Fiskars Village - the haven of artists and craftsmen

The Fiskars Village has been one of my favorite places in Southern Finland for many years now, and I've been trying to visit the place at least once a year. Fiskars is located in the area of Pohja - meaning ”the bottom” in Finnish - in the region of Uusimaa. This area was known as the capitol of iron production in Finland during the 15th century, as many of the major ironworks were found there. During the summer time there is a bus leaving from Helsinki each Saturday to take culture enthusiasts and foodies to wander in this haven of artists and craftsmen. There are events, workshops and exhibitions all around the year, and outside summer season you reach the village by taking the train to Karjaa and hopping on one of the local busses.

Recently I've had the pleasure to visit Fiskars more frequently, since I was contacted by the addition to Finland's distilling family, Ägras Distillery. The distillery was found by the owners of Rekolan Panimo, which was one of the first micro breweries in Finland. After raising their funding for the distillery by crowd funding program Susanna, Jari, Juha, Tomi, Kenneth and Anssi have been busy setting up the distilling equipment, foraging for wild herbs and designing products. 

Ägras distillery is tucked away on the banks of the river flowing through the Fiskars Village. When I first visited the distillery it was merely an empty shell, since the distilling equipment was yet to arrive and bar to be built. It was still easy to see that the place was going to be wicked once finished! I was meeting with Susanna and Jenni to help them designing cocktail menu for their bar next to the distillery, Tap Room. We were looking for inspiration from the local area, of wild herbs, history and craftsmen around the village. I left from the distillery buzzing with inspiration and ready to realize the ideas I had in my mind! 

After coming all the way to the Fiskars Village, I could not just leave after our meeting so I headed out to explore the boutiques and coffee shops. Cafe Antique is one of my favorite places to enjoy a giant cinnamon roll with a good cup of coffee, browse through some art books and just enjoy a beautiful day. 

Tupapuoti is selling all sorts of local handicraft and art products. Clothes, jewellery, notebooks, dishes, ceramics, toys, postcards, kettleholders, you name it. 

I also found a boutique selling clothes made of second hand fabrics bearing the name of my last year's Bacardi Legacy Cocktail: Second Chance! Such a beautiful place with sustainable clothing for all ages, shapes and sizes. I could not leave without buying a cute little snap suit for by goddaughter!

If you are interested in visiting the village, there is good excuse coming next week. A wild herb and slow food event is held in Fiskars on 30th of September. "Slow meets Wild" is targeted for restaurant and traveling professionals, and offers new ideas about local products and wild herbs. I would definitely go myself if I wasn't working that day...