In 2018, Karen received a Reviving Folk Arts in the Midwest Fellowship through the American Scandinavian Foundation, to travel to Våmhus, home of her ancestors. There she learned how to make table-made hair jewelry from Joanna Svensson, a master hairworker. In October 2019, the Nordic Center in Duluth, MN featured a hair jewelry exhibition curated by Karen. She began teaching hair jewelry making, first at the Nordic Center and then at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN.
