You can filter the search results by selecting the desired filters.
At their best, museum objects are interfaces to the past. Different senses bring us closer to the people of the past. Our own culture determines what is beautiful and ugly, what smells good and what smells bad.
The aim of the exhibitions of the Craft Museum of Finland is to create experiences and to convey and increase knowledge of phenomena from different perspectives of craftsmanship. The museum's exhibitions present crafts as a profession, art and hobby.
In addition to its own collections, the museum presents the collections of other museums, institutions and individuals. The museum exhibits traditional crafts and contemporary products, old and new. In addition to national exhibitions, the museum regularly hosts international exhibitions.
Founded on 14 December 1888 under the name of the State Museum of Crafts and initially operating under the auspices of the Finnish Association of the Arts and Crafts, the Craft Museum on Finland and the formation of its collections have been guided at different times by the values and attitudes of the era. You can read a summary of the different phases of the museum on its own page.
Almost 40,000 images are cataloged in the electronic collection management system of the Craft Museum of Finland's photo archive. The photo collection consists of original photos and prints made with different techniques. The oldest image material are glass negatives from the beginning of the 20th century, and the newest image material are image files in digital form, which have become common since the beginning in the 21st century.
The purpose of the archives maintained by the Craft Museum of Finland is to record the Finnish craft culture, craft tradition and related knowledge and skills. The collections are managed and maintained for research use and are available to all customers. The scope of the archive collections of the Craft Museum of Finland is about 150 shelf meters. The collections of the document archive are divided into two separate entities, both the museum's own and external collections.
The crafts businesses and organizations collection is a history of both Finland’s major artisan companies and organizations as well as more minor actors. The records from machine-assisted handicrafts industry focus on product design, while those from larger companies emphasize small-scale series production. Records of the history and activities of associations join those documenting the experiences of small businesses in the creative field as well as those of the evolution of education in crafts.
The collection of interior textiles in the Craft Museum of Finland is very broad in its scope, containing both traditional and modern domestic textiles from rural and urban settings alike. The oldest objects date from the 18th century, the newest from the 2000s. The collection contains materials from private individuals, museums, as well as crafts schools and organizations including Helmi Vuorelma Oy, the Friends of Finnish Handicraft, Ryijypalvelu Oy, Neovius Oy, The Kuopio Region Crafts Organization Taito Savo, and the Kiikka carpet weaving workshop.
The crafts education collection at the Craft Museum of Finland includes materials illuminating the history and practices of education in the craft hobby, school crafts taught in elementary schools, as well as vocational education in crafts organized by various providers. The field of crafts education is broad, as there have been a large number of schools providing crafts education, not to even mention associations and organizations that have engaged in courses or informational activities.
The old foreign materials derived from the collections of the State Home Industry Museum have been complemented by more recent international items. In both cases, some of the objects are donations from travellers interested in preserving cultural heritage. Some of these contributions also include archival and photographic material that complement the objects themselves.
The National Costume Center of Finland is dedicated to preserves national costumes and related materials from Finnish-speaking territories. The collection also covers costumes previously considered national costumes that continue to be worn as such today, as well as local and provincial costumes.
The professional crafts collections are a presentation of broad themes of professional arts and crafts, with foundations in the Craft Museum of Finland’s field work and active contemporary documentation activities since 1984. The collection is mainly focused on private practitioners and entrepreneurship. In-depth materials entered into the collection include interviews, objects, photographs, and videos.
Handicraft objects and collections related to handiwork can be found in several museums in our country, but the Craft Museum of Finland is the only one that focuses solely on the themes and subject areas of handiwork.
Known for her colourful animal and plant themed knits, textile artist Sirkka Könönen’s (1947-2018) production is on display in the Craft Museum of Finland’s Lobby Gallery 21.12.2019-1.3.2020, in The Colourer of the World – Textile Artist Sirkka Könönen exhibition. Her life was comprehensive as a textile artist, handicraft entrepreneur, and artist, and its abundance is brought out when we step into Sirkka’s colourful, fairy tale world.
Get inspired in tailored workshops!
Doing crafts with our friends or family is fun! With your dearest and nearest everyone will get inspired about new and easy handicrafts.
We will tailor our wokshops to fit your needs or you can choose from a ready made package below. You don't have to have any experience about handcraft in advance, for it's all about having fun and trying crafts together.
A short guided tour is included in all workshops as well as guidance in the workshop and material use.
For groups we recommend touring the exhibitions under the guidance of the guide. Pre-ordered guided tours will be organized in the time that you wish. We will be happy to tailor a tour to your group.
For guided tours, the ideal size is 25 people, for larger groups we recommend two guides. There is a lot to see in the museum, so after the guided tour you should also book some time to explore the museum.
