In media

How to recognize a professional - priest's clothing

Kirkko ja Kaupunki | January 20, 2022 | Hanna Antila

The collar has always been a symbol of the priesthood, but time, customs, values ​​and fashion have also regulated how priests dress. For ten years now, the majority of Finnish female priests have worn the Valonsäde collection designed by Kirsimari Kärkkäinen.

Read the full article from here.

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Eckerö Line dressed up as a modern sailor

Aromi | 23.6.2021 | Mariaana Nelimarkka

Eckerö Line renewed the work clothes of its entire staff last autumn. What kind of project is it to renew the clothing collection of a large company? Eckerö's purchasing manager, Johanna Hertsi, tells how she brought the project to fruition.

Read the full article from here .

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New workwear collection for Eckerö Line

Ikkunapaikka | 5.10.2020 | Antti Haukkamaa

Eckerö Line's staff has received new workwear. The aim of the renewal of the workwear collection was to bring a more youthful look, ease of working, flexible, breathable materials, and a uniform look between different departments.

Read the full article here.

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These Finnish brands make sustainable clothing – see the list

IL 21.4.2020

The FINIX project, which studies sustainability in the textile industry, has published a list of Finnish fashion companies that they are now encouraging to support. Telakka is included in the list of sustainable clothing and accessories.

Read the article IL here and learn more about the FINIX campaign.

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Pragmatic responsibility

AROMI 1/2020 | published January 9, 2020 | Interview with Kirsimari Kärkkäinen about workwear trends

"Responsibility is increasingly visible in workwear. I personally like the trend where responsibility is not just tacked on, but is truly part of the company's core, operations and values. In this case, responsibility is above all sustainable choices, the timelessness of designs and the quality of fabrics."

Read the full article here. You can also read more about the interview on our blog.

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A designer is changing the world — one (work) garment at a time

Statement: Tekstiililehti No. 4-2018 | 5.12.2018 | Kirsimari Kärkkäinen

"I advocate for responsibility at the core of all actions and therefore use the jargon of ecology and ethics with caution. Responsible practices, openness and transparency on this wonderful planet of ours must be our common goal."

Read the full article here.

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Female priestess radiates light

Turun Sanomat | December 28, 2018 | Mervi Luotonen

Female priests are increasingly seen wearing Valonäsäde, a clothing collection that is slowly becoming more popular. Katri Rinne was among the first in Turku to use it. The Valonäsäde clothing collection for female priests, designed by clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, is becoming more popular as employees renew their uniforms.

Read the article here.

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Kirsimari Kärkkäinen won the Veikkaus fashion design competition

Veikkaus | March 28, 2018

Clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen's winning streak continued when she took first place and 10,000 euros in the Veikkaus fashion design competition. Experienced Kärkkäinen has won every fashion design competition she has participated in throughout her career.

Read the article here.

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Opportunities as the Winner of 2018 Fashion Design Competition 

Veikkaus | March 2018 | Ari Räsänen

Veikkaus visited Kirsimari Kärkkäinen's office

Watch the video here.

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Increase workplace well-being one piece of workwear at a time

AROMI 7/2016 | Maaret Launis |

"It's a completely different thing to dress people who don't have customer contact than waiters and other customer service staff. Workwear is an excellent way to brand and market a restaurant, and of course, improve the staff's enjoyment of their work. I've even heard people say things like, "I want to work for that company because they have the best looking workwear."

Read the article here.

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Functional workwear emphasizes the brand and improves the day

ProRESTO 2/2016 | Merja Kihl and Ari Mononen |

“I initially became interested in developing workwear about twenty years ago because their design had hardly utilized visuals or even comfort. Most of the time, workwear was just about making it practical. Things started to change when the 21st century came around. That’s when companies started to see the potential of workwear in terms of communication and branding.”

Read the article (pages 30-33) here.

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Leijona launches a completely new high-visibility protective clothing collection

Promaint magazine, Industry news | December 9, 2015 | Leijona Group

With its new collection, Näkyvät, suitable for winter and summer use, Leijona is seeking strong growth in the global workwear market. All products meet the requirements of the new high-visibility clothing standard (EN ISO 20471).

“Design and innovative product development are significant pillars of competitiveness and brand building, also in the workwear market,” says CEO Pekka Hyttinen .

''I wanted to create a contemporary attention-grabbing collection for Leijona that includes practical details and serves the needs of its customers with a functional design. Finland should be bolder in following the example of other Nordic countries, making design and product development part of the company's competitiveness, just like Leijona is doing now'', Kirsimari Kärkkäinen adds.

Read the article from here.

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This garment will last a long time - Workwear designers dress workers on land, at sea and in the air. A good outfit will last through time and wear.

HS | August 2, 2015 | Katja Martelius

Many motorists still go to Käpylä ABC to fill up their tank.

You can also drink coffee while you're there. It is served – or rather, cashed at the cash register – by a middle-aged woman dressed in a light green polo shirt (the same green as the one on the gas station wall), a black apron and trousers with a blue-grey cap on her head.

If I had to describe the outfit, it would be pretty unisex, meaning suitable for both sexes. A touch of sauna hat-like whimsicalness. Not too fashionable in any way.

OUTFIT DESIGNER Kirsimari Kärkkäinen , 48, a clothing designer specializing in workwear, was awarded the Ornamo award in the design industry in the spring. Workwear designed by Kärkkäinen can be seen at gas stations, on a Swedish ship, and in a church.

"When I graduated, I didn't want to participate in creating unnecessary mass fashion. I didn't want to produce anything useless," Kärkkäinen says in his studio in Hietalahti, Helsinki.

Read the article from here.

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Award-winning designer wants to dress farmers

Maaseudun tulevaisuus | May 15, 2015 | Katja Lamminen

Over a hundred thousand Finns work in clothes designed by Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. Finnish design is trusted by conductors, construction workers and female priests alike.

"Not a day goes by that I don't see the clothes I designed while walking down the street or on TV in the evening, it's quite rewarding," Kärkkäinen smiles.

Kärkkäinen company Telakka has designed a ready-made workwear collection for the service sector. Hairdressers, shops, restaurants and hotels will now be able to order clothing with their own colors and logos.

Read the article from here.

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A dress person dresses like a man

Ilkka, Pohjalainen, Hämeen Sanomat | April 19, 2015 | Pirjo-Liisa Niinimäki

Clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen was obsessed with trendy overalls as a child. Then she realized that instead of trends, durability and quality are more important. Now she designs the nobility of workwear. For herself, she buys several similar shirts in a masculine style if she finds a good model.

Fashion designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen has hung a small orange dress on the wall, decorated with a crochet pattern on the front. She wore the dress when she was three or four years old.

"The dress reminds me of where I come from and where my skills in making things with my hands, entrepreneurial spirit, and thinking about sustainable development come from," she says.

Read the article from here.

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A worker must be visible and must look good at work.

Aamulehti | March 26, 2015 | Marja Aaltio

Award-winning designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen influences people's well-being through clothing. Designing workwear is also about safety.

What connects a female priest, a conductor and an ABC salesman?

Everyone is wearing clothes designed by designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. She is a recent recipient of the Ornamo award. The award is presented by the Finnish Industrial Art Association Ornamo.

The girl who graduated from Tammerkoski's art-focused upper secondary school was supposed to become an engineer. She liked mathematics and got into Tampere University of Technology.

-I noticed that the teaching was too theoretical. I wanted to do something concrete with my hands. Kärkkäinen found her field at the Wetterhoff School of Arts and Crafts. She was able to study fashion design and graduated in 1995. Kärkkäinen ended up designing workwear for three reasons. The most important of these was responsibility.

-The 1990s were a time of the mass fashion boom. I didn't want to be producing useless stuff, but to make something necessary and sustainable.

The choice of field was also influenced by the little engineer who still lives inside Kärkkäinen.

-I love knowing why a material behaves in a certain way. I've always been interested in the functionality of things.

For Kärkkäinen, clothing is not just an art object. Through workwear, she can also influence the well-being and safety of employees.

LEGISLATION and standards dictate what work clothes should be like in many sectors. The clothes worn by people working in buildings and on roads must be visible both in daylight and in the dark. Kärkkäinen does not see the regulations as restrictions.

-It's great to realize the different ways you can meet the requirements.

Kärkkäinen's work is broad. If one extreme is represented by work clothes for construction professionals, the other could be a set of uniforms for Evangelical Lutheran church priests. The new uniforms were introduced about four years ago.

-I'm proud of the outfits. The whole thing had to cater to different female bodies and also look good.

Kärkkäinen believes that the designer's role is to act as an interpreter between the customer and product development. The designer finds out what the customer wants and how to achieve it.

-I interview the customer, I also go on the work site to get to know the working conditions and talk with the users.

Kärkkäinen laughs that she is a perpetual student. In addition to her basic studies, she has completed a specialization in responsible business at the University of Helsinki. At the University of Technology, she completed a course where students developed business ideas from client companies into concepts.

The idea of ​​development is being continued by a new company, Telakka Kiihdyttämö, which officially started operations last fall. Its purpose is to help designers move forward by providing expertise and facilities for their use.

-The weakness of Finns compared to Swedes, for example, has been branding. In Finland, people often start with the product, while in Sweden they first think about the concept, target group and brand and design products that fit it.

Telakka supports the designer, for example, with obtaining financing or developing sales, production and logistics. Its purpose is also to bring designers and investors together so that investors learn to believe in the industry.

In addition to work, Kärkkäinen's life also includes four children.

-I believe that a person can do what is important to them. A large family has always been important to me.

Kärkkäinen got her model of doing things from her entrepreneurial parents' .

-They instilled in me the joy of doing things, the passion, and the curiosity, and I am grateful for that.

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Ornamo Award to clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen

TEK magazine | March 23, 2015 | Katariina Rönnqvist

Read the article from here.

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The Slush team chose the design award of the year

Kauppalehti | March 21, 2015 | Pirkko Tammilehto

Read the article from here.

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Workwear design is far from the glamour of the fashion world.

YLE Kulttuuri | March 20, 2015 | Mia Gustafsson

This year's Ornamo Award for Design goes to clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, who has primarily designed workwear for Finnish companies. The winner was chosen this year by the Slush team.

Kirsimari Kärkkäinen is perhaps one of Finland's most prominent clothing designers, as her work can be seen on the personnel of VR, Sokos hotels, ABC gas stations and several shipping companies, among others. Kärkkäinen has always been drawn to functionality; clothing design based solely on visuals did not feel like her thing.

- There's a little engineer inside me. I like functionality and I enjoy learning about the different properties of materials. I was once an oddball among clothing designers, admits Kärkkäinen.

Read the article here.

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Kirsimari Kärkkäinen wins Ornamo Award 2015

BEDA - The Bureau of European Design Associations | March 15, 2015 |

The Winner of the Finnish design Prize Ornamo Award 2015 is clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. The award was presented at the Design Day 2015 event in Helsinki on 20 March 2015.

Kirsimari Kärkkäinen has designed practical and elegant uniforms for corporations representing a variety of sectors, including the ABC service station chain, Neste Oil, VR and Viking Line. She has also designed the official attire of the female ministers of Finland's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

About the Ornamo Award
The design award of The Association of Finnish Designers Ornamo is now called Ornamo Award. In previous years, the design award was shared by several designers, but now there is only one winner. The process of selecting the winner has also changed. The Winner is selected by an external jury from among several candidates. The candidates for Ornamo Award 2015 were: textile artist Katri Haahti, designer and architect Seppo Koho, designer and entrepreneur Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, ceramic artist and designer Nathalie Lahdenmäki, design manager Kari Malmén, fashion designer Anna Ruohonen and user insight lead Simo Säde. Ornamo has awarded designers since the 1980s.

Read the article here.

Photo credit: Heidi-Hanna Karhu.

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Kirsimari Kärkkäinen is the winner of the Ornamo Prize

Ornamo | March 15, 2015 |

The Ornamo Award for the Design Industry in 2015 has been received by fashion designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. The winner was chosen by the team of the growth entrepreneurship event Slush: Miki Kuusi, Atte Hujanen and Jenni Kääriäinen from seven nominees. The prize money is 5,000 euros. The award was presented at the Design Day 2015 event on 20 March 2015 in Helsinki.

Kirsimari Kärkkäinen (b. 1967) has designed practical and representative workwear for companies operating in various fields. The outfits designed by Kärkkäinen are worn by, among others, personnel at ABC service stations, Neste Oil, VR, Viking Line, and female priests of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Last year, Kirsimari Kärkkäinen also founded the TELAKKA® accelerator, which offers designers expertise and support in developing investor relations, obtaining financing, and developing sales, production, and logistics. Under the auspices of the accelerator, designers also receive support for international growth. The accelerator currently has six designers.

Read the article here.

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Fashion springboard

Kauppalehti | November 13, 2014 | Pirkko Tammilehto

Finnish fashion exports are still in their infancy. The Telakka accelerator offers designers help, visibility and the credibility that comes from collaboration.

Clothing designer Camilla Mikama presents a jacket from next spring's collection that is made from recycled material. The light blue fabric comes from the bankruptcy estate of the Jousipaita company. Jousipaita was a Finnish clothing brand that ultimately failed to compete on price with imported shirts. Mikama has developed a sewing method that creates a fluffy, wrinkled surface on the garment. Due to the technique, six meters of fabric are used for a short jacket. If only this Finnish design had a chance to succeed. For now, Mikama's clothes are sold in a few design stores.

“I do everything myself, so I don’t have enough resources for sales and marketing. You can work alone up to a certain point, but you can’t grow like that.” Mikama hopes to find a financier who understands her work. “Then I could focus on what I do best, which is design. If I had more money, I could develop my website and other marketing, a little bit of everything,” she dreams.

Almost all Finnish fashion designers struggle with the same problems. That's why six of them are now gathered in the premises of the former Wärtsilä metal foundry, the Telakka accelerator in Hietalahti, Helsinki. The accelerator is Kirsimari Kärkkäinen's long-held dream. A place where designers could showcase their work and get help with funding, networking and international growth. Kärkkäinen has years of experience in clothing and brand design. Among other things, female priests of the Evangelical Lutheran Church wear the outfits she designs.

“As a hard-working designer, I was already thinking at the beginning of the 2000s about what I could do to help designers advance in their careers. Four years ago I decided to step up and worked hard to raise capital for this project,” Kärkkäinen says. She received funding from Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation and Technology, and finally Telakka accelerator opened its doors in an old factory building at the end of October. The environment is exactly the kind of place where creatives tend to settle. Red brick buildings, rough walls, tall rooms and courtyard buildings from decades of industry. A large crane by the sea has long been idle. Downstairs is located Makia, whose casual clothes are already better known around the world than in Finland.

The accelerator's first customers are Camilla Mikama, Anni Arela, Nina Jatuli, Anne-Mari Pahkala, Ilona Pelli, and Liisa Riski. Arela and Jatuli work in the accelerator's premises, while the others work in their former studios. Each of their products is on display at Telakka, so the place is also a showroom where fashion shows can be held.

In addition to Kärkkäinen, the Telakka team includes Tea Latvala and Marianne Moisio. Latvala is a visual communications professional and Moisio has solid experience in product and production management. “We do practical work here to improve brands. Together we are more credible in terms of financing, as investors want continuity. A strong team of professionals reduces investor risk,” says Kärkkäinen. Investing in one designer can seem like too much of a risk. With Telakka, designers also gain more credibility when agreeing on production. Finding a manufacturer for clothes on your own becomes more expensive and laborious, because the batches are small.

There are few manufacturers and professional seamstresses left in Finland. Every designer at Telakka has experience that the service for small series is weaker than for large orders. “If you can’t deliver the designs by a certain time, the clothes may not be put into production because the larger order will pass. Through Telakka’s cooperation, a domestic production facility could take over all of our manufacturing,” reflects Liisa Riski, who has been a designer entrepreneur for a year and a half. Due to the price and service, quite a few of the clothes designed by this group are sewn in Tallinn. Like Mikaman, Riski also hopes for help from Kiihdyttämö with sales and marketing. Although designers are usually professionals and manage their production chain, help is welcome. “It’s hard to do it alone, and here you have a group of like-minded people.”

Fashion and design is a much bigger business in the world than in Finland, where the clothing industry's turnover is over 500 million euros. According to preliminary data from Finatex, clothing exports last year amounted to 337 million euros and imports to 1.5 billion euros. The largest exporting country is Russia and the largest importing country is China. "In Sweden, fashion export figures are six times higher and in Denmark around ten times higher than in Finland. So we have enormous potential for internationalization," says Kärkkäinen.

Riski, who has worked in England, reminds us that Britain has a special fashion council through which the government supports the fashion business. Sweden also offers an early-stage funding model for fashion design. In Finland, even the small cash taps have dried up in the years following the financial crisis, although individual projects can still receive support.

According to the people at Telakka, fashion is a special industry in that designers should first go abroad before the clothes gain wider appreciation in Finland.

Last week, the Finnish Institute for Economic Research, ETLA, published a study that found that Finnish textile companies will need professionals in procurement, branding and marketing in the future. Companies therefore face the same dilemma as individual designers. Designers believe that many projects in the industry have lacked design and fashion expertise.

Ilona Pelli is the most experienced fashion designer in the accelerator, she founded her company in 1995. Her products are sold in 12 countries. For Pelli, Telakka means sharing experiences, showcasing products and the strength that comes from a common cause. “This industry is hysterically jealous, so openness is important to us here, we support each other with it.” “The situation in the fashion industry has worsened since 2008, when first the Americans and then the Japanese left the expos. Now retailers in Finland are not buying anything.”

There are no more fashion expos in Finland like before. "At Telakka we can present clothes to several buyers. Mass production expos are not good for an individual designer," Pelli says.

Designers want more distribution channels, and that's where the services of the accelerator are needed. But does a designer garment fit into a supermarket's selection? "The sales channel has to support the brand. For example, Stockmann could have small shops that could be customized," Riski explains.

Pelli thinks it would be good if the clothes were in the selections of a large chain.

It is clear that Finnish fashion clothing cannot compete on price with the offerings of large chains. Not even if the clothes are sewn in Tallinn.

“It is unfathomable that the price of Finnish fashion is questioned. It is more acceptable to invest in an expensive bag than in clothes. The same people who value local food buy a shirt that costs 4.99 euros,” Nina Jatuli wonders. Jatuli has been designing clothes with her own fabric patterns for four years. The fabrics are printed in Finland and sewn in Tallinn. Jatuli has previously designed for, among others, Nanso. “Telakka provides me with a social network and a work community. If there are problems with production, I can get help here.”

Anne-Mari Pahkala also hopes to receive support for production-related problems. She has worked as a stylist and costume designer for media houses. Pahkala hopes to be able to design a commercial collection in addition to her impressive formal dresses. Anni Arela is involved in a family company whose main products are cashmere knitwear. “We also want to be included in large selections. There is always a certain charm when a new customer discovers our products. I hope Telakka can help with increasing sales and financing.”

For now, Telakka operates at Kärkkäinen's personal risk. Designer-customers pay a showroom fee when joining the accelerator. "We want to grow together with designers. We are pioneers and time will tell how successful we will be. At least with the legacy we achieve, we can move things forward with strength."

Kärkkäinen and her team are building a fashion accelerator with the support of networks and partners. Joint events are coming to Telakka, including Christmas sales. “The idea is to bring people together who otherwise would not be involved in fashion. We want to find parties that we haven’t been able to approach before,” she says.

One idea is to combine fashion with the gaming world, and there have already been discussions about that. A new Angry Birds of design? Not an impossible idea.

Read the article from here.

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Kirsimari Kärkkäinen Everyday Design on the radio program

Ornamo | July 14, 2012 | Airikka Nurmela

VR's uniforms. The series, edited by Airikka Nurmela, introduces the birth stories of objects familiar to Finns, as told by the designers themselves. In the link below, you can hear our Kirsimari talk about the uniform she designed for VR Group.

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VIDEO: VR faces 2012 in new workwear

VR Group | January 25, 2012 |

VR's new work uniforms were presented to the press on Tuesday, February 24th, on track 12 of Helsinki Railway Station. At the event, you could also admire old work uniforms in the form of a small historical fashion show. Watch Kirsimari's interview.

Watch the video here.

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New clothes for VR employees

HS & TS & MTV | January 24, 2012 |

In honor of VR's 150th anniversary, employees will receive new work clothes at the beginning of February. The new outfits will be worn by train drivers, station service advisors, conductors and train salespeople.

The workwear was designed by designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. VR recycles the personnel's old workwear.

Read the full HS article here.

Read the full TS article here.

Read the full MTV article here.

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VR in a new design

IS | January 24, 2012 |

The snow has come and is challenging VR again. The challenge is being met with new work uniforms.

VR's train drivers, station service advisors, conductors and train salespeople will adopt new work clothes at the beginning of February.

VR recycles its personnel's old work uniforms.

The workwear is designed by Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, who has designed workwear for several service companies.

Read the full article here.

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Long awaited priest uniform for women  is now here

Kyrkpressen | June 22, 2011 | Christa Mickelsson

Read page 6 of the article.

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Female priest's new uniform photo shoot

Krista Keltainen Blog | June 15, 2011 |

"Yesterday, the new uniform for female priests in Finland was released. Personally, I really like it. Very beautiful and simple. The collection was designed by clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. The photos were taken at St. Paul's Church in Helsinki last week. I remember when our models (Satu and Riikka) praised the fit and fabrics of the uniform. What a lovely name, ''Valonlähde'' (Light Source), Kirsimari has also come up with for the collection, where the jackets in the collection feature a beautiful Light Ray ornament and a Light Source cross." - Krista Keltanen, photographer

See all the pictures here.

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The female priest's uniform was renewed

Seurakuntalainen | June 14, 2011 | Uusi tie toimitus

The new uniform collection for female priests was announced today. The collection was designed by clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen. She won a design competition for a new uniform in 2008 with her proposal, Valonlähde (Source of Light).

''The titles Valonlähde (Source of Light) and Valonsäde (Ray of Light) reflect the message to me that the work of the church and the priest should bring joy and light to people's lives; they should show the way, meaning and purpose'', designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen comments.

Read the full article here.

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The new uniform for female priests is suitable for the Presidential Palace

YLE uutiset | June 14, 2011 | Minttu-Maaria Partanen

The association of female theologians (Naisteologit ry) has demanded a change to the uniform. Today, Tuesday, the long wait was finally rewarded. Valonsäde (Ray of Light) collection, designed by Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, consists of several parts.

"The dress must fit women of all ages and sizes," Kärkkäinen describes the design challenges.

Priests work in temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius below and above zero. Their duties range from games at confirmation camps to devout memorial services. The uniform must be versatile, so the collection includes jackets, skirts and two types of trousers of different lengths. The shirt for everyday wear is black, while the dress for formal wear is white. The uniform also features the Valonlähde (Source of Light) cross as a decoration.

Read the full article here.

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VIDEO: Unveiling ceremony of the female priest's uniform

Kirkkohallitus | June 14, 2011 |

The new uniform for female priests, designed by Kirsimari Kärkkäinen, was presented at a launch event held on July 14, 2011.

Watch the video from here.

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Kirsimari Kärkkäinen won the hospital protective clothing competition

Helsingin Sanomat | November 29, 2000 |

Clothing designer Kirsimari Kärkkäinen won a competition for protective clothing for Helsinki City hospitals. She received a cash prize of FIM (Finnish markka) 30,000.

The work, which was presented under the name Structure kk 2000, was praised for its feminine and fresh look. The jury felt that the winning work formed the best whole, with a new look and functionality.

Read the full article here.

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