Fiskars.
Triennale cutlery by Bertel Gardberg.
Yesterday I went to Fiskars metal factory which is located in Fiskars, a town some distance from Helsinki. The export manager and I took the train at eight in the morning and then we drove in the company limo to the factory, which basically makes up the village. We had a tour and saw how all the spoons, knives and forks were formed. Apparently eighty five percent of the work is done by hand, so you can truly say that the products are hand crafted. I saw how the stainless steel tableware Triennale designed by Bertel Gardberg was made. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful lines of tableware and I and my sons and their families enjoy it daily.
By noon we went to a separate cafeteria building to have lunch. We were three, the export manager, the plant manager and I. We were served dill potatoes, a variety of marinated herring and sardines, sausages and bread and butter. I was not sure if there would be more courses, so I ate well. Then came the warm course which consisted of thinly sliced ham baked into a pancake with a fried egg on top, delicious. Of course all of this was accompanied by lots of beer. While having coffee and danishes, a higher up director and the manager of another shop joined us. Everyone knew each other, we all spoke Swedish, it was a lively conversation. On the wall behind the director there was a buzzer to summon the server. Incessantly the director would ask " Would the gentlemen like some sherry?"and he would press the buzzer. In a little while he would ask again " Would the gentlemen like some cognac?" He kept pressing the buzzer and the server kept bringing. After a while we were treated to whisky and soda. Our lunch lasted until four o'clock.
We talked about business and about how Fiskars could increase their sales internationally. I made a suggestion that they should create a great poster and distribute it widely all over the world. That it should be of excellent design, not only to appeal to their wholesale customers and importers but also to a wider audience, that it should be made available at universities and other places. I stated that it was important to have their poster on the wall of a university dormitory, because in a relatively short time these students would graduate, start earning money and establish a household. They would already have been exposed to the Fiskars brand and could become likely purchasers. They all seemed to like the idea and the director immediately called the advertising manager to join us. We drank and debated and drank and concluded that as soon as possible, they would hire Finland's best graphic designer to create a poster to be sent to Canada and many other countries. We were driven all the way back to Helsinki.