"The problem with the Sweatshop," as he refers to his former workplace, "is that it was churning out mass produced, poor quality tat just to meet monthly targets. Experienced craftelves were reduced to monitoring the thoughput of production lines, whilst newer developments were subbed out to the Far East"

Change came for Uppum when restructuring called for a reduction in elfpower and he gladly took voluntary redundancy. He used his savings to move south to a warmer climate, where his nimble fingers wouldn't be hammered by sub zero temperatures, and gathering around himself a carefully selected team of former colleagues set up his own workshop to produce high quality items the way they should be with love and care.

Uppum's Elves took over a farm in the picturesque Cotswolds, where they live together in an isolated farmhouse and work late into the night in a formerly derelict barn now artisan workshop. "As migrants we were initially viewed with suspicion by some, but people have accepted that we are here to stay and that we make a valuable contribution to the local economy. Being small scale and locally sourced we don't pose a threat to the rural aesthetic and some of the neighbours even appear to have erected statues of us in their gardens."

Gåfakja is coy about the naming of the business. "I see it more as a collective, it's not all about me" he says "but the lads insisted, though I did insist on using my given name - it seems more friendly"

Production volumes are low with each item being completed by hand by an individual artisan. There is some variation between items but this is not a sign of poor quality control but the uniqueness of the organic components and its interpretation by the production artist concerned. Each item is numbered and carefully packaged with a signed certificate of authenticity which often includes notes from the artist on their vision for the item.