MUM'S SINCE 2006

By Anna Akhmetova

Mum’s is a small design company based in Finland which sells textiles, home decor items and jewellery within the country and abroad. The products are designed in Finland in cooperation with some of the best designers and artists in the region and produced by skilled artisans in Bolivia, South Africa, India and Cambodia according to the principles of fair trade.

Outi Puro is a designer, an artist, the founder and the heart of Mum’s. It all started several years ago when Outi was working as a sculptor and doing her communal art project. The project consisted of a series of baking performances. One of them, “52 Sundays”, included Outi baking buns at home with her kids and at Helsinki railway station. Another performance, called “Baking for my long lost friend” lead her to Africa in 2006 to bake buns for her long lost African friend Diane. With the help of Diane, Outi travelled around Africa and met local craftsmen and artists. She was inspired by their culture and their works and also realized that they were in the same situation as she was - trying to combine creative work and family. Many of the craftsmen she met were women with children trying to balance work with taking care of their families. This lead Outi to an idea of a collaboration, and she designed bags which women in Africa could make for her art project. Over the years, this art project turned into a sustainable design company employing over 40 people, with Outi being in charge of the collection.

Mum’s slogan is “making good with goods.” The company works in close cooperation with the craftsmen and takes into account their needs. The craftsmen, for example, can work from home, which eliminates travel costs, saves on childcare expenses and allows more people to join the workforce. Working for Mum’s improves the quality of their lives and creates many new opportunities for them and their children, who now have the possibility to go to school and learn how to read and write. You can read interviews with the craftsmen at the end of this newspaper.

Mum’s products are simple, joyful, and functional, in the best traditions of minimalistic Scandinavian design. What distinguishes them among other high quality Scandinavian interior products is the touch of authentic ancient handicraft culture of countries like Bolivia, South Africa, India and Cambodia. Each design is adjusted to the techniques of the artisans in the areas where these items are produced, and all products are handmade, making them truly unique. Outi works in collaboration with such renowned designers as Anu Penttinen, Susanna Vento, Maija Louekari, Saana ja Olli, Heath Nash, Haldane Martin, and Reetta Ahola, and carefully picks and finetunes each product design herself. The creation of a new collection is a long process. A product starts out from a Nordic-inspired design, goes through several changes and adjustments to fit the techniques of the craftsmen, and finishes as a beautiful and ecologically sustainable product, made with joy and love.

Take a look what has happened to Mum’s since the beginning from the timeline below!

Mum’s not only aims to improve the lives of people in distant locations, but also serves the Finnish community by organizing happenings and local charity events. Since 2011, in cooperation with other designers and NGOs, Mum’s has been organizing the Flowerdrops project - an art event, which promotes ecological sustainability and donates all the profits to charity.

Mum’s was born in 2006 while Outi and her family went to Africa. These children are happy to go to school. And their parents are even happier to be able to provide them the possibility to go to school and learn things. Most of MUM’s handicrafters cannot read or write, because they did not have a chance to go to school as kids.