Unveiling the story behind our brand name

Believe it or not, there was no master plan when I started Projektityyny, from my kitchen table in Tooting, South London. I worked full time as a fashion Buyer and I was a single mother to two little boys, Elmer my eldest was only just five. In the evenings, once the boys were fed and tucked safely into bed I would pull out my trusty sewing machine and start making cushions. Partly because I felt inspired and wanted to make things with my hands, but partly also to make ends meet in a city that seemed to charge people for simply breathing…or at least it sometimes felt like it.

I had accumulated quite a wonderful collection of fabrics from my travels and I wanted to put them to good use. Instagram was in its early days and I wasn’t quite sure what it was all about and how to even use it. But I created a profile anyway, listing photos of the things I had made. We needed a name, and without giving it much thought Projekti Tyyny felt rather fitting, afterall I was embarking on a new project (Projekti) making cushions (Tyyny) - and so began Projektityyny, Finnish for Cushion project

This all seems rather crazy now; starting without a complete brand kit, a skilled web developer and a watertight SEO strategy all adds up to a risky road to take. But in a way Im glad none of that felt like a big deal at the time, as Im not sure I would’ve had the guts to give it a go. I’d say naivety goes a long way and a healthy dose of acceptance of not knowing everything. All I was doing at the time was following my heart and making things I loved. As we’ve grown, new challenges have come our way, almost on a monthly basis - growing pains, I call them. But still, to this day, I believe this simple recipe of just pouring passion into everything we do is the thing that has helped the brand grow into what it is today. I really care, about every, single, detail.

Sometimes, I do look back and think, gosh a different name would have been ‘easier’ perhaps. Easier to say, easier to remember, and easier to find on Google… but then I ask myself with an innate dose of Finnish stubbornness ‘Easier for whom’? So I’ll keep holding onto this one piece of Finnishness in me, while patiently and proudly continuing to explain to people how to pronounce it. The name has a history, and evokes a strong memory that brings me straight back to our humble beginning, without perfect strategies and glossy images. Like an old house, its not perfect, but I love all the memories and the story it contains and Im not about to rush to change any of that, definitely not for Google!

Here is a link where you can hear how the name is correctly pronounced - enjoy!

projekti listen here

tyyny Listen here