Juha Luukkonen

Latimeria

Metalworker

A metal man with a delicate touch

Juha has long-standing expertise in colouring steel
Handmaking cutlery is a craft practised by only a few artisans
Scrap metal is as good material as any other, according to Juha

It started with a boat and metal baskets made out of scrap and used wood. Not overlooking any material, even those considered waste, Juha Luukkonen has become a poet using not words, but metal. Drawing inspiration from a variety of things – a simple piece of metal, music or technology – he has developed into a master of techniques to decorate and colour stainless steel and other metals. His handmade pasta servers, forks and other utensils are practical but also beautiful and moving. After studies in the Kuopio Academy of Arts & Design (1983-1987), and after a five-year period in an old master's metal studio, Juha set up his own studio in 1994. Now sharing a studio in the countryside with his son, Juha creates metal objects ”to tell something about the world” as he sees it.

Interview

How would you define what you do?: I make metal objects to tell something about the world as I see it. The very first objects I made were metal baskets out of scrap metal. I am a master in colouring stainless steel and other metals. For example, I can make metal objects transparent.
What is a memorable moment in your professional life?: At a fair in London, a Canadian customer told me she was really happy about the works she had bought from me at a fair in South Korea. Other customers were surprised how small the world of arts & crafts is – a Canadian in London telling that she knows a Finnish artisan from Korea!
Is there something about your work that people do not normally know?: To make handmade cutlery practical to use, I have created a large selection of techniques to decorate and colour metals. It requires a lot of work to make even a small beautiful fork. Also the work process behind must be pleasant.
In what way is your craft linked to the territory?: I do not feel that my works are that much linked to the territory and surroundings. However, my customers often say that they can tell that my items come from Finland and that they appear very Nordic.

Juha Luukkonen is a master artisan: he began his career in 1987 and he started teaching in 1998