Mum's catalogue 2020

STORY TIME / MATERIALS / MOORHOUSE / GANASSIN / NILSSON / ROPE / HALONEN /
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 at the end of
this newspaper.
Mum’s products are
simple, joyful, and functional,
in the best traditions of
minimalistic Scandinavian
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 projec
Mum’s began.
2