Humbugi is a jewelry and accessories brand from Finland. It was founded by Anni Jokinen in 2009 right after she graduated HAMK. Humbugi’s idea is to upcycle excess leather into products which will last in use from season to season. The products are from leather that is originally excess material from Finnish furniture industries. All products are locally handmade.
Anni came up with the idea of recycling leathers because she thought the process of using the leather was so complicated. Also, she was inspired by the company she worked for her internship which used sustainable materials. Her final work is the start of her company. She came up with the name, Humbugi. And started to come up with the idea and design. She contacted some small local companies for her materials by emails and calling them.
After graduating, she started her own company. It didn’t have a sponsor but got some Startup money. She started in a small studio where you can share with other designers where there is a workplace and also showrooms at the back. Humbugi first launched the brand by going out to a fair in Helsinki. Starting from this fair Anni participated in other fairs and started to promote her designs. Also, she went to retailers fair and other material fairs to search a better company to work with. It took about 2 years to finally make Humbugi networks. They are now not just in Finland. The materials are also from Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
Humbugi’s main group targets are mostly women. Mostly the products are jewelry and bags. Her main design which is Birdie Collection was first inspired from the pattern of a peacock. She worked on developing the pattern and it became the signature for Humbugi. Also, the design can depend on the leather she is using. Most of the recycled leathers are black. That’s why you can see a lot of black products. The amount can also influence her work. Because Anni doesn’t want to make a lot of waste she tries to come up with the size of the product that can perfectly fit the size of the leather. For more, she use other wastes for her own artworks.
For marketing, she usually uses the website. There’s a website called Weecos which contains several other companies. Usually the site itself does all the marketing for Humbugi. However, for her own Humbugi page, Anni has to work on the marketing. Also, another main method is to go out to as many fair as possible. She says that that is the best way to meet the customers and show the products. Even though Humbugi is an upcycling brand, Anni doesn’t sets upcycle as her main idea. It’s always the design first and upcycle just follows it. Customers who use Humbugi are usually who always buy products from the brand. They will first come because of the design, but when they know that it is made my sustainable materials they will like it more.
Anni has said that she doesn’t want Humbugi be tied to seasons and she launches new collections once in a year or less frequently. Her products are timeless and sustainable. At the moment Anni works alone but she often has interns working with her. They make the products she has designed so she has more time to design something new. You can also order custom made products from her.
Humbugi is located in Tampere at Hiedarannan Paja and there is both studio and showroom. Hiedarannan Paja is an art and crafts community located in old factory area. Humbugi often takes part in various fairs and handicraft events. That is also an essential part of Anni’s
marketing and networking plan. Christmas season is most important time for Humbugi every year and second important season is summer. Between these two seasons it is quiet so Anni has more time to make new products and also the old ones.
Iiris Leskinen, Joanna Yi
