From sofas to bags

Ostrobothnian furniture

Furniture factory excess leather

Together towards sustainable consumption

We at Lovia want to diminish the environmental burden by making bags that truly stand the test of time. This is also the reason behind choosing our material partners very carefully. Ostrobothnia Furniture is one of them. A family business founded in 1964, Ostrobothnia's Kaluste has built and continues to build the foundation of their company on artisanship. They use only durable and high quality materials, which turn into well designed and tailored furniture at the factory in Kurikka.

Their aim is to minimize the ecological footprint of their products throughout their lifecycle, making diminished spoilage a key priority. This is where we come into the picture. We utilize the excess leather from their upholstery process and use it as a starting point for designing new purposes in the shape of bags.

ESTABLISHED: 1964

EMPLOYEES: 409

LOCATION: KURIKKA, FINLAND

From sofa to material for bags

You may wonder how the materials from a family business in Kurikka transform into bags. We want to be completely transparent with our actions, so that you know the true history behind your item.

Leather-upholstered furniture making creates cutting waste, even when hides are used meticulously in the production. Due to their natural shape excess is a given, and so pieces too small for furniture making end up looking for new life. Normally this resource is wasted, even though the material is of high quality. What a shame, right? We at Lovia design our bags in a way so that the smallest strips can receive new life and so the material discovers a new purpose. Instead of new material, we use the leftovers discovered from other industries, and in this way are also able to diminish the burden put on our environment.

But where does the leather come to Ostrobothnia Kaluste? They use Italian suppliers, whom they have had the pleasure of knowing for years, building a relationship and cooperation that lasts. From Italy the leather hides travel to the factory in Kurikka, and the excess from this travels further to Lovia in Helsinki.

Greetings from Kurikka

We want to give our partners a chance to have their voice heard because without them the actual utilization of the trash material would not become reality. Here we gathered greetings, bits and pieces from Everyday life at Ostrobothnia's Kaluste factory in Kurikka.

"Earlier we have delivered excess leather back to the producers that have used it to create bonded leather. With Lovia, we feel that our excess pieces receive a new purpose worthy of the quality material. The pieces big enough for Lovia's use should rather become bags than be made into smaller scrap just to make bonded leather. Bonded leather is a good option for shreds that are already too small to make any new products from."

-Juha Koukkari, Sales Director, Ostrobothnia Furniture

Where can we do better?

We are already doing amazing things together with Ostrobothnia, that we are proud of. But still, what is next? There is always room for improvement when it comes to sustainability.

With Ostrobothnia we share a vision and dream of creating a new purpose for even the smallest shred of excess material. We receive different sizes and colors of material from them to use further, but there are still scraps left over that are at the moment too small for our use. Our goal in the future is to create a sort of kibble from this resource, that could function as a raw material for a newly produced recycled material for our bags.

We are also looking into testing out a new type of Collaboration model with Interface, where we give out the necessary measurements for pieces and Ostrobothnia does the first stage of sorting. This means less time for us to travel to Kurikka and examine the pieces, saving on emissions. Achieving Sustainability is always a never-ending process, making us never ready but always hungry for development. Welcome along the journey!

Ostrobothnian furniture

Furniture factory excess leather

Together towards sustainable consumption

We at Lovia want to diminish the environmental burden by making bags that truly stand the test of time. This is also the reason behind choosing our material partners very carefully. Ostrobothnia Furniture is one of them. A family business founded in 1964, Ostrobothnia's Kaluste has built and continues to build the foundation of their company on artisanship. They use only durable and high quality materials, which turn into well designed and tailored furniture at the factory in Kurikka.

Their aim is to minimize the ecological footprint of their products throughout their lifecycle, making diminished spoilage a key priority. This is where we come into the picture. We utilize the excess leather from their upholstery process and use it as a starting point for designing new purposes in the shape of bags.

ESTABLISHED: 1964

EMPLOYEES: 409

LOCATION: KURIKKA, FINLAND

From sofa to material for bags

You may wonder how the materials from a family business in Kurikka transform into bags. We want to be completely transparent with our actions, so that you know the true history behind your item.

Leather-upholstered furniture making creates cutting waste, even when hides are used meticulously in the production. Due to their natural shape excess is a given, and so pieces too small for furniture making end up looking for new life. Normally this resource is wasted, even though the material is of high quality. What a shame, right? We at Lovia design our bags in a way so that the smallest strips can receive new life and so the material discovers a new purpose. Instead of new material, we use the leftovers discovered from other industries, and in this way are also able to diminish the burden put on our environment.

But where does the leather come to Ostrobothnia Kaluste? They use Italian suppliers, whom they have had the pleasure of knowing for years, building a relationship and cooperation that lasts. From Italy the leather hides travel to the factory in Kurikka, and the excess from this travels further to Lovia in Helsinki.

Greetings from Kurikka

We want to give our partners a chance to have their voice heard because without them the actual utilization of the trash material would not become reality. Here we gathered greetings, bits and pieces from Everyday life at Ostrobothnia's Kaluste factory in Kurikka.

"Earlier we have delivered excess leather back to the producers that have used it to create bonded leather. With Lovia, we feel that our excess pieces receive a new purpose worthy of the quality material. The pieces big enough for Lovia's use should rather become bags than be made into smaller scrap just to make bonded leather. Bonded leather is a good option for shreds that are already too small to make any new products from."

-Juha Koukkari, Sales Director, Ostrobothnia Furniture

Where can we do better?

We are already doing amazing things together with Ostrobothnia, that we are proud of. But still, what is next? There is always room for improvement when it comes to sustainability.

With Ostrobothnia we share a vision and dream of creating a new purpose for even the smallest shred of excess material. We receive different sizes and colors of material from them to use further, but there are still scraps left over that are at the moment too small for our use. Our goal in the future is to create a sort of kibble from this resource, that could function as a raw material for a newly produced recycled material for our bags.

We are also looking into testing out a new type of Collaboration model with Interface, where we give out the necessary measurements for pieces and Ostrobothnia does the first stage of sorting. This means less time for us to travel to Kurikka and examine the pieces, saving on emissions. Achieving Sustainability is always a never-ending process, making us never ready but always hungry for development. Welcome along the journey!

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