Kulla may refer to: *Kulla (god), god of builders in the Mesopotamian mythology. He is responsible for the creation of bricks and restoration of temples. *Kulla (goddess), an alternate name of Ukulla, a goddess regarded as the wife of the Mesopot ...

"), the famous category of travelling businesswomen from Dalarna who manufactured and sold

hair jewellery Hairwork, or jewelry or artwork made of human hair, has appeared throughout the history of craft work, particularly to be used for private worship or mourning. From the Middle Ages through the early twentieth century, memorial hair jewelry remaine ...

all over Europe in the 19th century. As other ''hårkullor'', she made business trips in Europe to sell her products, and she was to become perhaps the most successful of these. She was a supplier of hair jewellery to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, whom she met during a business trip to Scotland. She used the fact that the queen was her client in her business and had it printed on her business cards, many of which are preserved from the 1850s. She was married to Martis Mats Andersson and was the mother of Anna Matsdotter (1862-1943) and the maternal grandmother of

Eric Wickman Carl Eric Wickman (born Erik Wretman; August 7, 1887 – February 5, 1954) was the founder of Greyhound Lines. Background Wickman was born Erik Wretman at Martisgården, a family farm located near the small village of Limbäck in the parish of ...

References

* Kristin Lundell: ''Busskungen – Svensken som grundade Greyhound'' (Stockholm 2014) * Petra Martinsson: "Resande i hår" i Populär historia nr 5 2000 (publicerad på nätet 2002-03-18). * ”Kullan blev rik på hår”. företagsamheten.se. Arkiverad från originalet den 2 maj 2015. 1829 births 1902 deaths 19th-century Swedish businesswomen Queen Victoria Swedish fashion designers Swedish women fashion designers {{Sweden-bio-stub