Made from wood
It is no coincidence that one of Finland's most successful furniture manufacturers comes from Fiskars. The small town, which is around an hour's drive south-west of Helsinki, attracts artists, designers and craftspeople in equal measure. In the 1990s, creative people from all over the country came here, restored the empty historic houses and opened workshops, shops and cafés. The origins of the town date back to 1649, when an ironworks was established here, from which the company of the same name emerged.
Kari Virtanen opened a carpentry workshop in 1967 in Seinäjoki, Finland, not far from the river Nikkarinkoski, and was immediately recognised as a great talent in his trade. Even as a child, he made small things out of wood to support his family from the proceeds, says Johanna Vuorio. He named his company after the Finnish word Nikkari, which means carpenter, and after the neighbouring river. Virtanen's collaboration with Alvar Aalto's architecture firm, for which he realised numerous projects between 1967 and 1974, shows that he was well connected with Nikari from the very beginning. The wooden tray, which is still the oldest Nikari product in the range, was created for the Aalto-designed Lakeuden Risti church in Seinäjoki. Virtanen was always active as a designer himself and received the prestigious Bruno Mathsson Award in 1987. It was also he who designed the well-known sauna stool ‘Periferia KVJ3’, which was later added to the Nikari collection.
At some point, however, Virtanen wanted to do more than just run a workshop, even though he had achieved fame and renown as a cabinetmaker in Finland. He wished to spend more time on his own artistic work and envisioned Nikari as a company that would sell furniture all over the world – designed by renowned designers and made from solid wood. Here is where Johanna Vuorio, who had worked as a product manager at Finnish furniture manufacturer Avarte for several years and had a wealth of expertise, came into play. She had all the skills needed for this demanding job, having studied Design Business Management and Wood Technology. Virtanen and Vuorio had long conversations, he told her about his past, his dreams and his daring business ideas. A good year and a few sleepless nights later, she quit her job and embarked on the Nikari adventure in 2009. Vuorio tells the story and adds that furniture made from wood was not in demand in the designer furniture industry at the time. However, as the joinery business simply continued to run on the side, the business risk was foreseeable.
We meet Johanna Vuorio, who now holds the majority of company shares, at Nikari's headquarters. It is housed in a historic brick building from the early 19th century not far from the centre of Fiskars. Right next door is the workshop where the highly crafted pieces of furniture are produced. Nikari manufactures all other furniture in two other Finnish production facilities, one of which specialises in the production of tables. The main sales markets for the wooden furniture are France, Great Britain and the USA - the German market is yet to be conquered.
Johanna Vuorio had to start almost from scratch to establish Nikari as a global design brand. The fact that she has managed to join the ranks of Finnish design icons such as Artek in just a few years is down to her knowledge of the industry and the company's clever strategic direction. Nikari favours wood, a typical Finnish material, and collaboration with renowned designers, including Jasper Morrison, Claesson Koivisto Rune, John Pawson, Cecilie Manz and Alfredo Häberli. Almost all furniture and accessories such as screens and coat racks are made from solid oak or ash wood and are sometimes combined with other natural materials such as leather and linen. Always timeless and sometimes monastic and austere in appearance, they oscillate aesthetically between Scandinavia, Japan and the Shakers. ‘More and more people want to live with simple things,’ says Vuorio, trying to explain the success.
One of the company's best-known pieces of furniture is the versatile "December Chair", which Jasper Morrison and Wataru Kumano designed in 2012 for Nikari's ‘Nature Collection’. The collection was created for the World Design Capital Helsinki – an event that the company skilfully used to internationalise its own brand. The ‘December Chair’ combines everything that is typical of Nikari products: high-quality materials such as wood, leather and linen fabrics emphasise the quality of the craftsmanship and clear design. Johanna Vuorio, who has also been CEO of Woodnotes since 2020, also likes to surround herself with Nikari furniture in her private life. ‘I'm one of those people who always has lots of things buzzing around in my head at the same time,’ she says with a laugh. ‘That's why I like clear, minimalist interior design.’
Following the visit to Nikari, we return to the village. Fiskars makes a pretty good living from its artistic myth and has developed into a successful tourist destination over the years. And even though visitors flock to the village, especially in the summer months, its charm has been preserved. One of the main reasons for this is that a co-operative ensures that the quality of craftsmanship and design is high. Onoma is the name of this association, which was founded in 1994 and provides exhibition and sales opportunities. The members, including Johanna Vuorio and Kari Virtanen, are very well networked. Just recently, some of them showed their works in the ‘Fragile’ exhibition at the Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale, while Nikari furnished the ‘living room’ of an imaginary flat in a historic granary with his furniture, complemented by rugs from Woodnotes. Somehow, everything in this place seems to have something to do with everything else.
