Time seems to have stopped at that moment, when clay pots long ago forgotten on the mossy ground whispered the story of the glory years of the clay foundry's operations.
In a factory that collapsed years ago, the brick pipes waited until it was time to write a new chapter in the historical story.
Visiting the surroundings of an abandoned factory in Kortesjärvi, South Ostrobothnia, in the scenery of my husband's childhood, brought out many emotions in me, mostly curiosity and respect. What were the best years of the clay foundry's family business like, when the construction boom was hot and there was an impatient queue for the bricks to be finished from the big kiln? The stories tell that the demand was so high that the bricks were laid glowing hot on the back of the car, sometimes even setting the wooden pallet on fire.
And what changes did the world bring when it changed and why was it time to give up? When the activity of the clay foundry ended, the remaining pipes were left on the shelves built for them, waiting to be discovered, perhaps by the initiator of a new era.
The journey from the middle of stacks of brick pipes to the finished Teo lamp and the world-conquering Ehea Living brand needs time and space to grow until, on Father's Day in November 2020, my dream becomes a clear vision of the future.
For me, brick pipes serve as inspiration for the new and the future. About how the story could be continued, in its own way.
The idea became stronger and my intuition urged me to find out how to turn the dream of a lamp into a concrete product? I knew there was a long way to go, but I thought: there is no rush to get anywhere.
I found Finnish design professionals Jukka Jokinen and Heikki Konu to help me. When they got to work, my vision took on a whole new dimension. With the professional skills of the designer duo Jokinen & Konu , the thought and ideas turned into a concrete lamp. When the plans turned into concrete products and the prototypes into ready-made lamps, the dream began to come true.
Teo isn't just a lamp. This handmade product has a soul and a story.
It seems incredible that the story of the clay pipes, which have been waiting for their time in the cold for decades, will continue in a different form, as a modern ceramic Teo lamp. Teodor Roos was the founder of the Roos clay foundry, and the lamp proudly bears the name of the late grandfather, known in close circles as Teeti.
More than four decades passed before these pottery pieces, abandoned into silence, were brought back to life, reshaped and made of ceramics. Ehea Living continues the bright story of humanity that started a long time ago as a historical part of modern society.
Ehea combines the creativity, inspiration and humanity of different generations.