The Suopunki exhibition will take place in one of the main venues of DesignMarch: Harpa, the beautiful Reykjavík concert hall and conference centre.

Suopunki is the Finnish name for the traditional equipment that is used to catch reindeer when single individuals are separated from the herds. In the exhibition the name is a metaphor for collecting together designers from different design scenes. The exhibition shows works of six arctic companies from Lapland, Finland, and twelve design students from the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland.

The northern location in Lapland and drawing inspiration from the arctic nature or nature materials, are the common denominators for the designers. Audiovisual material exhibited in Suopunki showcases University of Lapland’s projects for example in the fields of media art, snow design and fire sculptures.

Design students and their works:

Tarja Alahuhta: Snow Weave dishes. Handmade decorative ceramic dishes made of clay.

Annika Heikkinen: \re/news\ pendant light. The lampshade is made of an aluminium plate that has been used for newspaper printing. The printing plate is transformed into its final shape as origami.

Mauri Härkönen: Unique jewelry made of stainless damascus steel and silver.


Ulla Järvi: Herd print. The print describes one of the reoccurring themes in the Lappish traditions, reindeer horn, in a new, fresh and modern way. The print is part of Ulla’s Lapland print collection for modern and youthful people. (Photo: Iiro Rautiainen)

Sanna Konola: Oilspill, Erosion & Melting Glacier. The collection is based on Zero Waste sustainable design strategy and plant dyes. The pieces are named after major environmental concerns.


Netta Korhonen: Spider & Tikut. Spider stool (in photo), made of plywood, represents the shapes and forms of space rockets, with spider-like legs. The idea behind Tikut light was to create a manually adjustable and changeable lamp for different work and study environments.

Krista Korpikoski: Spring Ice. The product can be used as a seat, desk or stowage. Materials are from Lapland: they are locally chosen and produced; in addition they are ecological, durable and recyclable.

Marjo Kujala: Huurre. Dining table tablets and coasters are made of brushed stainless steel and cork, and inspired by the basic hexagonal form of the snowflake. In the surface of the product there’s a pattern called Lekkeri, designed by Ida-Lotta Metsävainio. The pattern is marked to the surface of steel with a new laser marking method developed for stainless steel.


Elisa Käyrä: Taikalintu (Magic Bird). Siberian jay, a northern forest bird, gave inspiration to this design. As in the process of designing the birds turned into magical.


Jenni Marttila: Keinu. A small and simple rocking chair designed for a modern home and made of birch and laminated birch veneer.


Pirita Norvanto: boho-chic. One-piece that can be worn outdoors. It combines the latest trend of knits with fur and it is sewn using traditional methods.

Jenni-Liisa Yliniva: Fobia. Unique handmade accessories made of old wool-sweaters and adorned with the signature bug.

Companies at Suopunki exhibition:
Akmeelikoru: Handmade jewelry
Arkheen: Koivunlehti. Adjustable and movable interior design ornament made of Finnish birch plywood.
Jaur: Steel design
Kaisa Sirén: Reindeer leather pillows
Maari: Ceramic interior design products made by the Raku technique
Paperivalo: Luminaires and interior design ornaments of handmade paper

More information on products

Suopunki – Design from Lapland Exhibition
March 14–17, 2013, DesignMarch Reykjavík
Venue: Harpa conference centre, Reykjavik, Iceland
The exhibition Suopunki is organized by WDC 2012 Helsinki–Rovaniemi: a joint project of Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency Ltd and University of Lapland.
DesignMarch Reykjavík online

More information on Suopunki exhibition:
Pia Lillberg, Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency Ltd, tel. +358 400 922 741, pia.lillberg (at) rovaniemi.fi
Tuija Jerndahl, University of Lapland, tel. +358 40 484 4421, tuija.jerndahl (at) ulapland.fi

ULapland/Communications/SV