The name Riihi translates in english as DRYING BARN. In Finland these barns have been commonly built with logs. As you can see in the product it has joints like in log building, except this is hexagonal.  

The idea for the product came from the need to make a product to sell at a local craft store when I graduated as a artisan wood craftsman in 2004. 

In the school entrance exam 2001, I had to make a triangular potholder by using hand tools to make a half-lap joint in each corner. I liked the model already in the exam. I also got a good grade of the exam. 

Towards the graduation, I asked my teacher if I could make potholders for sale using that model in picture 3, but she said it was her own model and didn't give permission for commercial use. 

So I had to think about it again. I had already twiddled the blocks in my hands quite a few times and noticed that when you put the parts of two triangular potholders together, you get a hexagonal one. I asked my teacher if I could sell these potholders if i make them hexagonal and she agreed. The model is completely different that way. However, the parts were too long as a hexagon, so the model also changed because the parts had to be made shorter. 

I then made a series of roughly 30 of them and they all sold at the local craft store. 

Life got away and I haven't made these more since. Now it is time to continue. 

The test required making a potholder according to the picture. Three identical pieces had to be cut from a pre-measured stock and joined with half-lap joints using only hand tools. There was no plans, only a potholder like that for getting measures. 

My mother has since used the potholder in her daily life. The exam grade points are still visible as a faint pencil mark, reminding me of my achievement.

So I'm studying in the JOTPA project of the Finnish Work Efficiency Association, in a training called Puuversio. During the training, I'm doing product development for this product and my new brand for it, and this website serves as a portfolio for the work. 

In this picture, is a logo for the product that I made using the InkScape vector modeling program.

See more about the training program here