Decades ago, Glerups was just a hobby for Nanny. Her first career was as a gym teacher, while Ove worked as a roof thatcher, carpenter, and farmer. The two met in the late 1950s, when she was 18 and he was 17, over their shared interest in gymnastics. Nanny said she thought he was just the nicest young guy in town. They married not long after and had three children.
Nanny and Ove were crafty and resourceful in their own ways, traits that are inherently Scandinavian. Nanny liked to sew, knit, and weave. Ove made beautiful furniture and tools. Sometime in the 1970s, Nanny enrolled in a felting course and made Ove a pair of wool shoes.
“He was so fond of them that one day we were in town, and I discovered that he had his felt boots on and everybody was looking,” Nanny told employees at Glerups' 25th anniversary celebration.
Then she made more and more shoes. Like many creative people do, Nanny dove deep into the craft. “I am the kind of person who will just say, I do it and I jump,” Nanny said.

Photo by Amelia Arvesen
Meanwhile, Ove was also quite curious about the wool Nanny was working with, a smooth and lustrous charcoal gray wool from Gotland sheep, a breed native to southern Sweden. They started raising their own flock of sheep, and Ove became involved in the breeding.
In 1985, Nanny and Ove relocated their family from the small town of Gislum (close to Aars) to a rundown farm in the countryside where they could be closer to nature and give the sheep more room to roam. It started as a hobby farm, but Nanny also had her sights set on their retirement plan. The 75-acre slice of Denmark’s Northern Jutland was lush and private, with rolling hills and thick forest but also panoramic views.