FAMILY CELEBRATIONS AND NEW TRADITIONS WERE BORN

When Jenny Tillander and Joel Lahtivuori had their baby in April 2018 the Tillander family was gifted with a new family member. Hence, the new tradition where brand new heirlooms, in both new and traditional styles, were handed to the baby and the mother during the name-giving ceremony.

Penny Filippa’s name-giving ceremony was celebrated in July at the young father’s family villa in the archipelago surrounding Ekenäs. The day was sunny and hot, and the celebrations looked very much alike a young family. In Jenny’s and Joel’s case this meant an entertaining name-revealing ceremony at the dock, music from the film Lion King and Avicii, some good food and boating with friends as the older generation had gone home.

When you are the seventh generation, born into a family of goldsmiths, you cannot avoid starting your own collection at a very young age. Therefore, also Penny got her first own piece of jewellery during the name-giving ceremony. The jewellery was naturally designed by the young grandmother Tina Tillander, and made by goldsmith Janne Salminen from Atelier Torbjörn Tillander.

To celebrate the young mother, Tina Tillander also designed a piece for Jenny. 

– I had been having this idea in my mind for some time, and I wanted to create something beautiful for the mother and the baby. 

– However, I didn’t want to make two versions of the same piece, but two distinctively different designs that both would reflect a fashion and style that is typical for our family jewels. I am pleased with the playful symbolism in the designs. Although we have strong family ties, all family members are however allowed the space to be themselves and express their own personality in their unique ways.

Jenny’s new heirloom is a necklace, which is both classic and modern in the same time. A diamond shaped in the old fashion is surrounded by brilliants in this ornamental pendant made of platinum and yellow gold. The simple spheres in gold create the link to the baby’s bracelet.

– We chose a necklace because it hangs right next to the heart, Tina Tillander says.

– But, all of a sudden, it wasn’t so easy to design a piece for your own daughter. Jenny took part in the beginning of the design process, but the finish was a surprise.

– My mother succeeded perfectly, Jenny says. 

– I wear this piece each time I leave home, that’s how much I like it. And naturally anything created by my mother and goldsmith Valtteri Longa is going to be a piece I treasure emotionally as well.   

Penny’s piece of jewellery is a tiny bracelet with a lilac Sapphire and golden spheres, that resemble the ones in her mother’s necklace.

– If Penny would like it, we can extend the bracelet chain as she grows, or she could keep it in its original size and hand it over to the next generation perhaps. I think it is a lovely though that this name-giving gift can turn into pretty much anything - just like little Penny herself.

Would you like to create a new tradition for your family? Welcome to Atelier Torbjörn Tillander to get inspired. You’ll find us at Kluuvikatu 1 in Helsinki.