This year, the City of Järvenpää and Keuda have carried out an interesting joint project, resulting in a wonderful Luonnotar souvenir for the city. The project is likely to spawn other unique branded items in the future.
The idea for the collaboration started when the city was considering replacing the traditional table standard, a small coat of arms wreath, with a different, dignified gift. Keuda was a natural partner because the City of Järvenpää is one of the municipalities that owns the Vocational Education and Training Association and the cooperation is close.
Keuda students were invited to participate in an open competition, where they were asked to submit suggestions for a valuable gift item and other branded products. The students were inspired by the Järvenpää City Brand Manual.
Hannu Seppänen , who is studying interior design in Järvenpää, decided to take up the challenge and his creations charmed the city jury right from the start. The first to go into production was a Luonnotar souvenir made of different types of wood and copper pipe. The Luonnotar is an ambiguous emblem in Järvenpää's new logo, designed three years ago and inspired by Sibelius' Luonnotar sculpture.
- I had just used wood and copper tubing to design and build the lamp. That was the inspiration for Luonnottare," says Hannu, who will soon be graduating to a new profession.
- The design and implementation of the gift was a very interesting and new challenge. The project coincided well with my studies in my own field and at the same time offered a lot of new insight into product design.
Hannu says that learning a new profession at Keuda has been very meaningful and rewarding.
- A big thank you goes to the interior design side, which has provided very good opportunities to use your creativity. With good teaching and quality tools, I have been able to realise a lot of my different ideas. In particular, the design and manufacture of different types of smart lighting has been great.
Hannu would like to get a job after his studies, where he could use his creativity, manual skills and create something new.
First Luonnotar Entrepreneur of the Year
Hannu saa työstään kaupungille 500 euron palkkion ja kaikki Luonnottaret varustetaan ”Made by Keuda” -sekä ”Designed by Hannu Seppänen” -tunnuksin.
- The first Luonnotar souvenir will be awarded to the Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 in September at Järvenpää's annual Entrepreneurs' Party, reveals Susanna Aramo, Business Services Manager of the city.
The magnificent Luonnotar gift will not be distributed or sold to the general public, but will be considered a gift to be given in very rare and precious situations. The first batch of Luonnotar, created by designer Hannu Seppänen himself, is only five pieces in size. In the future, they will be produced annually at Keuda's wood shop according to the city's needs, and the intention is to mass-produce products that can be distributed or sold more widely, such as wooden Luonnotar pancake holders and spanner holders.
- It is great that we can cooperate with Keuda in branded products and make use of local professional expertise, says Heli Komulainen, Communications Director of the City of Järvenpää.
- The Luonnotar logo was a classic when it was born, and Hannu's gift from it really does it justice.
Kirsi Talikainen, Keuda's Sales and Customer Relations Manager, says that Keuda was immediately excited about the new kind of cooperation with the City of Järvenpää.
- The best thing about this project has been that our students have been able to show their skills in both the concept and implementation phases. Hannu Seppänen, the winner of the competition, is a multi-talented student who we hope will have a successful career in the future," says Talikainen.
A satisfied project team: Heli Komulainen from the city, Arto Lehtola and Kirsi Talikainen from Keuda, award-winning author Hannu Seppänen and Susanna Aramo and Lotta Kaje from the city.