The timber for the Dala horses comes from the slowly growing pine forests around Lake Siljan. It is a perfect climate to get the best pine, which will be slowly grown and ideal to carve Dala horses off.
At the local sawmill, the best pine timber is selected to be processed into Dala horses. Al wood is used for the smallest horses, which the company buys as timber and saws themselves.
The selected pieces are planed and a template is stamped on. Then the shape of the horses is sawn out, first roughly and then freely in the band saw. Then the district's most skilled woodcarvers takes over, who in their homes gives the Dala horse its final shape with the help of the mora knife. So as they always did.
The carved horse is dipped in two coats of primer. To find any irregularities, it is inspected and filled and sanded. Then it is time for the final dip before the horse is ready for the unique hand painting. Nowadays, horses are available in a variety of basic colors, but the traditional and most famous is of course red.
The traditional painting found on Dala horses is called "krusmålning" and is closely related to kurbits. The "krusmålning" is painted freehand by skilled decorators. The last step is to give the horses a protective layer of clearcoat. Then it's time for them to leave Nusnäs and travel the world. They do this not only as a symbol for Dalarna but for the whole of Sweden.