Saija Starr is a painter living in Helsinki. Recent works depict nature and human nature, memories and memories of places that have left a strong trace in memory. Starr’s painting style is expressive, and colours play a most important role.We visited her studio just as the last coat of paint was drying on her pieces to be included in her Lokal White Wall exhibition, Tranquility.

Akiko Mori was born in Japan and studied sculpture at Art University in Tokyo. In 2022 she opened her new studio in Helsinki, which we visited to mark her Lokal White Wall exhibition, Geometric Spaces. She is interested in how physical properties, such as clay density and water content, affect the fluidity of the clay.

Benjamin Murphy, born in West Yorkshire, is a globally exhibiting visual artist. His current work explores themes of polarity, time, memory, and contrast – often rendered in charcoal on raw canvas. We visited his studio in Helsinki just before he set up his Lokal White Wall exhibition, Éanáir. 

Sini Villi is a textile artist living and working in Helsinki, Finland. In her work Villi uses handmade ribbon to create three-dimensional textile reliefs and sculptures. We visited her Helsinki studio on a summer afternoon just after she’d set up her White Wall exhibition, Ammonites.

Fanny Tavastila is a painter who lives and works in Helsinki. We visited her studio at the Cable Factory one dark November afternoon to get a closer look at her works, which posess an innate and lyrical sense of colour, rhythm, texture and composition.

Hanni Koroma is an award-winning Finnish interior architect and furniture designer. In her work, Koroma combines functionality and aesthetics into timeless entities where her philosophic values in sustainable and playful design meet. Koroma says that space is like a poem that evolves constantly. Her new Lohkoja cabinets are centrepieces of our summer exhibition Butterflies & Seeds. 

Minna Arponen is a jewellery designer and maker from Helsinki. Recently, she’s been fascinated by the tiny glass beads that she used to play with in her childhood. We visited her studio where most of her pieces take form, if not in her lap on tram rides through the city.

Pan Jianfeng is a conceptual artist working predominately with paper and ink. His background and techniques are rooted in tradition, but his works are strong and contemporary. We visited his home studio one early spring afternoon to learn more about his works in our Year of the Rabbit exhibition.

Aimo Katajamäki is an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. His superhero wood sculptures depict human nature in a subtle and delicate way. We visited his studio just a few blocks from Lokal as he was carving his new pieces for the Year of the Rabbit exhibition.

Milla Vaahtera is a designer and artist best known for her unique pieces combining bold glass parts with delicate brass.On a winter’s day earlier this year we visited her studio in an old elementary school building in Helsinki, where she assembles her pieces.

Katy Hertell is a sculptor living in Helsinki. She draws inspiration from Eastern and Greek mythology, from the animal world, from children and from Nature, in creating hand-built sculptures. These photos accompanied by a short interview are from a recent visit to her at her studio at the Cable Factory in Helsinki.

Rasmus Palmgren is a designer who seeks new perspectives for everyday objects, always on the lookout for clever, innovative and simple solutions and a fine balance between material, aesthetics, usability and production. Over the years we have had the joy to exhibit his unique, sculptural furniture pieces.

Matti Pikkujämsä is an esteemed freelance illustrator and artist since, working in the interface of art and illustration. We visited his make-shift studio in his Helsinki apartment just before we started setting up his solo exhibition Variations.

Outi Martikainen is a classically trained textile artist. Her works are influenced by craftworks and the practice of observation, which is so central to art. Martikainen often finds her materials in everyday life and gives them a new purpose.

Sasha Huber is a visual artist of Swiss-Haitian heritage. Huber’s work is primarily concerned with history’s influence on the present and focuses mainly on the ramifications of colonialism. We visited her studio as she was working on her new pieces for our Jewel exhibition, as well as her Tailoring Freedom series.

Linda Linko is a Helsinki-based visual artist, who creates images that are linked to momentary experience. We visited her studio just as she had emptied it out to fill the Lokal Gallery space for her solo exhibition Blush.

Päivi Keski-Pomppu is a fine jewellery designer based in Helsinki, Finland. We visited her studio, where she works on both her jewellery as well as her sculptural pieces.

Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and researcher. We visited her studio as she was preparing her pieces for the Sinua sinua rakastan exhibition.

Melissa Sammalvaara is inspired by nature and our relation to it, which shows in her mossy, luscious ‘rya’ artworks and the preference in ecological and second hand materials.

Saija Halko is a Helsinki-based ceramicist and designer. She works in her studio on small scale production of ceramics. Her way of working is based on a deep knowledge of material and hands-on methods.

Matias Liimatainen is a Helsinki-based sculptor and artist, whose work we have been presenting at Lokal for several years now in exhibitions both in Finland and abroad.

Paula Pääkkönen is a glass artist and glassblower working in the Nuutajärvi Glass Village.

Antrei Hartikainen (b. 1991) is a master cabinetmaker and designer from Fiskars, known for his exquisite works in wood.

Nathalie Lautenbacher is a Franco-Finnish ceramist, whose extraordinary products and art pieces have been sold at Lokal since its founding year.

Veera Kulju is a remarkable textile and ceramics artist, who has lent her vision and understanding to us in the form of designs made and produced exclusively for Lokal.

Take a moment to look into Eija Koski’s studio, learn about the himmeli making process, and become enchanted by a silent magic as she guides you through her world.

We visited the studio of Finnish textile artist Inka Kivalo, who’s wonderful works have been shown at Lokal for years now.

Yoshimasa Yamada’s work has been presented and sold at Lokal from the very early years.

The Finnish-Japanese Naoto Niidome and the Finnish-French Nathalie Lautenbacher duo began their collaboration in 2008.

Renata Schirm is a glass artist born in Hungary and based in Finland.