Håkki TM ( 2001-2012 ) was a brand and art project, initiated together with Norwegian designer Mats Stenslet, Swedish artist Tomas Eriksson in 2001. With three outlet stores in Norway and our own t-shirt print shop, the project was functioning at the intersection of art and economics - formulating ideas that verge on the utopian and re-evaluating globalization and cultural exchange.
The HåkkiTM project was initiated in 2001, spurred by the fate of an
industrial community in Northern Sweden, threatened by depopulation.
In the late 1990s, its number of inhabitants was reduced by more than half when the cornerstone company closed down. The situation in Ljungaverk, as the village is called, is far from unique, but serves as a good example of a development resulting from an increasingly more globalized existence and the ensuing requirement of international competitiveness.
The project started out as a desire to create a brand with the
objective of financing local programs in Ljungaverk, with the revenue generated by sales of self-produced T-shirts – created in collaboration with the local community. Through three sales stores in Norway, Håkki has so far supported several initiatives, including new ping pong tables for the local youth club, free hair cuts for the residents of Ljungaverk, partial financing of the local sauna and the transfer of a Scottish footballer - to stay in Ljungaverk for one full season to play for the local 4th division team Fränsta.
Photos: Kim Ramberhaug