When did you choose to pick up this craft?
When I was a child, I had the opportunity to visit the Arabia factory multiple times, and once there was an artisan called Kauko Rajala. He asked me what I would like him to create on his pottery wheel and I said a bottle. Watching him, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up.
How is your craft linked to your region?
All my products: tea bowls, lamps, sculptures and flowerpots are handmade out of the local earthware clay from Kutela village in Somero, southwest Finland. This clay gives the products a wonderfully unique and iron-rich earthy character.
©Nelli Kivinen
What was the first object you made?
I started during the Finnish economic recession in the 90s, not knowing how to survive as an artisan, and so I decided to find out what people genuinely needed. Visiting a vegetarian restaurant, I discovered that they needed a fermenting pot. So, the first object I designed was a sauerkraut fermenting pot.
What has been a memorable moment as an artisan?
When I was working in Yixing, I was asked to demonstrate my wheel throwing skills, as I believe the locals weren't used to seeing a woman using such a technique. The Chinese men were astonished and the local women laughed at the men.