Interview with Ari Korolainen

A few years later I started designing furniture, and these products were also very well received, a bit like my briefcases. Consequently, I founded a new company, ADESSIN Oy, to produce furniture.For instance, Helsinki Opera House chose to use some of my furniture. I remember an old friend from university talking about Mario Botta’s furniture some years ago, and just a few years later, my furniture was being used in the same opera house as Botta’s.My interest in art derives from my childhood home, as my father was an artist. I can still remember the smell of turpentine, and ultramarine painted on canvas. At school I had a very good and supportive art teacher, who encouraged me to continue with my artistic aspirations.

Typically in my work, drawing the very first line can be difficult. I can start the same project many times over, and at the final stage I remove everything I possibly can to achieve the result I want. My works are plain, with each individual detail and dimension carefully planned.

My works often have a funny detail, which lends them a cheerful look. I enjoy seeing them bring joy to the recipient. You feel you have succeeded when your work delights its owner.

My next project is armchairs connected together with small table tops.

Trust yourself. Do things that derive from your inner self. Try to create coherent entities.

My working day starts at about 8.30 and ends at 6. It allows far too little time for design work. I often continue design work after 8 in the evening.

I don’t consciously follow trends, but on the other hand, your own work has some effect on them.

Good design combines ecological and aesthetic aspects with functionality. A new product has something old and familiar as well as something new.

A piece is ready when both the customer and the designer are satisfied with it.

The Private Case selection is my ‘greatest’ work. I may have been the first designer to start making products from recycled materials. At first we used recycled cardboard and paper. We also used a lot of recycled leather. It is made from the leftovers from shoe and bag manufacturers.

It is hard to say which designer or artist I especially admire. Perhaps those who create plain products. Perhaps Rietveld and Le Corbusier, to mention a few. From my colleagues participating in the A-design Award, I’d mention Simone Mantovani.

Less is More. When it comes to cities, I’m inspired by Como, and the time just before leaving to go there, when you are designing something new and wondering whether this would be fitting for Como.I usually design alone, but when a piece is at a certain stage, I show it to designer colleagues who give me feedback – or not. Sometimes it’s better if my work leaves them speechless. I usually meet up with a certain colleague once a year, when where I present him one or more of my works.

A good designer has to be able to understand the customer’s needs and problems.

I have had many young people as trainees who have later applied to design schools and have been admitted.I have also offered work to many design students. It has been a pleasure to follow their careers.

Participation in competitions allows you to benchmark the level of your design work at a national and international level. Succeeding in competitions also raises the profile of your country in the design world.Awards also get attention in the press. International exhibitions raise the international awareness of your work. Awards can be used in marketing and sales promotion. It is the kind of positive publicity money can’t buy.An important benefit from participating in competitions is that you can get to know designers from all over the world. If you need information about events, exhibitions, or suitable sales outlets, for example, you can always contact colleagues in different countries.It is a great honour to be selected as a: Designer of the Day.

When working as an architect, I often carried with me heavy
briefcases full of construction drawings. I started thinking about what would be an easier and
better way of storing them and carrying them around to different places. So I created a
lightweight briefcase for myself from cardboard. Soon the cardboard briefcase aroused a lot of attention, and people asked me where they could buy one.

So I had to establish my own factory, PRIVATE CASE OY, and started to design more items.

I have designed a large stationery collection.

A young designer has to be patient, work hard, and trust in his work.

Differences between a good designer and a great designer... I think a good designer designs a lot.
A great designer listens a lot.

Good design creates a feeling of strong attraction, a really good design experience.

Investing in good design is an investment in a better future for yourself.

My dream project is to design a house for myself, with my own furniture.

I want to design items that have an element of surprise for their user, and that create a positive experience

Knowing the amount of work they have put in and difficulties they have overcome, I admire their achievements.

It is hard to say what is my greatest design. Is it Private Case, is it the Helsinki Opera collection,
is it Click, or is it Divine? Design is great when people call it classic.

Always be willing to learn and to accept new challenges. Be curious and keep your eyes open for problems that need solving.

An architect or a designer – there were not other possibilities.

Design is like a way of life.

I think my family has been my greatest support even though it is not always been easy.
A young designer with great ideas, without money.

Feedback from my designer friends has been very important too.

Next is coming ... new environmentally friendly material for Private Case products.

To create a positive feeling in the customer when he or she finds out about my products.

When people learn about my products, they expect plain design with a new kind of idea or detail.

My latest design is Buy Local, where I try to get people to use local products.Design should reflect the values behind it. This way, design can bring people together and spread awareness of current issues and can encourage everyone to take action.
My latest design, under the BUY LOCAL mark, is an example of this. The marking tells the user where a product is made. It is designed to increase the use of local goods and encourages promotion of local production. By making the decision to buy local, the user contributes to supporting the local economy and employment.

My next project is BUY LOCAlL ... to inform the people where the products are made.
To get people to use local products.

I designed a Christmas tree made of opal plastic. With a lamp inside, it
projected the image of a star on the ceiling of the church. The sight was overwhelming, and everybody went completely silent.

I have several projects going on at the same time. Even if a work seems completed, I can spend a long time thinking about whether I could still improve it somehow

In a new project, I have to understand the problem

Keep it simple!

I think design sets trends, but designers make it wanted.

I use pencils at first, but later I use my assistant’s skills.

I think colours play an important role in catching people's interest and making an impression. Good design pleases as many of our senses as possible.

I'd like people to ask where I got the idea for a design. And where they can buy the product.

I feel respect towards the designer behind the design. As a designer, I understand the amount of work a successful design can require.

A group of designers can surely achieve much together, but I believe that in the end, there has to be someone who says the final word.

Keep improving all your skills by trying to do better every time.

Mondrian, ... Rietveld, ... Le Corbusier..

It is a great honour to receive such attention from Italy, the leading country of design.

Bright basic colours are my favourite: red, blue, yellow, white, black. I like Como. It is nice to sit down in a restaurant and have, for example, a pizza and a beer. Enjoying the weather of coming summer.

A long time ago, in the early ’90s, an advertising agency bought many pieces of furniture that I had designed. Twenty years later, the owner of the agency was retiring and wanted to take all of the pieces to her summer cottage, but they didn’t fit into it. She planned to expand the cottage but didn't get a building permit for the expansion. She decided to buy more land from their neighbour so that they could build a new summer house that would have room for all of the furniture. However, the neighbour didn't agree to sell the land.
The advertising agency owner then began taking furniture to various places: she, for instance, took two sofas to a golf club, her husband's workplace. But when the husband retired, they called me and asked whether I was willing to reclaim the two sofas that had not fit anywhere. I bought them back gladly.

It is a pleasure to get feedback from customers who still have some of the first items I designed
about 30 years ago.

As a child I did a lot with my hands, without knowing that it was the first step in my design career.

Private Case was founded in 1985 and is based in Lahti, Finland. By that time I worked as an architect and industrial designer, and started to manufacture my own briefcases made of recycled cardboard. A timeless, simple yet beautiful shape and functionality were the starting points for the product design. The good acceptance in the market and their unique design, which has been recognized by numerous awards, have made Private Case Oy one of the leading manufacturers of environmentally friendly stationery products in the international market.

Design is like a way of living.

Clean, plain design with good functionality.

I think my favorite design is the entire Private Case collection. I started making it in 1985, and I may have been the first designer to start making products from recycled materials. Most of the people know me as Mr. Private Case.

Briefcase 101, made of recycled cardboard (still in production).

Recycled materials. Nowadays I use a lot of recycled leather. It is made of leftover leather pieces from shoe and bag factories.

I think it is when discussing with customers and when they tell about their problems. That's when ideas start to fly.

Sometimes from the first idea, I have to go far to find a way back to the first one.

I think there is often a feeling if I could do something better. What would be the next step?

A design is successful if a lot of people would like to have one and they are ready to pay for it. You feel you have succeeded when your work delights its user.

Good design combines ecological and aesthetic aspects with functionality. A new product has something old and familiar as well as something new.

We have to take care of environment , when designing.

I think good designer is always "ten years ahead of time".

I think designers have kind of a playful mind.. You have to do something that has not been done before, but at the same time you have to keep in your mind the past and the history of the product.

My design is simple and clean without any extra "lines". My works often have a funny detail, which lends them a cheerful look. I enjoy seeing them bring joy to the recipient. You feel you have succeeded when your work brings a smile on its user's face.

Use them!

I have many ideas but typically in my work, drawing the very first line can be difficult. I can start the same project many times over, and at the final stage I remove everything I possibly can to achieve the result I want. My works are plain, with each individual detail and dimension carefully planned.

My chairs Cubic and Basic.

My working day starts at about 8.30 and ends at 6. It allows far too little time for design work, most of it is something totally different. I often continue design work after 8 in the evening.

You have to be willing to learn a lot. Very often there is not one right answer. Be ready to do everything. Trust yourself and do things that derive from your inner self.

Keep it simple.

A good designer has to be able to understand the customer’s needs and problems. You need to have an open mind.

Normally ideas of a product come fast, but then taking away everything that is not needed takes time.

students: DO YOU HAVE WORK FOR ME ?

Private Case.

For small companies to big international companies.

At first you need to have a problem, what you have to solve.

I would like to see my company A Aerssin to sell all ower the world.

I develop by myself, but listen to my family's and friends' opinions too.

I have a new Buy Local. project.

My e-mail is ari.korolainen@privatecase.fi My phone number is +358 500 716833