Recently we visited Fiskars Village. You may not recognise the name but I’m pretty confident there’s something of theirs in your home right now.
Just an hour west of Helsinki, Fiskars was established in 1649 around an ironworks factory. Other industrial buildings, such as a granary and cutlery factory were built and are now home to accommodation, stores and galleries.
The town was built around a river that acted as a means of transport as well as a source of power. The village is now home to a community of artists and artisans who live and work locally.
Walking around we felt as though we had landed inside a scene from a Finnish calendar. Part of its beauty also lies in the fact that unlike some Finnish towns, Fiskars is open all year round (days & hours change in winter).
The old fire station is still standing and is now a theatre, with a tower that was once used to hang hoses out to dry.
There’s an excellent modern playground as well as relics from the town’s past.
We visited a candle shop housed in a former dairy, where we bought candles scented for Christmas.
We also stopped by a brewery, housed in a former knife factory. We were interested to learn that some of their beers are made with New Zealand hops, as well as Finnish tar and spruce tips.
Fiskars Village is very walkable – you don’t need a car – and there are places such as Petri’s Chocolate Room where you can stop to refuel.
There are also lots of stores, selling jewellery, homewares, clothing and glass – most of which is handmade locally.
After a wonderful afternoon we headed back to our accommodation for dinner in Finland’s longest continuously running hotel.
And what is this Finnish icon you have in your home? Well Fiskars is also the name of the resultant company that still manufactures items for gardening, cooking and craft today.
In 1967 they designed the world’s first pair of plastic handled scissors, selling over a billion pairs since – was one of them to you?
Photo: Fiskars
Next week: The Exhibitionists (what we saw in Fiskars)
