VALAKIA/ long earrings

One of Eero’s favourite stories has always been the “Will-o'-the-wisp”, or “aarnivalkea” as it is called in Finnish.

It is a flame that burns mysteriously in the fields, and if you manage to see it, it shows you the place of a hidden treasure. But you have to be fast because when the flame disappears, so do the gold coins.

This story from the fields of Sulkava in Eastern Finland, where Eero’s ancestors have settled, was the inspiration behind his Valakia designs.