The Northern Ostrobothnia Museum has acquired a necklace called Linnunradan laitamilla (“On the Outskirts of the Milky Way”) by goldsmith Pirjo Lakkapää from Kiiminki for its collections. The necklace placed second in the Jewelry Piece of the Year 2023 competition. Lakkapää arrived in person to hand over her work to the museum this week.
The acquisition of the jewelry piece for the museum’s collections is related to the museums’ TAKO activities. TAKO is a documentation and collection cooperation network of professional museums, which coordinates the nationwide division of collecting duties and promotes versatile documentation work. The Northern Ostrobothnia Museum is responsible for documenting, for example, designers from Northern Ostrobothnia, the Tierna tradition (Finnish Star boys) and tar.
“There was a little bit left of the acquisition budget for 2023, which is shared with the Art Museum, and we decided to invest it in designers from Northern Ostrobothnia,” says Eija Konttijärvi, the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum’s chief curator. “I had previously come across a newspaper article about Pirjo Lakkapää and while looking for more information about her online, I noticed the 2023 jewelry competition and she placed second in it. That’s how the decision to acquire the piece of jewelry was made. The jewelry complements the collection of objects by Northern Ostrobothnian designers, which primarily includes rings and earrings.” The oldest jewelry in the museum’s collections is related to old goldsmith work in Oulu and the history of their wearers. “Pirjo Lakkapää’s jewelry also carries on the legacy of goldsmith work from Oulu in the museum’s collections,” says Konttijärvi.
The Jewelry Piece of the Year competition is organized for Finnish designers. Each year it showcases impressing, bold and special pieces of jewelry that make an impact with their skillful design language and impress with their recognizable, unique design. The necklace was bought from Jules&Beryl, a digital platform that highlights Finnish jewelry and is also involved in the organization of the Jewelry Piece of the Year competition.
Beauty that shakes off the grim times
The Linnunradan laitamilla jewelry set was born of Pirjo Lakkapää’s immense longing for beauty, the desire for celebration, and the longing to be near people. The state of the world in recent years has changed everyone’s life, and everyday life also needs celebration and togetherness as a counterbalance. “Solitude is also needed, but in the right proportion. We need celebration so that everyday life is given the meaning it deserves,” Lakkapää sums up her thoughts.
The starting point of the design for Lakkapää was impressiveness. She wanted to create something different – something that would shake off this grim time. Beautiful and powerful stones and their meanings were the background for the design of the jewelry piece. The first part of the earring was created by experimenting, and the shape reminded the artist immediately of the Milky Way.
“The design language of the jewelry took shape during the process as I was looking for spectacular stones and colors and their compatibility,” she says. Lakkapää became interested in gemstone jewelry by chance. “Initially, I didn’t think that I would become a jeweler,” he says. However, large and impressive stones and their combinations, which can also be seen in the Linnunradan laitamilla necklace, fascinate her and she believes that this is the direction in which she will be moving even more in her jewelry collection. Linnunradan laitamilla is made of gold-plated silver and includes five different stones: spinel, citrine, topaz, garnet and smoky quartz.
Lakkapää arrived in person to hand over the necklace to the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum. “I did cry and was moved when I heard about this. It feels good to have created something so great that it gets to become part of this kind of cultural heritage,” says Lakkapää.
More information: Eija Konttijärvi, Chief curator, Northern Ostrobothnia Museum, tel. 044 703 7184, eija.konttijarvi@ouka.fi