Puustikki – passion for woodwork

Mika Kaakkolahti

In addition to working as a carpenter and sculptor, Mika is responsible for supervision of work at Puustikki. He is a furniture artisan by education, but before becoming a creator in the wood industry he was an Art Director for 12 years.

– Many people have wondered why I changed careers from computer artistry to waving about with an angle grinder, but at Puustikki it is only useful to have experience in graphic design. Creative problem solving is needed in both lines of work, and I enjoy it the most: you get kicks from planning how a piece of pine tree can for example be sculpted into squid tentacles on a wooden throne that appears shipwrecked.

Doing things half-heartedly is not enough for Mika, the hinges joining the structures need to be designed perfectly, so that the piece of furniture is as clean-cut as can be and can be used for decades. He mentions designing and implementing the interior of Gastrobar Wanha Krouvi in Rauma as one of the most memorable projects, along with another creative project, in which a troll-like rootstock bed was built according to the client’s wishes. Regarding the bed, the client desired to “sleep in a troll forest”, and the design was influenced by the forest, roots, the manifold mystery of nature, the fantasy world and troll stories.

Before working at Puustikki, Mika had run into the firm on Facebook.

– The majestic furniture gave me the chills: I thought, damn, that’s cool! I used to wonder whether my dream job even existed, one that wouldn’t feel forced – or like work. The graphic industry didn’t feel like the best option for me in the long run, and I had already given up a little on finding my dream job.

– At Puustikki I have realized, that I wouldn’t be able to implement my passion anywhere else. I want to leave a unique imprint into this world through epic furniture and interiors, I don’t want to make anything simple and boring, I genuinely want to push my own limits and challenge my potential.

Juho Manninen

With his TuoniCoru trademark, the self-taught jeweler Juho Manninen is skillfully sculpting his jewelry collection based on ancient beliefs, the Kalevala, Viking and Celtic mythology, and Nordic nature. His first rings were made out of applewood at the kitchen table.  

– I’m a Bachelor of Media by education, and I worked as a sound mixer for about six years in the Helsinki area. At some point I started thinking about my own values, I started to make rings by hand to deal with my stress. I also felt a longing to be among pure nature – we have plenty of that here in Tikkakoski.

– The nicest thing about my work is making wedding and engagement rings; they are always immensely meaningful for the client. At that moment they are the most important pieces of jewelry in the world for their users, and they constantly carry them everywhere they go.

Juho remembers a myriad of ring and jewelry projects well, because usually the clients have a story to tell about their material and design preferences – and precisely these stories inspire Juho.

– Each piece of jewelry has been designed and made unique for the user, even the ones in the basic collection. They are unique, because natural materials always vary a lot, and the jeweler’s handprint is supposed to be seen. Since I’m not an educated jeweler, I’m free to generate ideas, to listen closely to wishes and to interpret them.

– The necklaces that always make me pause in respect, are the pendants that I have made from pets’ ashes. In this piece of jewelry, the pet’s ashes are placed under the surface finishing. A pet is close to you for years of your life, but also after its death it can still literally be close to you.

Jukke Reinikka

As a teenager Jukke Reinikka dreamt of becoming a slaughter, but his career didn’t develop as smoothly as it could have.

– When I was in junior high school, it was possible to study to become a carver in Jyväskylä, but this line of study was discontinued just in time and changed into a basic degree in the food industry. We were tempted with promises of how “people always need to eat, cooks are always needed”. Those promises were just a load of bullshit, because after I became a cook, I spent many years unemployed.

Jukke had already worked with wood for years as a hobby when he began at Puustikki

in 2013, starting with a six-month probationary period. After that he became a furniture artisan by apprenticeship.

– I was Jarkko’s first employee, and we instantly hit it off. I think that one of the biggest unifying factors between us was Skyrim – it is such an all-encompassing world that it gives us inspiration, it is evident in our style. All of us play more or less, we are at the same wavelength.

– In the beginning our work was different, our imprint was crude enough, but Puustikki’s Viking-like style was found through some customer orders.

From when he first started off, Jukke remembers well the griffin sofa sculpted by Jarkko, which Jukke helped make by planing wood and glueing motifs.

– The sofa was so special and unique, I had never seen anything like it, not even online. That was when I understood that it is damn great to work in a place like this, where you get to be creative and crazy, to learn new things all the time, to take example from what others are doing and exercise your own eye.

Olli Matti (Olli) Wiik

What fascinates Olli Matti Wiik most at Puustikki, is that there is no absolute truth in designing and making epic furniture, it is the work of a creative artist. The furniture is sketched and given rough measurements from which the sculptor begins to implement the customer’s wishes, envisioning freely.

– All our products are different because each piece of wood is unique. I’m an artist soul and I have always learned a lot in the music field – and in this work it is evident that the more I learn, the more creative I can be.

The project he remembers especially well is working on the bar counter of the Katse Pub in Jyväskylä.

– The bar counter, which is 5 meters long, is imposing and surely different with its eagle heads and columns. The front was built by overlapping shingles, and it took four days to get the whole thing together.

Olli has worked as a salesperson in a record store, he has sold audio and hifi equipment and worked in a microbrewery. After completing his basic examination in construction, Olli for example renovated bathrooms. Right now, he is finishing his studies to become a furniture artisan.

– There are no bad days at Puustikki, only different days. When I was younger, I thought that the only thing that mattered was making money. Now I’m satisfied that I have been able to let go of that mindset. Money ruins things more often than it adds to anything – self-fulfillment and fulfilling your dreams is more important. I have not been able to achieve this in my other workplaces.

Tommi Kiviniemi

Carpenter Tommi Kiviniemi describes himself above all as a music person: he has been playing in different bands already from the 90s, playing the guitar and the bass.

When he began at Puustikki in July 2018, Tommi knew Mika and Olli from music circles, and the first weeks were spent in awe of what was happening.

– When I first saw what Jarkko had sketched in his notebook, I started to appreciate all of this immensely. The people working here really have a shitload of talent, almost daily you get to stare with your mouth open at what others are doing.

While studying woodwork in college, Tommi decided he didn’t want to work in industrial furniture production, working on similar pieces of plywood for 20 years.

– The studies focused on Scandinavian and symmetrical style, but it’s a different thing to grab an angle grinder and start rolling.

– At Puustikki the beginners get to attend “cutting board university” for the first months, which means that we make cutting and steak boards. The largest of his other work projects was the interior of Gastrobar Wanha Krouvi, which was made in the workshop in an almost psychotic state of flow, and which we then assembled for a week in Rauma.

Working with his hands and doing woodwork has been Tommi’s hobby ever since he was in elementary school. In addition to his music career, he has made his living for example as a freelance photographer and mailman.

– I listened to myself when I sought work in the wood industry. I felt a strong pull. And here I feel like I have found the best side of myself.