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02 Jul 2020

Kuosikeskus - the Pattern Centre will be opened in 2022


The extensive collection of printed fabric and original design drawings, including Finlayson classics, managed by the Forssa Museum are receiving new premises in Kehräämö area,  the main tourist attraction in Forssa.  Kuosikeskus will be opened to the public in spring 2022. 

Fabric printing began in 1861 by the Forssa Ltd. In 1934, Forssa and Finlayson merged, and Finland's largest fabric printing factory continued its operations as Finlayson-Forssa. In 1951, Finlayson established a pattern design studio in Forssa. During the 1960s and 1970s, Finlayson also acquired Vaasa Cotton Mill, Pori Cotton Mill and Tikkurila Silk Mill, whose archives were also transferred to Forssa. As a result of the gradual corporate history, Forssa's collection today includes a comprehensive history of Finnish printed fabric. It includes hundreds of thousands of textile samples and original design drawings by more than 130 designers. 

The collection of printed fabrics has been managed by the museum since 1996, when Finlayson ceased weaving operations in the city and the large weaving mill was converted into a shopping center. The product archive of the Forssa textile factories was transferred to Kehräämö, where it was replaced by a former train garage. At the same time, the city renovated the old foundry into "Textile Museum Tyyki". Over 20 years, space solutions proved impractical. The operations of the Textile Museum declined in 2013, and since 2017, a modern and functional new solution has been sought for the presentation of the textile collection. ”From Tyyki to the Future” project sought ideas and examples from other museums and the public. The sharpest tip of the collection was identified as industrially printed fabric and pattern sketches, which are not found on the same scale in any other Finnish museum.

The Pattern Centre will have air-conditioned, space-efficient collection facilities and a show room. In the vision for the future, the collection will be presented to the public in exhibitions and, like archives, targeted at individual customers. Tour exhibitions can be created from the collection and a pedagogical concept will be created around it. With Kuosikeskus, Forssa strengthens its image as a City of Colourful Cloth and a birth place for Finnish textile design.

The Centre for Printed Textile Design receives support from the Ministry of Education, and collaborates with the Finlayson Company.

For more information:
Museum Director Kati Kivimäki, tel. +358 4 414 5837, e-mail: kati.kivimaki (at) forssa.fi

Kuosikeskus - the Pattern Centre will be opened in 2022
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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