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Nice hand made souvenirs from Lapland

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In the area of reindeer herding in Finland; in Lapland, the souvenirs to bring home from there as memories are very often made of parts from the reindeer. Actually the Lappish people have always used all parts of the reindeer. Except for the meat they eat they also prepare all kinds of useful objects from the fur, the antles and even from the bones. There are practically no leftovers when the Lappish people make use of a reindeer.

Tourists visiting Lapland want to buy some souvenirs to bring home from their trip. The choice is many times a hand made item, made by the Lappish people.

An old traditional souvenir is the Marttiini knife. The knives have been manufactured in Rovaniemi, Lapland since 1928 and are of high quality. The Marttiini product range covers knives for hunting, fishing, camping, collectors, household and for professional use. The founder was Janne Marttiini, and his picture is still used in marketing.

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Souvenirs made of reindeer antlers are manufactured by a local craftsman, whom you find on the pedestrian street of Rovaniemi almost the year around. He offers his beautiful products to people walking by his tent in the city of Rovaniemi. There are candle holders and many many small objects made of reindeer antlers.

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KUPILKA is a product name for dishware of traditional Lappish form made of natural fibre composites. The biomaterial consists of 50% pine fibre (wood) and 50% thermoplastic. KUPILKA products have been designed by Kari Kuisma together with a well-known Finnish architect and designer Heikki Koivurova. KUPILKA means a “little cup” and the word stems from the Finnish word “kuppi”. It also refers to a term used by Finnish people decades ago, when men and women warmed up their hands with their “kupilka” or “little cup” by drinking hot beverages during the rough Finnish winters.

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In the reindeer restaurant Sirmakko you are served for instance the traditional sauteed reindeer on KUPILKA plates.

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Under the label “tarinatuote” you find many local hand made products from Lapland. I got inspired by these gloves and bought myself a pair of gloves made of reindeer leather with nice fitted ornaments. They are made by Sisko Ylimartimo from the company Tikkurituote. Ireally love my smooth reindeer gloves!

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If you visit an handcraft market in Lapland you most certainly will also find silver jeweller made from Paarma design. Tytti Bräysy is the artist behind these lovely necklaces. I found these products on the yearly Arctic Market in the end of November in Rovaniemi.

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Many products are sold by the Sami people themselves in the Arctic Market and other similar occasions. Silver jewelry line A Drop of Inari by Katja Lettinen is inspired by the supernatural beauty of Inari. The engraving style reveals lines of birch trees against the backdrop of a snowy mountain. With this jewelry line she was named Artisan of the Year 2014. Every piece is designed and made with touch of arctic mood in Finnish Lapland, Inari.

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One table on the Arctic Market inspired me to buy equipment to make my own Sami bracelet. There were different bags and purses made of reindeer leather and also buttons made of reindeer antles and a nice necklace with a silver chain and a piece of a reindeer bone.

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The package inhold everything I needed to manufacture my own Sami bracelet.

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Must say I am a bit proud of myself as I managed to do this.

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Some inspired artist has come up with these winter bikinis made of reindeer leather and fur. Dare to wear them?

Nice souvenirs to bring home from Lapland

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In the shops of Rovaniemi and specially at the Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle you can find a lot of special Lappish souvenirs to buy. My aim here is not to mention them all. That would be absolutely impossible. I will mention just a few.

I, myself, find the hand-made dolls from the Arctic Doll Factory really adorable. They are all dressed up in traditional dresses of the Lappish people. The dresses are made from normal fabric but also using reindeer furs. On the home page of the factory (unfortunately not in English) you can see there are dolls of all kinds of lengths, boys and girls, and in differently colored dresses, and you can order your own favorite from there, too. The factory was founded in 1953 and is celebrating 60 years this year. After I had dreamed about getting one of these dolls for myself for several years I finally decided and bought myself an adorable couple; Matti and Maila.

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Taigakoru is a goldsmith’s workshop for silver and gold jewelry in Rovaniemi. From the home page of Taigakoru you find all the different jewelry they manufacture. One of the most well-known part of the collection is the collection of symbols from the ancient shaman drums.

The shaman drum was used by the shamans of the Northern peoples in their ceremonies. Shamans were healers and predicted the future. They called on the spirits for help by beating a drum with a drumstick made from reindeer bone until they fell into a trance. The symbols appear on the drum’s different parts. The upper part of the drum skin represented the heavens, the middle part earth and earthly life and the lower part Tuonela, the underworld. The shaman used the symbols on the various parts of the drum to foretell events. Each symbol has its own meaning.

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The Sun and good weather, particularly during the reindeer calving season, made crops grow and it brought good fortune. After midwinter, people held festivals when the sun first edged over the horizon. They made sacrifices to it so that it would restore and bring vitality to creation. The sun has a very special significance in the Arctic, as during the period of the polar night in winter the sun does not rise above the horizon at all, and on the other hand in the summertime it does not set at all.

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Other symbols from the Shaman drum made to ornaments in silver by Taigakoru are: The Moon, Ukko or the God of Thunder, Akka or the Goddess of fertility, the God of hunting, the Black-throated loon, the Crane, the Bear, the Reindeer, the Wolf, the Beaver, the Boat, the Salmon and the Rota.

Other famous jewelry of Taigakoru are the Guardian angel and the Cradle ball. There are also all kinds of Lappish animals and plants in silver. From the home page you can also order your own jewelry.

Marttiini has manufactured knives in Rovaniemi, Finland, since Janne Marttiini established the knife factory in 1928. The Marttiini product range covers knives for hunting, fishing, camping, collectors, household and professional use.

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Inspired by the ancient tales from Lapland (again). The drum at the end of the handle, made of reindeer horn bone, drives away bad spirits and protects the user. The knife is decorated with the same kind of old Lappish figures that have been used at the magical drums of Lappish shamans, as the Taigakoru uses in their production. As you can notice, these figures are the symbols for the ancient Lappish people and their culture, which manufactures these days want to share with tourists and locals, who search for the real Lappish mystique.

Reindeer skin mittens is the most traditional souvenir you can imagine bringing home from Lapland. These mittens are made out of Lappish reindeer skin with collar decoration from Finnish sheep wool, dyed in natural plants. These mittens are very soft but I can asure you they are very durable and warm. You can also find warm woollen hats in the same pattern.

Some cute Lappish souvenirs are made by Peeva tuote; a small home factory for elf themes, Lapland themes and angel themes products. Each and every souvenir is special and hand made, often with material from the forests of Lapland. There are not two of the same kind! The most adorable is the doll house with elves Peeva tuote has on show near the stand on the Lordi square in Rovaniemi, where you can buy these products.

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