Hello you - all
Boys and Girls hear my call
Turn On – Tune In
I will start the emission - this is a sort of remission
For those of you who know - Jöiskis style
No whipped cream nor pipedream- please
Only straight facts are - fine
This story comes in three parts
First we go way back - to the start
Then we linger and mingle in the middle
And in the end - we make a little bend
Just in case
Don't get it wrong - even if the impression is strong
Vivero is not a local dancing hall
In fact - this is a real design business
They play hard-ball
A lot of hassle and dazzle
They swear and they dear
They count all - what is the right amount
The history of Vivero is a story - full of fury and glory
Like a roller coaster
hard up and down hill ride
sharp turns to left and right
In the beginning - First we had Jöiski
A sailor and a whaler
He is used to cut the corners straight
He had a - Good Idea
Let's start Vivero, a business of our own
A real big game - In order not to be anybody's slave
Here in Finland – where the land ends
We are much too far from the center
Let´s not make more new chimneys
Let's just design and sell – something what we can do really well
Right from the start - let's go to the middle of the ring
Let's have a real match- with the big cats
A man has to do what a man has to do
Jöiski had a bunch of good pals
Matti, Riku and Vee-Pee - all good All's
So they got a lot of money - sort of honey
From the regional development fund
First what they did
Was to drink a bit
They bought a nice car
And they had to drive near and far
Looking for somebody who could put together the pits and pieces
They met with Aukusti, who knew how to weld, Rudi, who knew how to bend
and Ojalainen who could do the upholstery
They put all this together
With mastery
Laminates in piles
In an old Candy factory
Actually - they had just two chairs
Visio and Verde
Visio designed together with Simo Heikkilä – Jöiskis friend
It was a real blast
Don't forget the 80s -at that time the Postmodernism was the latest dime
All the designers where sugar daddy's - serving kids with candies
What they did - these Vivero guys
Put together thin sheets and pipes - really nice
And some spring steel in between
They had small stands in Copenhagen and Milan furniture fairs
Alessandro Mendini went nuts
He really had the guts to put them into the Domus magazine
They went in to all the papers and museums
Its plane – they got the fame
But in the end - all the money was spend
They had to sell – a bad spell
Too bad
We are so sorry - but don’t worry
After a bit of coffin - hesitation and tossing
Come Matti Nyman – a bright guy
He used to make metal boxes
In a company called - Economic
He liked Vivero a lot - he thought it is still hot
And bought it all away
After a while - all was back to normal
Coffee and cakes back on the table
But the design business is like an ocean - full of motion
There were still big waves
They had to row back and forth
There was Juha and Mikke pulling the oars
But they put it all together – in a nice pack
Pik -Pak and Click - Clack
To start with they put in to production the Vivero table - it's really able
Ilo – office system is important
At the time when other furniture producers used to cut, split and splat
the office tables
They put all in one plane
Then come the time for Tina – really nice line OK
It was and is a big success still today
Then there is this Plus – office system done together with Pekka
Architects like it a lot - because it fits in their pots, boxes made of steel and glass
Everything is fine - all nicely in line
In fact it's quit complex- but don’t get hopeless
All is in right angle – it won't tangle
One thing I must say
These guys - they have always their hairdo fine
They have the ball-eye and good tempo
And they like - Samba and Mambo
But choir song – for them - it's all wrong
On more thing
Here in the land of plenty - The design scene is almost empty
Not many companies know what to do
Vivero is one of the few
It's a lighthouse
It shines so far - a bit like a guiding star so that the young ones know - where to go
Martin Relander.
