We have visited the “Hakalan Puutukku oy” – a family-owned wood trading company in Finland.
The company roots go back to 1947 when the Hakala brothers started the timber trade. From the beginning, the business focused on the supply of sawn timber and wood veneers.
Since 1963, they have settled in Mukkula, Lahti. And that was where we visited them!
We were extremely welcomed by the current owner, Jukka Mattila (in the photo)
He gave us a tour of the facilities and explained different aspects of woods, in the naturally occurring flora of Finland.
They sell hardwood lumber, domestic wood species and wood veneers to companies, educational institutions and private individuals.
Besides 50 imported wood species, they also specialize in the most sought after 10 domestic kinds of wood, making their catalogue one of the largest in Finland.
We discussed the Finnish wood types best suited for woodwinds and bagpipes, and left with some samples to test on our Säkkipilli prototypes.
He will certainly visite Jukka often during the rest of my doctoral research. We hope that Finnish companies, Finnish know-how and Finnish materials will be forever linked to bagpipes, woodwinds and folk music.
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https://www.hakalanpuutukku.fi/
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A word of thanks also to Artturi Vuorinen, Sibelius academy colleague, for the invaluable contacts, company, and having taken this lovely picture.
Gonçalo Cruz
is a Researcher, Musician, Educator & Maker of Bagpipes & Woodwinds.
He holds a Masters in Architecture, and is currently a Doctoral candidate at the Sibelius Academy - “Forgotten Bagpipes - The redesign of the Säkkipilli in Finland”. His research interests are in the disciplines of Music, Ethnomusicology, Organology, as well as Art & Design, History & Archeology, with a special interest in the subjects of Instrument building, Tuning and Temperament.
As an artist, Gonçalo has been working as a music composer and guest musician on live and recorded performances, and is keen in developing the concept of “Music as Design”