The Noordermarkt in Amsterdam is a treasure hunter’s dream. It’s a little market, cuddled up against an old church in the Jordaan neighborhood. It was there, in one of the bustling stands among clothes by the kilo, stacks of old deer skulls, and truly odd trinkets that I found them.

A small, child-size moth-bitten pair of handknit mittens peeked out at me, begging to be saved, to be rescued. And rescued they have been. My original intention was to re-make them as a sort of re-born vintage child’s mitten. But as I worked to re-create them, they took on their own character, keeping just enough of their fairy-forest charm, while having a more grown-up appeal. And so the Noordermarkt Mittens were born.