Abstract

Our memories can put theirsignatures on handmade products and the way an object is made can colour ouremotional response to it. I use handmade pullovers by Ms. Sirkka Kononen, thetextile artist, and anonymous traditional pullovers from Korsnas and Ostrobothniaas examples and ask how these products convey memories. To shed light on thephenomenon I use a 'product essence analysis'. Relying on Charles S. Peirce'stheory and his categories of 'Firstness', 'Secondness' and 'Thirdness' I haveformulated three stages to describe how to observe a product: 'first impression', 'factual' and 'interpretation'. The product is interpreted as a semiotic base inwhich various signs and sign-combinations become anchored. Part of the interpretation is to look how these products serve memory. Pullovers from the Korsnas district havedrawn much attention because of their visual qualities. The Jussi pullover(known by this name because of a character in a play) is associated withnotions of self-reliance and is perceived as a symbol of a special way of beinga man and a Finn. Users are fascinated by Kononen's pullovers and, when usingthem, experience their share of the glow. Pullovers convey collective memoriesof being Finnish. Pullovers are also very private objects and convey memoriesof the maker or the giver and of the relation to the owner's life story.

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The author is associated with The Finnish CraftsOrganization, Helsinki

Here I refers to the author of the article