Matterland Souvenirs

The door lets out varnish, new wool, and the sweet dust of wood cut indoors. Shelves of chalets — roofs you can count the shingles on. A row of *Schwarznasenschafe*, black nose and spiral horns, at the height of a child’s hand. Lift a music box and it has that thin metal tinkle that does not belong to a phone. Hubert Perren built the house in the early 1950s. Elfriede took it. The third generation is still behind the till. Four women, six languages, some of the pieces sewn or carved by the people who sell them..