Finarte Journal - Nordic Roots, Global Spirit

Finarte collection is divided into two themes: Nordic Roots and Global Spirit. But what does the theme Nordic Roots mean to us? Let’s open up the theme and shed some light on what do we value most in our roots and being a Finnish brand.

The people.

It may be a cliché, but in Finland the most important thing for us is the people around us.

Finarte is a family-owned company, led today by the founders’ daughter Larissa and to this day, we truly work with our whole family. Apart from the office, where Finarte’s cofounder, Larissa’s father still works daily, you can often spot Larissa’s sister Ulrika or her mother Eija helping out at the concept store. Apart from our family we have 4 employees, of which some of them have worked with us since the 80’s. Hence, our team is like our second (or partly real) family!

Our “Finarte family” extends further: it consists of our designers, retailers and other partners. We like to work with people longer than just for one project or a sudden need. Hence, some of our designers have become like AD’s for us and some retailers co-designers. It’s really a warm community, where everyone can speak their minds.

Our Finarte family wouldn’t be whole without you – our customers. We genuinely love meeting people in person and every encounter with a customer feels like a unique ride, where we get to dive into one’s life and try to find the best solution possible. We’re very honoured of the feedback we’ve got during all these years – some of our customers remember our designs by names back from the 80’s, that’s just amazing!

Finnish weaving tradition.

The very foundations of Finarte is in what we call “design rag rugs” – a modern version of our common Finnish heirloom: a rug that is handwoven on a loom from old textiles, with distinctive stripes and colors that tell a story of each family.

The history of rugs in every Scandinavian home is long, and we aim to maintain these traditions with new colors and styles. Our company has grown out of love for handmade, well designed rugs, as our co-founder Eija Rasinmäki had the calling to both renew and maintain the Finnish rag rug heritage.

“When you design the wefts, colour world and patterns to a rug, a soul is woven into it as well”, Eija tells.

We have been bringing the Finnish weaving traditions and methods also abroad as we’ve shared our knowledge with our Indian weavers. One could say, our work in India is an exchange of ideas and inspiration about everything from manual weaving techniques to novel, reusable materials.

Some of our designer are talented weavers themselves and experts of textile industry and that knowledge of and appreciation for handmade products is a distinguishing part of our designs.

Although our collection is expanded to various kind of styles, the traditional Finnish rag rugs maintain their place in core collection.

Finnish pure wilderness.

Our textiles reflect the surrounding Nordic nature, as it’s one of the greatest source of inspiration for us and our designers.

The Finnish forests are meaningful places for us – forests offer a place to calm down and enjoy the silence. We advocate what science has proven: walking in a forest will lower your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s the perfect de-stresser!

Have you seen our Suovilla rug yet? We think it brings the Finnish forest and beautiful bog lands perfectly right to one’s interior.

We cannot talk about nature without saying a word about the sea and especially the Baltic sea and its Gulf of Finland. The sea is such a meaningful element to us as our headquarters is based by the sea in Kotka, overlooking the gulf of Finland. Kotka is also the hometown of our family and growing up by the sea has affected us widely. Maybe the sea is the thing that has sown a seed of curiosity to see the world for us. When visiting Kotka, you will see people sitting on the shores (or in their cars by the shore, because its too cold outside..), just gazing to the sea, wondering where it may take us.

We think our designer Marianne Huotari from STUDIO smoo has captured nautical atmosphere very well into Saaristo rug.

Finns in general have a strong connection to nature and hence, we want to make our part for a more sustainable tomorrow that preserves this precious asset. On our all cotton rugs we use only recycled and upcycled cotton. In addition to recycled cotton, we use natural materials such as wool and quickly renewable jute. A year ago we launched our first rug made from recycled plastic bottles – Turkana – that the Fair Trade design company Mifuko designed for us.

Trustworthiness.

Finnish people may be described as a quiet folk from time to time, but for us it represents sincerity and authenticity. If a Finn promises something, you can count on his or her word. So, if you send us an email you will get a short and sweet reply with less of chitchat, but it is an answer you can count on.

We also see trustworthiness as a crucial part of sustainability. For us, a genuinely sustainable company ecology must address three interdependent concerns: the material environment, a shared social equity and economic benefit, as well as the preservation of precious handicraft traditions and techniques.

Read more about our views on sustainability here.

Finnish design.

We think our Finnish designer are amongst the best you can find, and we’re always proud to bring their work also abroad.

Our products carry the Design from Finland mark, that indicates the origin of unique Finnish design and emphasises the importance of intangible work for Finland’s success and employment. In other words, all Finarte rugs are designed in Finland albeit handwoven carefully in India.

Our design philosophy is based on the aim to produce only items that last for long – both by style and by quality. We strive to use as much recycled materials as possible, and alongside we use natural materials such as wool and jute.

All of our cotton and cotton mix rugs are woven from upcycled and recycled materials, just like our rolemodels and forerunners of Finnish textile design did already decades ago.

If you are visiting Finland, there is a plethora of interesting design sights, from beautiful village of Fiskars or the Design Museum in Helsinki to sightseeing award-winning libraries and public spaces. We also highly recommend a visit to Finarte’s roots: Eija Rasinmäki’s weaving mill Kutomo Rasinmäki in Oitti, just an hour away from Helsinki.