MUM*s 2020, since 2006.

STORY TIME / MATERIALS / MOORHOUSE / GANASSIN / NILSSON / ROPE / HALONEN / TUOM
MUM'S SINCE 2006
By Anna Akhmetova
Mum’s is a small design
company based in Finland
which sells textiles, home
decor items and jewellery
within the country and
abroad. The products are
designed in Finland in cooperation
with some of the
best designers and artists
in the region and produced
by skilled artisans in Bolivia,
South Africa, India and
Cambodia according to the
principles of fair trade.
Outi Puro is a designer,
an artist, the founder
and the heart of Mum’s. It
all started several years ago
when Outi was working as
a sculptor and doing her
communal art project. The
project consisted of a series
of baking performances.
One of them, “52 Sundays”,
included Outi baking buns
at home with her kids
and at Helsinki railway
station. Another performance,
called “Baking for
my long lost friend” lead
her to Africa in 2006 to
bake buns for her long
lost African friend Diane.
With the help of Diane,
Outi travelled around
Africa and met local craftsmen
and artists. She was
inspired by their culture
and their works and also
realized that they were in
the same situation as she
was - trying to combine
creative work and family.
Many of the craftsmen
she met were women with
children trying to balance
work with taking care of
their families. This lead
Outi to an idea of a collaboration,
and she designed
bags which women in
Africa could make for her
art project. Over the years,
this art project turned into
a sustainable design company
employing over 40
people, with Outi being in
charge of the collection.
Mum’s slogan is
“making good with goods.”
The company works in
close cooperation with the
craftsmen and takes into
account their needs. The
craftsmen, for example, can
work from home, which
eliminates travel costs,
saves on childcare expenses
and allows more people to
join the workforce. Working
for Mum’s improves
the quality of their lives
and creates many new
opportunities for them and
their children, who now
have the possibility to go
to school and learn how
to read and write. You can
read interviews with the
craftsmen on page 33.
Mum’s products
Hi, I’m Outi, mum of
Mum’s!
Take a look what has
happened to Mum’s since
the beginning from the
timeline below!
2006.
The beginning - Africa.
2 0 0 9 .
Mum’s toys are designed in Scandinavia
by best of professionals
- kids!
2 0 0 7.
Designed in Finland handmade
in Africa, from surplus material.
2 010 .
Flowerdrops charity proje
by Mum’s began.
2