“I grew up in a very small town in Finland, with the forest as my nearest neighbour. Living in such a rural place, my siblings and I had to keep ourselves entertained. Since there weren’t many kids around to play with, I spent a lot of time in nature and passed the time by woodcarving and making things,” Andreas says.

From humble beginnings with woodcarving as a child, Andreas, who is entirely self-taught, now handcrafts artistic wood products from his workshop at home. He says, “When I was young, I always wanted to be an artisan carpenter – designing and creating beautiful handmade furniture was a dream of mine. I’ve always enjoyed creating, using my hands for something practical – I’d go crazy if I didn’t have this creative outlet.”

Andreas and his wife moved to Norway in 2017. He says, “I always wanted to move somewhere new – I have a bit of an adventurous streak. My wife and I loved the idea of Norway because of the beautiful nature, and after going on a road trip around the country, we decided to try Bergen.”

Since making the move to Bergen, Andreas has settled in well. “I love the beautiful nature here – the mountains, the fjords, the ocean, the forests…I spend a lot of time outdoors, and I get a lot of inspiration and creativity from nature,” he says.

However, the weather in Bergen isn’t always the best. “There’s quite a lot of rain! Coming from a sunny place in Finland, moving to Norway’s rainiest city was a bit of a change,” Andreas says with a laugh.

Andreas’ work started as a hobby, but has grown into a side business alongside his full-time job building sets and stage elements at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. He loves variety in his work, and creates a range of different items. ”These days, I’m making a lot of hollow forms and vessels – vases and similar pieces. These are my main focus at the moment, not because they sell the most but because they’re the type of pieces that bring me the most joy right now,” Andreas says.

His passion for his work and drive to create keeps Andreas quite busy. “The piece I’m most proud of is Derretero de Valverde – an ash hollow form I created in 2020. It has a labyrinth carved on the outside which leads to the inside, which is entirely covered in 24 karat gold leaf,” he says. “It was a really fun, challenging project that took over 50 hours, and I’m not entirely certain how I managed to finish it!”

When it comes to his creative process, Andreas relies on his intuition. “I don’t think too much about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it – I just do what I feel like in the moment, bringing out the ideas, shapes and designs I see in my mind’s eye. I’ve always had an eye for aesthetics, so I trust my own judgment. I’ve always loved beautiful shapes and patterns, so it’s very important to me that my design is pleasing to the eye or interesting to look at.”

Craftspeople like Andreas rely on consumers recognising the value of buying artisan products. Though buying a handcrafted item from an artist may cost more, it’ll likely also mean more – and having a few quality items can be much more meaningful than having many cheap, easily discarded products.

“If you buy a bowl that’s been handcrafted from quality materials by a skilled artist, that item could easily last 50 years if you take proper care of it – whereas a plastic, mass produced bowl from Ikea might be used for a year or two before being thrown away,” Andreas says. “People are starting to realise that buying and discarding mass-produced items is bad for the environment – and many people also want to support local artists and craftspeople.”