When fur became Mors' big workplace
For decades the skins were tanned, cut and sewn in Nykøbing. At its peak the factory had nearly 400 employees.
From a Copenhagen workshop to the Limfjord
Stampe began as a furrier's workshop in Copenhagen in 1946. By the early 1970s production had moved to Nykøbing Mors, where the factory stood on N. A. Christensens Vej in the middle of the town's industrial quarter.
Here the skins were tanned, cut and sewn — all the way from raw hide to finished fur.
The island had exactly what a fur factory needed
It was no accident that fur moved to the Limfjord. In the late 1960s Nykøbing laid out a new industrial area close to the town — on the old landfill by what is now N. A. Christensens Vej. There was room, and the square metres were cheap.
The state pulled in the same direction. In those years regional development funding drew industry to north-west Jutland, and it aimed in particular at factories that could create jobs for women. A fur factory was the very example: sewing is craftsmanship that cannot be put on an assembly line, and it takes many trained hands.
And the raw material lay right outside the door. Denmark was then among the world's largest mink producers, and the densest concentrations of farms were in northern and western Jutland — around the Limfjord. In 1978 the Sallingsund bridge replaced the ferries on top of that, shortening the road out to the customers.
Photo: Claus Bonnerup, Morsø Local History Archive (F384). Reproduced with permission.
One of the island's biggest employers
At its peak nearly 400 people worked at the factory. Fur was an industry on Mors back then, on a par with the iron foundry and the slaughterhouse, and for many islanders Stampe was their first job.
The sewing room in particular was large. Sewing a fur is craftsmanship that cannot be put on an assembly line — every skin is different and has to be matched for colour, length and texture.
When the fox came to Mors
In the spring of 1984 fur fashion changed. Sealskin was on its way out, and the long-haired furs — fox and raccoon — took over.
That meant more work, not less: a long-haired fur takes about three times as long to sew. So in May 1984 Stampe advertised in Morsø Folkeblad for 20-30 new staff.
Mors is still the address
The larger runs are sewn by partners today, but Mors is still the heart of the company. The head office, warehouse and showroom are at Ringvejen 60 in Nykøbing, and it is from here the furs go out into the world.
We buy the skins ourselves at auction, and the furrier still finishes them by hand.
Read on
The story of Mors is one chapter. Here are the others.
Levinsky since 1869
An old fur house from Østergade that became part of the family.
The family behind the name
The boy from the children's home, the manufacturer and the furrier.
About us
The timeline from 1946 to today, gathered in one place.
Sources
This page draws on the family's own archive and on publicly available sources. Every image is Stampe's own unless another source is given beside the image.
- Nordjyske: “Once one of the island's biggest employers”, 1 January 2019
- Morsø Folkeblad, 5 May 1984, as recorded by Morsø Local History Archive (ref. F384)
- Nordjyske: “Mink cull or not”, 20 October 2020
- The Danish Central Business Register: K. V. Stampe & Sønner A/S, CVR 40493719
- Morsø Local History Archive: the industrial land by N. A. Christensens Vej, April 1966 (B4279)
- Cultural Heritage Atlas of Mors — on the industrial area and the regional development funds
- Trap Danmark: Morsø Municipality 1970–2007 — on the Sallingsund bridge
- Pattedyratlas: the distribution of mink farms in Denmark