Marttiini Shop

Helsinki-based architects Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka slice the way to the heart of their home city with the design of contemporary knife shop, Marttini.

Since 1928, Finnish knife manufacturers Marttini have been using handcrafted traditions, now in combination with the aid of modern technologies, to produce an extensive line of chopping tools. ‘The aim was to highlight Marttiini as a company that knows how to make use of its tradition in manufacturing tools that are still used today’ says creative director Teemu Nojonen of Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka.

In a fitting combination, Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka unites traditional materials with contemporary display methods to design a 36-sq-m interior that displays over 160 products. As many details were made to resemble the craft of Finnish furniture, the shop design also takes influence from traditional Finnish tools and materials. Wood, leather and steel were obvious material choices, as they all play a role in the construct of a traditional Finnish puukkos knife.

‘On a technical level, the biggest challenge was to design a solution for displaying the large variety of products. There are small differences between the puukkos that have to do either with their use or their design. To make the right selection, customers should be able to take a close look at each product’ explains Nojonen.

To solve this design dilemma, Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka created a customized product wall where blades are displayed within leather handgrips that cling to magnets fixated on tilting blocks of wood. As Nojonen explains, ‘The use of magnets makes the setup also easily modifiable so personnel can change the products on display when needed’.