Material and tool collections

The material and tool collections comprise data on more than 11,000 objects classified into categories. They make up about 25% of the museum’s entire collection. 

The largest category within the material and tool collection is representative textile material extracts, samples, experiments, process stages, scale models, swatches, and colour coordination materials. The next largest category are also associated with textile materials: namely, tools and equipment necessary for working with and processing textiles, including looms, spinning wheels, knitting machines, screen printing meshes, yarns, lace making models, tufting needles, tailoring equipment, etc. However, nearly half of the total number of manufacturing-related objects are associated with materials other than textiles. These include materials used for working with wood, roots, metal, glass, ceramic, stoneware, horn, bone, hide, and paper. 

Of the large sample collections, the most voluminous are associated with commercial artisan businesses as well as various schools and other institutions in the arts, crafts, and industrial design fields. The collection donated by the Fredrika Wetterhoff Foundation is made up of sample materials formerly owned by the Finnish General Crafts Association as well as the Häme Itinerant Arts and Crafts School. The material and sample collection provided by the Kuopio Academy of Design is composed of students’ final projects. It provides information on the materials, techniques, and structures employed in textile crafts, as well as the purposes of each. The felt swatch collection of the Central Finland School of Arts and Crafts, originally assembled for teaching purposes, is partly of international origin. 

Some of the most extensive textile sample collections among the materials originating from commercial crafts organizations include samples off the production line of Helmi Vuorelma Oy, yarns and fabrics manufactured by Kotivilla Oy, as well as textile samples provided by Kotikäsityö Tellervo Oy. The individual collections of textile designers Markku Piri and Sirkka Könönen incorporate a large amount of fabric and knitwear samples associated with their output. 

Their model drawings, often complete with yarn samples and swatch books, are part of the materials and tools collection owing to their ability to illustrate the creative and manufacturing process. The archival collection has data for more than 2,500 sketches or blueprints. The plans include the work of some of Finland’s most important textile designers, among them Impi Sotavalta, Maija-Liisa Forss-Heinonen, Maija Kolsi-Mäkelä, Eva-Irmeli Oksanen, Alli Touri, Laila Karttunen, Greta Skogster, and Aappo Härkönen.

The craft tools collection includes equipment used by crafts professionals, artists, and hobbyists, including teaching aids from craft schools, objects from workshops, manufactories, ateliers, as well as homes and farms.