Kalevala Flagship Store by Yatofu
Yatofu has reimagined the retail experience for Kalevala, one of Finland's most storied jewelry houses, through the transformation of its new flagship store in central Helsinki.
With a brand legacy that spans over 80 years and is rooted in values of nature, craftsmanship, and heritage, the challenge was never simply to create a store. It was to embody a cultural narrative through form, texture, and interaction.
Drawing from the sculptural quality of Kalevala's jewelry, the studio approached the interior as a contemporary gallery, a place where objects are not just viewed but experienced. The store is conceptualized as an open, tactile journey through the brand's ethos, where every material and detail functions as a quiet echo of its storied past.
A striking pair of two-story glass windows marks the entrance, offering transparency between the city and the intimate world within. From the street, passersby glimpse an interior composed of layered geometries and contrasting finishes. Sculptural display islands, soft timber volumes, and finely wrought metal surfaces converge to create a spatial rhythm that guides the visitor organically through the store.
Rejecting conventional jewelry vitrines, Yatofu developed a proprietary system that allows the pieces to be accessed and handled without glass enclosures. This deliberate shift not only heightens the sensory experience of the jewelry but also deepens the emotional connection between object and wearer. Security and accessibility are held in delicate balance, reinforcing trust as a design element in itself.
The store unfolds across two levels, culminating in a mezzanine lounge reserved for VIP appointments and private styling sessions. This upper volume is partially screened, a quiet enclave within the larger form, offering both intimacy and vantage.
Materiality plays a central role in translating the Kalevala identity into the built environment. A carefully calibrated palette reflects the metallic character of the brand's work. Brushed bronze tones, oxidized finishes, and sky-blue accents are counterposed with pale timber and raw stone. This interplay generates warmth and clarity, allowing the jewelry to remain the visual and symbolic anchor.
The sculptural language of the store is intentionally mutable. Forms bend, taper, and reveal, each surface offering a slightly different encounter with the objects on display. Light, both natural and ambient, is treated as a material in its own right. It pours through the glass façade, flows across surfaces, and is refracted through suspended installations. Shadows lengthen and soften depending on the hour, adding a temporal layer to the visitor's experience.
In keeping with Kalevala's tradition of collaboration with contemporary artists and designers, the store also functions as a rotating exhibition space. This duality of retail and gallery culminates in installations like the current work by artist Milla Vaahtera, whose brass and glass mobiles animate the store with movement, reflection, and tonal interplay.
The result is a store that resists singular definition. It is at once a gallery, a sanctuary, and a tactile expression of a cultural legacy. Yatofu's intervention is not just spatial but philosophical. The new Kalevala flagship invites visitors to slow down, to connect, and to understand that heritage, when held with care, can be both modern and timeless.
Spatial Photography: Aleksi Tikkala, David Jakob | Photography Styling : Piia Emilia
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