Fanø's new meeting place offers drinks, music, and local handicrafts
21. April 2023
Fanø's new meeting place can do a bit of everything, and the locals have warmly welcomed the place, which is run by Alan Skelmose and his wife Else Hjort. Photo: Morten Fog. Text: Julie Svarrer
Fanø does not look like other places in Denmark, and neither does "Æ Klæg". Here you can get a good drink, listen to music, buy local handicrafts, and visit a small gallery. Confused? Then learn more here, where owner Alan Skelmose and exhibitor Marco Brodde talk about the thoughts behind the island's new meeting place.
It is hard to describe exactly what the place "Æ Klæg" on Fanø really is. It is not a bar, it is not a music venue, it is not a gallery or a pop-up shop. It is all of these at once. Soon also a café with its own music stage and courtyard garden.
The name covers the Fanø locals' word for the clayey, sticky seabed, which especially appears between Esbjerg and Fanø at low tide.
– You get stuck in it and have a hard time getting away, just like this place, says one of the owners, Alan Skelmose, 57 years old, with a laugh.
He explains that Æ Klæg consists of a three-step rocket. When you come in from Havnevej 4, you first encounter Værftet. A cozy bar with local beers, wine, and quality drinks, many developed by Alan himself. Here locals meet for an after-work beer, or tourists drop in to play a game of backgammon or Sequence.
From Værftet you go further into the back rooms, where eight local artisans exhibit everything from ceramics to jewelry and hand-knitted items.
Currently, Alan is dressed in work clothes. He is renovating the third leg, which will consist of a café, courtyard garden, and music venue called "Elses Gab". Else is his wife, and the two run the place together. Alan emphasizes that she is 50 percent of "Æ Klæg" – at least.
Started by chance
– I usually describe Æ Klæg as a meeting place with music, drinks, art, and designs. You go there to be together for a couple of hours and enjoy yourself. I often experience that people meet at Værftet and form new connections. Then they might agree to go home together and make dinner. That makes me happy, because that is just super cozy, says Alan.
Actually, Værftet and Æ Klæg arose somewhat by chance. Alan was looking for premises where he could produce, exhibit, and sell his homemade furniture in his company Albus nimbus design. Here he came across the old fish shop on Fanø, which was both well located and had the right premises. But to get into the workshop, you first had to go through the front room, so why not sell a beer to the people who came by anyway? That developed into Værftet, and later Alan and his wife got the idea to rent out spaces to the island's creative artisans:
– Many sit at home in the garage with their projects. Here they get the opportunity to be visible without having to be present themselves or rent their own space. Customers just pay for the products via MobilePay. It creates a good synergy effect, where we help each other, he says.
"I often experience that people meet at Værftet and form new connections. Then they might agree to go home together and make dinner. That makes me happy, because that is just super cozy"
Alan Skelmose
Owner of 'Æ Klæg'
Paintings from the Wadden Sea
One of the exhibitors who occupies a bit more space than the others at Æ Klæg is Marco Brodde, 48 years old, who has rented an entire room for his gallery. He works as a nature guide at Fanø Municipality and spends a large part of his free time painting birds and making etchings.
– The business side has never really appealed to me. It’s the pictures that drive me, and I have therefore also avoided having a gallery. Especially because it would take up a large part of my already limited time. But when I got the opportunity to exhibit here, I had no doubt. I don’t need to be here all the time, because people can just go from Værftet into the gallery. On the other hand, I really like being at Æ Klæg. It’s not just about selling, because many also come to have a good and informal chat about nature, says Marco, who also appreciates the collaboration with Alan.
The two have been old friends since their teacher training days, where they both studied to become teachers.
Marco initially mainly painted birds, but as he himself says, the birds are nothing without the landscape they are part of. Therefore, in the small gallery, you can also find many beautiful paintings of the nature around the Wadden Sea. All at quite reasonable prices.
– Fanø naturally plays a big part, but I am interested in the entire Wadden Sea and in understanding and elevating our little mud pool to something bigger, he says.
Warm atmosphere
Marco is of course also a regular guest at Værftet:
– My heart really beats for this place, both personally as this cozy meeting and cultural place where you can come after work and always have a chat with nice people across all generations. And because it gives me the opportunity to be part of a work community with other artisans. It is really quite unique, and I think you have to experience the place to fully understand it. It’s a bit like an Irish/Scottish pub out in the countryside.
Alan agrees with him. He is overwhelmed by how well Værftet has been received by both locals and tourists.
– Not many leave here without being happier than when they came. There is really a warm atmosphere here, and now Else and I look forward to opening the café and courtyard garden. It’s going to be an amazing summer.