Browsing by Subject "Kalevala Koru"

Kalevala Jewelry, the most well-known jewelry company of Finland, was founded in 1937 and is owned by The Kalevala Women's Association, a cultural organization which preserves and advances national heritage. Traditionally, Kalevala Jewelry is known for its historical jewelry, but in the 2000's the company has focused particularly in modern design. This study analysed the collections and operation of the company in the context of cultural heritage theory. The study focused on the collections and operation of the company during the era of its establishment in the 1930–40's and during the modern era in the 2000–2010's. The objective of the study was to analyse if the operation and collections of the company were consistent with the changes in the prevailing heritage conceptions. The secondary objective was to decipher how company's own heritage has impacted Kalevala Jewelry's collections and operation. The analysis was based on literature of Kalevala Jewelry and The Kalevala Women's Association, jewelry catalogs from different eras, articles about Kalevala Jewelry published in the Pirta magazine and press releases of the company. Furthermore, Kalevala Jewelry's design leader Kirsti Doukas and Petra Nikkinen, who is in charge of company's communication, were interviewed. The analysis was conducted following the NCT-model for the qualitative content analysis. The collections and operation of Kalevala Jewelry in its first decades were found to be advanced compared with the prevailing heritage conception of the decades. The development, which has occurred in the operation of the company in the 2000's, were shown to reflect the development in the prevailing heritage conception. Traditional cultural heritage was found to be the most evident in Kalevala Jewelry's historical jewelry. However, manifestations of modern unofficial and intangible cultural heritage were found in the company's modern collection. The own heritage of Kalevala Jewelry was shown to be a fundamental part of the company's operation. The heritage of Kalevala Jewelry is also seen in the company's jewelry collections.