Sibylle Thomas - engraver, dog groomer & visual artist

I began my education as a gun engraver at the well-known German weapon company "Merkel" in 1986.

In 1995 I moved to Switzerland where I worked independently as a gun engraver until I found out that I was going to marry a Norwegian gunmaker and settle on Hvasser Island at the very end of the Oslofjord. That was in 2003. Little did I know then that I would be saying goodbye to both my job and my summer vacation...

We were to run Hvasser Motell together - with almost 100 beds and a large building complex that had to be maintained. The 3rd generation of the family business.

So we actually had enough to do - but I missed being able to work with my hands, there was too much time in front of the computer and I went to Germany to become a dog groomer in 2016.

I love my job and even though the salon was located in Hvasser, I soon had over 100 four-legged friends in my customer database.

The result was that I only worked and had no time to engrave, draw or go hunting. The bike hung in the garage, the kayak hardly ever saw the water and the cabin in the mountains was empty. The boy grew up and had other plans than to work in the hotel business (something both mother and father fully understood).

So we made the decision to sell the family business in 2022 and get a "regular" job with weekends off and summer vacation. My biggest wish was to take up my old skills and work as an engraver again. In January 2023, I started my own company. I work for gunmakers, knife makers, gold and silversmiths. In the dog salon, I accept everything that needs to be bathed, clipped or stripped and I hold fur care courses for frustrated dog owners who struggle with caring for their four-legged friend. That's "No Witchcraft" :-)!

Welcome to me in Kjerringvik - between Sandefjord and Larvik!