Martis Karin Ersdotter

Martis Karin Ersdotter (Våmhus, 2 July 1829 – 5 January 1902, Våmhus) was a Swedish businesswoman. She is the most well known of the Hårkulla ("Hair-kulla"), the famous category of travelling businesswomen from Dalarna in Sweden who manufactured and sold hair jewellery all over Europe in the 19th century.

Life

Martis Karin Ersdotter was from Våmhus in Dalarna. As other hårkulla, she made business trips in Europe to sell her products, and she was to become the perhaps most successful. She was a supplier of hair jewellery to Queen Victoria, 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 card, many of which are preserved from the 1850s.

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.