“I rarely tell anyone about being a world champion. It’s been more than ten years anyway, a whole different life.”

Venla Haverinen, Pelago’s new ambassador, is charming – and humble. In her previous life, Venla was a top athlete – a world champion in Aesthetic Group Gymnastics – and in her current life a versatile artist, passionate dancer, tea expert, graphic designer and more. We talked about Paris, creativity and springtime tea recommendations. And a little bit about cycling, too.

Hi Venla, will you briefly introduce yourself – who are you?

Hi! I am Venla Haverinen, 30-year-old woman in Helsinki, whose life currently consists of yoga, dance, tea, art in its various forms and small projects in visual and graphic design, which I do for a living.

What inspires you at the moment?

Right now, I’m definitely most inspired by people. People with pockets full of stories and whose minds wander in the sky! The sparks of the lives of loved ones. I’m really inspired to see how creative, passionate people do what they do and how dedicated these people are. Today was also the first really warm spring day and as I cycled in the sunshine, I felt life flow differently in my body again. I realised how important the light is for our well-being – my mind feels a lot brighter when the sun is shining.

The pandemic has affected many lives and your plans also went with it. What happened?

Just like for everyone, the pandemic meant big changes for me, too. Until a year ago, I lived in Paris, where I had long dreamed of moving to, secretly and quietly in my mind.
For me, Paris is a city of arts, history and dance, with a tremendous amount of inspiring opportunities wrapped around these things. Paris is also fascinating because a lot of great art and interesting art trends are born there. It is the only big city that I have ever dreamed of living in – I like how the atmosphere there simply nurtures creativity.

However, due to the chaotic Covid- situation, I returned to Helsinki a year ago. I wanted to be close to my family in that difficult situation where no one knows knew what was to come.

At the time, I thought I would only be in Helsinki for a month or two, but now I notice it’s been a year since I moved back to Helsinki, and I still haven’t even visited Paris, let alone moved back. When the situation escalated in Paris a year ago, I had to leave in such a hurry that I left all my stuff there – and there it is still waiting.

There is already a third lockdown in Paris at the moment, so moving back is not an option now. I hope to be able to get back there when the time and situation allow it.

After returning to Helsinki, I went to work in our family business Théhuone. Helping my parents in a surprising and challenging situation was a completely obvious solution for me.

Tell me more about working at Théhuone – what is your role in the company?

Théhuone is a small shop, a combination of a tea shop and a tearoom. We have two stores – one in Kamppi, Helsinki and the other in Tapiola, Espoo. We have more than four hundred types of tea in our selection, which you can taste and drink in the tearoom in addition to buying to take home. For many, Théhuone is an old-fashioned little boutique and many of our customers just want to stop by and chat for a moment.

My own role is quite diverse: I’m responsible for our online store and graphic design. In and addition to that, I work in the store, behind the counter.

We love tea here at Pelago and therefore we are interested how the pandemic has affected tea consumption?

Interestingly, during the pandemic, tea consumption has clearly increased. It seems to be related to the fact that people are more at home, where they have more time to just stop and chill out – and drink tea.

Like many in the restaurant industry, we have had to keep the tearoom closed and focus on selling the tea takeaway style. While tea sales to businesses have dropped significantly, it’s awesome that people still want to drink tea at home. Tea keeps the mind fresh when working at home.

Tell us about your relationship with art?

I have grown up surrounded by all kinds of art and it has always been a natural part of my life. Art and graphic design also have a tight bond. It feels like my life is related to art in one way or another – even tea is art.

I mainly do graphic design for a living, but in my free time my hobbies are art in its many forms; I enjoy poetry, painting, dancing, photography. I recently got a 16mm film camera from my boyfriend and the latest inspiration of mine is related to filming, the cinematicity of life. I already have a couple of ideas in mind about what I would like to do with it.
Shooting with a film camera feels very special because the film is so expensive that you have to think more carefully about each image. It’s exciting.

Tell me about your relationship with cycling?

Cycling has always felt like a natural way to move from place to place. A good bike is like a reliable friend. In cycling, I primarily enjoy the peaceful pace of moving; I have more time to experience the surrounding environment. Cycling is definitely the easiest way to get to know new cities and environments in general. It allows you to explore the city in a way that no other way of transport does. I use my bike every day for going to work and hobbies, meeting friends and for small bike rides within the city and beyond.

I like everything about my Brooklyn: how it looks, how it feels while riding, the whole effortless way of moving that only a good bike can offer. It’s easy to pedal and the gears let me go for slightly longer trips if I want to. My boyfriend laughed at me when I mentioned that riding my bike feels like I’m gliding – but that’s how it really feels.

Last question: what kind of tea should we drink in spring?

Spring is the best time for tea, because that’s when the first teas of the year are picked. Spring teas taste juicy.

My personal favorites for spring are fresh Japanese green shinchas and Darjeeling first flush teas. They are always at their best and freshest in the spring and their aroma is stunning. In China, the feeling of “drunkenness” caused by tea has its own term “cházuì” or “茶 醉” (drunk with tea) – tea is really narcotic stuff. At Théhuone, the sure sign of spring is when the first fresh green tea arrives and its aroma fills the entire space.

Thank you for the interview, Venla!

Venla rides a new, updated Pelago Brooklyn bike. See more about the bike here!

Get inspired and follow Venla and Théhuone on Instagram.

Photos: Justus Hirvi