RURAL CULTURE REGENERATION 91


famous Finnish company Fiskars, creators of the country’s iconic, orange-handled scissor brand (and now owner of many other iconic Finnish design companies), when work was relocated to more modern production facilities a few hundred kilometres away during the 1990s, the company didn’t want to see the handsome stone and timber workspaces nor the cute timber workers cottages go to waste, and invited writers and artists to move in. Te vibe is extremely collaborative – blacksmiths,


glassblowers, woodworkers and artists work together on many projects, taking advantage of the generous studio spaces. Te artists have their own co-operative and through this they run their own gallery and shop facilities. Te whole site now attracts a few hundred thousand cultural tourists a year, many of them spending a day or more, enjoying the Fiskars-owned and run hotels and restaurants. Says Elisabeth Blomqvist, sales and marketing manager for Fiskars Village: ‘I don’t think anyone would have


thought of this happening in the 1990s. It makes sense because the Fiskars brand was born here. Te orange scissors were designed here. So crafts-minded people are drawn here. It’s a continuation of craft traditions.’ Tere are now around 600 people living in Fiskars. Says Blomqvist: ‘We have lots of people who live here but work in Helsinki and they go there once a week. Fiskars sells plots for building your own home. We are trying to get more people to move here. Tere’s a small school here. To keep that


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