Tiina Koivusalo

How did you become a designer?

It felt like a natural direction because I've always drawn. As a child, I could not have imagined such a profession. There was no one in my close circle who drew for work. After high school, I was in two stages whether to go into science or art. Of course, luck and chance have also been involved.

 

How did you end up as a designer at Vimma?

Linda Lingo and I shared the same studio when she was designing her first Vimma patterns. Even then, I got excited about the idea of designing something for Vimma. However, the idea remained dormant for a year when I was on maternity leave. At the end of the baby year, I contacted Marjutti with my ideas. And that's how our fruitful cooperation quickly started.

 

Tell me the story of a Vimma pattern that is important to you?

Every pattern I make is special to me because the patterns I design have memories related to different places. I work on my prints mainly based on photographic material. The same way I make photo collages in my artworks. The Rinkeli pattern features the mountains of Panama, the Licorice pattern the coast of Australia, the Silkinauha pattern the coastline of Iceland, and the Myrsky pattern the Turku archipelago, where I camped on the shooting trip. A great moment is always when I see the pattern I designed for the first time on my own child.

 

The most wonderful thing in life right now...

My small, happy and resourceful daughter, and my beloved husband. Green tea and delicious slow breakfasts with the family.

 

On my desktop right now..

Porcelain dishes, laser-cut wooden prototypes, Muji notebooks, pieces of Vimma fabric and a yellow maple leaf from a trip to kindergarten. I am currently working on my upcoming exhibition.

 

It feels like autumn now..

Evenly comfortable. As I write this, the sun is shining and the autumn leaves are glowing.

 

Favorite hobby is…

Bathing. Water as an element is so relaxing. It also takes your thoughts to the seas, lakes, rivers, outdoor swimming pools and onsens where you have taken a dip on photography trips.

 

When planning, I listen to the radio...

I am a big consumer of podcasts. I'm especially interested in various science-themed podcasts, but I often listen to a wide variety of themes. When I get tired, I turn to music. Ylen Ykkönen always plays on the radio in the morning, although the channel changes during church services.

 

My favourite food is…

I've been a vegetarian almost all my life and when I eat out I like to try different vegetarian options, which are delightfully available these days. At the moment, my favorites are e.g. Ethiopian, Vietnamese and my all time favorite Thai food. I'm still waiting for a good Indonesian restaurant with Gado Gado.

 

I would like to visit again sometime...

I have traveled a lot both alone and with my spouse and now with my small family. I try to organize my work pattern in such a way that I have been able to take several trips of several months, where I fly as little as possible and use various public transports. The cargo ship trip from Le Havré to Trinidad and Tobago has been the single most memorable trip.

Choosing one place is difficult, because I believe that all corners of the world have their interesting aspects. I would like to go to Morocco to taste real mint tea, in South Korea I would like to see my favorite Jeoncha tea plantations, Socotra with its wild nature only lingers in my dreams, because due to the situation in Yemen, it is impossible to know when it would be possible to get there at all, I would like to go on a summer vacation to Saaremaa and I haven't managed to visit Sipoo Korve yet .

 

The most beautiful part of my hometown is...

Uunisaari in Helsinki has wonderful stone patterns in granite.

 

Future work stuff…

A new exhibition is in the works.

 

Tiina's line is...

Alive and forever seeking a harmonious form.

 

My favorite outfit is…

Warm and soft. An Icelandic wool coat works well.

 

Forest..

It is familiar, safe and fragrant. Forests are a source of inspiration. It would be interesting to study more of them also professionally.

 

Legs, pillar, dösä, track or car?

Legs and pillar, and wheel.

 

I was playing..

I play with different materials, both on a machine and three-dimensionally. In a large amount of the same material, there is always a rhythm that leads forward, whether the end result is a work of art or a clothing pattern.

 

I hate it when people..

I hate it when people don't stand up for each other. Turning your head away when someone shouts racist or misogynistic comments on the tram. I personally try to stop such situations when I see them.

 

I could just eat..

Pasha.

 

What song is playing in your mind right now?

Allan Edwall, 'Årstider'. I enjoy listening to music in Swedish, but I also use them to practice Swedish so that I can understand everything my child is talking about.

 

A style icon or a guy in general that you're a fan of in this world?

Strong women who create their own unique career. Kusama, my friend Jenni Tuominen, Tove Jansson and many others.

 

Who do you follow on ig? Why?

My Insta is pretty family-oriented.

 

How do you work?

It's calm and bright in my lovely studio of Linnunlaulu. I usually work during office hours on weekdays, with no exceptions.

 

As a child…

I always drew and did crafts. Outside, we built huts with my sisters from long milk pipes and made dams in the streams in the spring. For my My Little Ponies, I shredded, taped and painted large castles from brown cardboard boxes.

 

Some of my own duuni, which has been especially remembered..

The design and organization of the pop-up restaurant 'Wonderwater*, which informs about water consumption, in Tian Hai, Beijing's Hutong area with Iina Välilä (and many collaborators) a few years ago has remained in my memory. There were cultural clashes along the way, but overall the project was great and educational.

 

What kind of patterns fascinate you right now?

Organic, powerful, delicate and wild patterns.

 

What do colors mean to you?

I admire expressive and rambunctious people more than anything. I, on the other hand, stick to black and white or a restrained color scale when I feel it is somehow manageable. When I'm making color choices, the innumerable number of options paralyzes me, while narrowly limiting the options helps me focus on the essentials, shapes and shades.

 

Where can we see your work in the future?

Vimma, in my upcoming exhibition and maybe in different spaces.

 

Website os? Ig?

tiinakoivusalo.com