The Nordic and Pagan-Inspired Art and Decor of Blotspann

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Photo courtesy of Blotspann

Bonnie Dunnett vending Blotspann

Bonnie Dunnett vending Blotspann

“Reclaim the unwanted and renew the forgotten” is the motto of Blotspann, a business dealing in Nordic and pagan-inspired art, decor, accessories, ritual items and more. Owner Bonnie Dunnett identifies with heathenry, a form of modern paganism based on the pre-Christian religions of proto-Germanic peoples. With Blotspann, Dunnett embraces ancient ways of honoring and celebrating nature rather than fighting or exploiting it.

Among the wares of Blotspann are Nordic meads and drinking horns, locally sourced animal bones etched with scrimshaw, crow-shaped candles, intricately crafted Viking leatherwork, Valhalla ladders carved from treated driftwood and rune sets filled with esoteric wisdom. The word “blotspann” refers to sacrificial woodchips sprayed with blood and thrown into fire during divination rituals.

Dunnett first became interested in Norse and pagan traditions and mythologies as she learned about historical gravesites and how early civilizations made and used tools. “We had old technologies that worked really well that we don’t remember how to do anymore,” she explains. “If you investigate those things, it’s tied into the spaces they existed in, and I wanted to truly understand where the differences started coming in between different areas.”

Many pre-Christian religions were recorded not through writing but stonework, surviving countless wars and conflicts, still being deciphered by archaeologists today. Instances of queer representation and woman empowerment have been discovered. Dunnett shares, “One of the biggest in the past ten years, which I have tattooed on me, is a Viking burial mound that they thought was a man, but after doing all these DNA tests and looking at the wrist bones, they learned it was a woman. This changed the course of history! With none of these things written down where a lot of it is word-of-mouth, it’s like piecing together a big mystery puzzle.”

Outwardly Anti-Fascist

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Photo courtesy of Blotspann

Blotspann booth at a community event

Blotspann booth at a community event

Dunnett launched Blotspann in 2021 after trying her hands at building a historically accurate shield from layered plywood. She spent months researching schematics and blueprints, eventually building six shields total.

Blotspann operates as an outwardly anti-fascist and queer-forward business, emphasized by the stack of Pride-themed runic stickers Dunnett always has at her booth. Pagan and heathen communities have unfortunately run into issues of far-right and white nationalist interests co-opting their spaces, symbols and aesthetics. 

Dunnett affirms how important it is to protect communities from such influences. “This is a culture that loves including other cultures, and that’s how it became so powerful. I just don’t get how you get Nazis gravitating towards this and want to hold onto it so tightly when that’s not historically how any of this even worked. Education is the biggest thing. My friends and I read a lot, and we’ll say when something is not correct.”

Being a vendor of things like animal bones and leatherwork, Dunnett has found the outdoorsy culture of Wisconsin to be optimal for sourcing materials. “Hunters have come up to me asking how I clean my carved antlers or drinking horns,” she says. “During bow hunting season I’ve had people contact me and give me bones. There’s a lot of craftsmen up here too, like people who do woodworking and leatherworking.”

Dunnett often vends Blotspann at Milwaukee craft fairs and community events like Argren Faire, What the Hex and Krampusnacht. Blotspann products recently became available at Tres Ojos (4916 W. Greenfield Ave.). Dunnett soon plans to debut a clothing line and implement more Irish-themed products in her inventory.