WHAT IS VARALUSIKKA?
Varalusikka means an extra spoon in Finnish. Why spoons? Because it’s a way of seeing life – in spoons. How we use our spoons in life, and how we all need an extra spoon, a varalusikka, every now and then.
Originally The Spoon Theory is a way for chronically ill people to explain their everyday life; how limited their possibilities are for doing everything they want, dream, or even need to do. In other words, how you have only a very limited amount of spoons to use each day and how fast you run out of them, and how you need to decide how to use those precious spoons of yours. And how you always are in need of an extra spoon.
Varalusikka is our way to remind people that life is precious, that life is in those tiny, little, ordinary things that makes us smile and happy, if we only stop for a minute to see, feel, and notice them. It’s also our way to tell people you are precious, just the way you are, regardless how many spoons you have.
Most importantly, it’s our way to say that one spoon at a time, one tiny spoonful of courage and hope is all we need, all we get, and all it takes. It’s enough, you are enough.
You can read the whole story behind Varalusikka here.
… AND WHAT HAS THIS ALL GOT TO DO WITH PAPER GARDEN?
Varalusikka was born when Emilia was in desperate need of an extra spoon, couldn’t find one, and decided to make one, out of vintage spoon, to carry with her. And so it all began, as a tiny handmade spoon jewellery shop Tero ran. As often happens in life, roads lead us to strange and wonderful places and somehow we found ourselves having two shops, Varalusikka for spoon jewellery and one for vintage papers, needing a name. Discussing it with a cup of coffee, peonies and roses blooming, among vintage papers, Paper Garden felt fitting. But Varalusikka means so much to us that we decided not to change our social media name, and that’s why there’s this mixture of names Varalusikka and Paper Garden visible everywhere.
