“Forests are the lungs of the planet. I have always been interested in the relationship between humans and the forest. While I go foraging to fill my fridge with lingonberries for the winter, I consider this as a two-way relationship where both sides could thrive in equilibrium”

Katriina Nuutinen has lived in the land of a thousand forests and lakes all her life. For her, the forest is a place for quietness and recharging her batteries, but the forest has also become an important muse for her work as a designer. This summer the head designer of Thinkers & Makers holds her first solo exhibition at KWUM Museum in Fiskars, Finland. The exhibition Vaalimisen Arvoista – Wonders of the World (WOW) portrays nature’s distress in beautifully dressed, silent cries for help, as Nuutinen takes a stand on climate change and invites the viewer to critically reflect on themes such as traveling, consumerism and ownership.

Nuutinen is best known for her internationally awarded glass design, but as climate change is holding the world in its impending grip, Nuutinen has reflected on the values and habits associated with consumption and ownership and critically examined her role as a designer. She has found a deeper sense of purpose in fulfilling her vocation for a more sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible tomorrow. When Nuutinen was first introduced to cork fabric in 2016, she was immediately intrigued and started experimenting with the material. After five year the outstanding qualities of the material as well as the environmental significance of the cork forests had convinced her to invest in developing her own cork collection and Thinkers & Makers was born.

“With these artworks I want to show how much we have to cherish around us.

I want to encourage the viewer to critically examine their own habits and consumption patterns”

The significance of the ecosystems of forests to all life on Earth is one of the carrying themes of Nuutinen's exhibition at KWUM. The artworks developed piece by piece around the concept. As Nuutinen was searching for information about unique wonders of the world, the places, insects, mushrooms and forests started to take new shape in her mind in combinations of wood and glass. To realize her vision she needed to learn and develop new ways to process these materials.

When the visitor stops in front of Nuutinen’s artwork ‘Amazon rainforest’, face to face with the 225 burned blocks of wood it is hard to escape the fact that much is already lost. The Amazon rainforest, also called the lungs of the planet, has disappeared at the speed of 40 square kilometers per day since 1988. The Amazon rainforest is one of the few places on Earth where indigenous hunting and gathering communities still live in harmony with nature, dependent and respectful to their living environment. The life of a modern Finnish person living in an urban environment is far from this kind of deep connection with nature. However, overusing vitally important forests to fulfill our needs will eventually turn against all of us. Small deeds add up and that, which we consider remote to us, still affects all of us on this small, fragile planet.

Blossoming, Amazon rainforest and Lion’s mane works at KWUM museum, Fiskars, 2022

Nuutinen’s artworks point out the hard truth of what is about to be lost and ask if we could, from now on, choose a different direction – act now, stop over-consumption and allow the natural ecosystems to recover. Deforestation needs to stop and forest restoration begin. However, forests are also an economical and political battlefield, where the people and organizations defending these ecosystems have to fight against short-sightedness and greed.

By creating sustainably made, appealing design to meet real needs, Nuutinen continues to inspire a change in consumer habits. She points out that in times like these it’s challenging to market new products when the planet needs our attention and care and overconsumption is a big part of the problem. This is why Nuutinen is so passionate about working with cork, a carbon negative material, and to support the sustainable forestry practices and the important ecosystems of the cork oak woodlands in Portugal.

“While our products won’t save the world, I believe that a change in attitudes and consumer habits and the willingness to understand the causal connection between our choices and the well-being of the planet can make a difference. We have customers, who have considered their purchase for a long time, even years. While from a growth-driven business point of view this might not be ideal, to me it is a sign that our clients make conscious choices, ask questions and only buy for a real need – and this is a good thing!”