Iceland review - 2016, Page 63

ICELAND REVIEW 61
BY ZOË ROBERT. PHOTOS BY ÁSLAUG SNORRADÓTTIR.
SPOTLIGHT ON STYKKISHÓLMUR
Iceland Review travels to the West Iceland seaside
town of Stykkishólmur to visit creative individuals
making the most of local resources.
Located on the northern shore of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the
town of Stykkishólmur is roughly a two-hour drive northwest from
Reykjavík. Next door to Snæfellsnes National Park, overlooking
Breiðafjörður bay—with Flatey and its thousands of other islands, islets and
skerries—and a town center resembling a living museum of colorful, his-
torical houses, Stykkhishólmur has long been a popular holiday spot among
Icelanders. Now it is fast attracting international visitors from far and wide.
As with the rest of the country, fishing and tourism are the mainstay of
the 1,100-strong community’s economy, but as Iceland Review discovered on
a recent trip to the town, creative individuals are finding innovative ways to
make the most of local resources. We speak to a ceramicist, an eiderdown
manufacturer and two locals working in the shellfish industry.
COMMUNITY