Tammi Jewellery

Marjut Kemppi

Miia Saarikko

By Henrik KIHILMAN

AN OLD ICONIC COMPANY´S REBIRTH

When Miia Saarikko and Marjut Kemppi

took over Tammi jewellery Ltd. it was a well-known and reputed company. It had been built from scratch by its´ founder Alpo Tammi who founded the company in the city of Turku in 1954.

Alpo Tammi was born with a nose for business. He was already as a boy earning his own pocket money by selling home grown garden produce in the market. After getting his goldsmiths education as apprentice at the Turku based jewellery company Auran Kotka, he soon realized that he could make more money as an independent entrepreneur than working as a goldsmith in the factory. With those words he gave notice and started his own company Kultaseppä A. Tammi (Goldsmith A. Tammi). To begin with the workforce consisted of himself and a few fellow students in a basement workshop.

The career took off on a grander scale after he had founded Tammen Koru Oy. The company that is still existing and thriving today by the name of Tammi Jewellery Ltd. under a new owner- and leadership. The products were at first designed by goldsmith Pekka Rosenberg. A few years later jewellery designer Riitta Hakala joined the team, and she was later assisted by current owner and designer Marjut Kemppi. At the time 80 – 90 % of the production was selling on export. The main export markets were in Norway, Sweden and Germany. Finland was up until the 1980´s a major jewellery exporting country and Finnish pavilions and companies was a common sight at the international goldsmiths´ fairs. The company grew and in 1991 it already had its own production facilities built in the city of Turku.

HOW DO YOU CONTINUE?

When the founder Alpo Tammi died and the next generation took over times had changed, and it became harder to renew the production and adapt to the demand. When Alpos´ son Ari unexpectedly passed away an opportunity to take over the business was offered to Marjut and Miia. Marjut had already many years of experience of the company as she had worked there as a goldsmith and designer. Miias experience was the one of a satisfied customer. Her father had for years bought the family gifts from Tammen Koru and knew that it represented high quality, good design and skillful craftsmanship. Miia was at the time working with marketing and branding in a totally different field, but she was looking for a new challenge in design, marketing, and branding. This seemed like a good opportunity to build something new on the solid base of an old well reputed company. All of this led to the start of the reborn Tammi Jewellery Ltd.

A NEW START

When the ownership changed the company also celebrated itś 60th anniversary

-We wanted to make something new and different to both celebrate our new company and show the customers what we can produce both design- and quality wise. What could be more suitable for the occasion than a flower. The Orchid was our first launch, and it was well received on the market. We are very particular of the quality. Despite that many companies today design and produce using 3D technology we feel that we can produce more diverse products using more traditional methods in our production and that we can achieve that little extra luster by polishing each piece by hand. With the new start the company burst into bloom. While renewing the brand, designing new models, and creating new business relations also the older production has awakened a new interest in both older and new customers. Luckily our archives are full of future vintage designs that we are proud to take into production again.

OUR MARKET

Tammi Jewellery Ltd is not a big company. Therefore, we are now, aiming our resources mainly to master the domestic market serving jewellery retailers across the country and strengthening our brand as a strong domestic sustainable quality product. The products are designed to last time, to be durable and last through generations.

By using traditional goldsmithing techniques the quality remains high, and the jewellery is always adjustable, repairable.

We also emphasize sustainability by using recycled materials. This is very important if you want to be responsible and make a difference in the vast supply of mass-produced jewellery. Internet and digital solutions offer new ways of making our brand known outside the smaller local circles. -Even though we are now concentrating our resources on the domestic market we are in the future interested in broadening our territory. International sales platforms are of interest, and we feel that we have both the brand and design to offer interesting jewellery in Scandinavian design to an international audience.

IN THE NEAR FUTURE

-We want to develop our assortment to become stronger on the wedding front. Wedding and engagement rings make up for a big segment of the market and is as such a very important product category. It is many times the first jewellery encounter for a young person. A good experience can lead to a life lasting relationship with your jewellery supplier. At the moment we make a lot of silver jewellery. We plan to increase our supply of gold jewellery to better serve our customers demand in the more luxurious segment. The past two years of restrictions have been as challenging for us as it has been for our colleagues all over. During this time entrepreneurs have developed new innovative ways of conducting business. We are now eagerly waiting for society and business to open again and see what lies ahead.■

https://www.tammijewellery.com/