Tuula Pöyhönen is one of my favourite Helsinki figures for two reasons: she is uncompromising in both what she says and what she does. Fashion designer by background, Tuula runs a family, a studio and a shop called ONNI (happiness or luck in Finnish) in her home, an old textile factory turned into loft apartments. I visited Tuula to discuss the meaning and impacts of working at home.
Tuula Pöyhönen caught by the ONNI shop's security camera.
What made you take your work home in the first place?
It felt ridiculous to keep the flat empty the whole day and rent a space for a shop where I couldn’t work on my products. This way, I can combine design work and shop-keeping just like the clothiers, shoemakers and other similar professionals did in the olden times. Also, it makes integrating family and work life easier.
Are there any downsides?
Sometimes it feels like a burden to have the laundry and other homework around. But I like to take care of that business during the day. When my children come home from the nursery, I want to spend time with them.
Tuula's son Mosse in his workshop. Photo by Tuula Pöyhönen.
ONNI is open by appointment or whenever you’re at home, and you have also lent the space for other purposes (like the OK Do launch party). Does it ever feel uncomfortable that your home is open to the public?
I don’t think about it that much. In addition to the shop, the apartment has been used for photo and film shoots, and if I take on design commissions, I often invite the clients over. My husband doesn’t mind either. Sometimes I’m wondering if it’s dumb to open your home and life, but then again, I haven’t got anything to hide. If a visitor gets uneasy to enter a space that is my home, it’s not really my problem. Once, as a student, I made a performance with my friend wearing our designs in a shop display window. I noticed that rather than feeling uncomfortable myself, many passersby felt uneasy about the fact that they were watching. For me, it has always been easier to invite people to my place and give rather than go to others’ and receive.
“If a visitor gets uneasy to enter a space that is my home, it’s not really my problem.”
What are the best things about having an open home?
As a creative professional, if you’re going to meet new clients, it might be difficult to convey your views and sense of style in an office meeting. I prefer to invite them over in order to show them the atmosphere of my home. It conveys what I’m like and how I work; the mentality that underpins my design. In my opinion, it’s nonsense to claim that a design professional is someone who is able to adopt to different clients’ wishes. I think that clients should go to designers who are on the same wavelength to begin with.
Do you think that it’s significant for the ONNI customers to see where the products come from?
I haven’t started the home shop in order to blazon that instead of child labour ONNI products are home-made. However, I’m personally fascinated by disclosed processes. I like how, in his new book The Interior World of Tom Dixon, designer Tom Dixon reveals his production methods, the materials he uses and what makes him inspired, instead of just displaying a polished end result.
Work on the dining table.
One designer I asked to interview refused because he thought that by revealing how small his home studio is, the brand would suffer. For you, it’s quite the opposite, I guess.
Yes, I don’t feel the need to hide the scale of my business. But perhaps some companies want to appear big because they believe that people want to buy success, that people wish to be part of something bigger. At the moment I’m hoping to grow my company, too – I wish to employ a sewer.
Does working at home set limits to collaboration?
In my case, collaboration is close; people come to my place and we barter. I sew curtains for my photographer and I’m also lucky to have a graphic designer as a husband. Despite working at home, I don’t want to isolate but work with other professionals.
“In my case, collaboration is close; people come to my place and we barter.”
I think people’s homes are some of the most inspiring places one can find. How does your home shape your work?
I have two sons (3,5- and 6-year-olds) and especially when they spent the days at home I had to choose techniques that allowed me to work in short spans. There was no way I could have made patterns, cut or sewn, so I started knitting products with thread. I’m also really inspired by the woodwork of my older son. Having started with making toys two years ago, he is now exploring how pieces of wood can create a space when nailed together. And without him, ONNI shop wouldn’t have its wooden security camera.