Good News from Finland

10 Questions: Tea Latvala

TEA LATVALA is the founder of TEATIAMO.

  1. How do you start your days?

It depends on the day and how I feel. For sure, I need a cup of coffee, but before that I read my e-mails on my iPhone and check all my social media accounts to get a picture of what’s going on in the world.

  1. What is your story with Finnish wood?

Both of my parents worked in a wood refining factory for almost 20 years. Before I started school, I used to go and sell ice-cream to the factory workers with my sister. I was only five when I started.

  1. Tell us how TEATIAMO got its name.

Two years ago, I had dinner with my ex-boyfriend and an Italian couple. They asked me why I didn’t have a brand of my own, and they said the words Tea ti amo out loud for the first time. It means Tea, I love you. I actually thought it was brilliant, because the brand is all about loving yourself.

  1. What is TEATIAMO’s mission?

The company mission is to bring sexy back in the daylight and build a retail chain where Victoria’s Secret meets Apple on a store level. TEATIAMO aims to break boundaries in sex toy industry.

  1. How do you think the startup scene and creative entrepreneurship are changing the face of Finnish business?

At this point, where many of the the bigger companies are crumbling down, creative entrepreneurship is all we really have left. I believe that small businesses have a great opportunity to shine and take over.

  1. What are the things you miss from Finland when you are abroad?

I am not a person who misses things. Of course, I think about my friends and family, but we live in a very interactive and global time, which makes it very easy to communicate all around the world.

  1. What is your favourite Finnish word and why?

Pohojammaa (Pohjanmaa, the region in Finland known in English as Ostrobothnia). Although I’ve lived abroad and travel quite a lot, my roots are very deeply in Pohojammaa. There is just this certain unique force and spirit that is unbreakable. Pohojammaa is something that will always be tattooed on my heart, maybe literally one day.

  1. Describe your typical working day.

I don’t think I recognise the word typical. All in all, I have chosen quite an interesting path as a dildo dealer and designer, which makes my days not typical at all. I would say that the only routine I’ll have is when I’ll start writing my report to Tekes.

  1. What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

The most challenging aspect is to come across as a professional businesswoman in Finland. The sex toy industry and sex in general are still taboos, although we live in 2017. Due to the nature of the business I have chosen, many people here think that they can approach me with a personal sexual innuendo. They want to put me in a certain category and associate me with porn stars or someone who is here to ‘show and tell’ the products. I get a lot of feedback from men commenting on my looks and not paying attention to the business side of it. Many men think that I want to listen to their personal sexual experiences and become their therapist, although I have neither interest nor competence in that sector. But for sure, you can imagine that when you start to design dildos from wood, it is not the easiest path to choose. There have been so many challenges people don’t see or understand, however I know I am the best at what I have chosen to do. There is no one who could have done this any better so far.

  1. Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

I see myself as a very successful entrepreneur. I have TEATIAMO retail stores in major cities around the world and I employ hundreds of people. I am also looking for a CEO to take over my duties. I have one home base in Finland, one in the US and one in Italy. I have a ridiculously handsome and loving husband and maybe a few children. In 10 years, when my picture is on the cover of Time magazine, I hear people saying that ‘oh my god, that crazy bitch made it’.

In Finnish Media: Me Naiset

MENAISET tyylikkäimmät

Nämä seksilelut kehtaa jättää yöpöydälle lojumaan. Seksilelun ei ole pakko näyttää avaruusoliolta tai lastenhuoneesta karanneelta. Valitsimme 13 tyylikästä seksilelua, joita ei tarvitse piilottaa yöpöydän laatikkoon.

No nyt on ehtaa suomalaista designia! Tea Latvalan perustama Teatiamo valmistaa dildoja luonnonmateriaaleista, esimerkiksi koivusta ja lepästä. Yritys sai alkunsa Latvalan halusta suunnitella tyylikäs seksilelu, jota kelpaa säilyttää vaikka kirjahyllyssä.

In Finnish Media: Talouselämä

Yllättävä Suomi-design leviää maailmalle: ”Tikuista ei ole pelkoa, jos ei ole halko hanurissa jo valmiiksi”

Teatiamo-brändillä toimiva suomalainen design-yritys markkinoi puusta valmistettuja dildojaan eli masturbointivälineitään nyt Yhdysvaltain sekä Kiinan ja Singaporen markkinoille, yhtiö kertoo tiedotteessaan.

Tiedotteen mukaan yhdysvaltalainen Good Vibes -ketju on ottanut Teatiamon luksusdildoja myyntiin pariin lippulaivamyymäläänsä. Puudildoja on myös lähetetty näytille Kiinaan ja Singaporeen.

Teatiamon verkkokaupassa puudildon hinta vaihtelee 189 eurosta 239 euroon. Puudildoja varmistetaan neljästä eri puulajista: koivusta, tervalepästä, pyökistä ja pähkinäpuusta.

Dildot valmistetaan puusepäntehtaalla, ja niiden pinta viimeistellään myrkyttömällä akryylilakalla, mikä tekee puun pinnasta sileän ja lasimaisen. ”Tikuista ei ole pelkoa, jos ei ole halko hanurissa jo valmiiksi”, sanoo Teatiamon perustaja ja dildojen suunnittelija Tea Latvala.

Latvala on pyrkinyt suunnittelussaan siihen, että jokainen suunniteltu tuote sopii pidettäväksi esillä esimerkiksi kirjahyllyssä tai pöydällä henkilökohtaisen käytön lisäksi. Latvalan mukaan “kaikki riippuu lopulta käyttäjän omasta design-mausta, mutta myös rohkeudesta”.

Featured @ Cereal Entrepreneur

@tealatvala: ”The idea for @TEATIAMO was born out of an urge to break boundaries related to sexuality and at the same time design something timeless and beautiful. Sex should be elegant, sensual and natural born right. You should praise it.
At TEATIAMO, we design, produce and sell design sex toys made out of wood, stone and glass. As a startup trying to build my business from Finland (5,5mm people) I was able to reach 1mm of them during the this summer via different media and tv-presence. TEATIAMO and my wood dildo business was the most read news article in two of the major media channels in my own home country. I am hoping to reach the same amount of people anywhere I go one way or the other. We should make love not war.
Q: Nice, how’s it different from other companies out there doing the same thing?
A: Sexuality and sextoy industry are shaped by old traditions, values and believes; sexuality being still a tabu and something that is considered to take place behind closed doors. TEATIAMO breaks these believes bringing sexy back in daylight. TEATIAMO’s products are so elegant and well thought that you can leave them on the dinner table.
Q: Tell us a funny or embarrassing moment that happened to you as an entrepreneur?
A: Well I could already write a book about how I have been treated as a female sex toy designer. It sure has been a fun journey.
Q: Was your family supportive you when you told them about your plans?
A: Yes, my mom was my first customer.
Q: Who’s is an entrepreneur today that you admire and why?
A: So many young, bright and talented kids out there using the modern sources the way I can only admire. I admire everyone with an entrepreneur spirit when its focused on making this world a better place: happier, more ecological, sexier, funnier, easier, more pleasurable. Do you even remember the time before Tinder, Uber, snapchat or Facebook.

In Estonian Media: TV3 ’Soome uus NOKIA?”

EESTI TV3 interview

Soome disainer Tea Latvala äratas Soome meedias tähelepanu eriliste puust valmistatud dildodega ning selleks äritegevuseks sai naine ka ettevõtlustoetust. Käsitööna valmistatud puust dildod on tänaseks täiesti müügil ja saadaval ning nende hind algab 169-st eurost. Vaata lähemalt videost!

In Finnish Media: Radio Rock

”Teatiamo yritystä pyörittävä Tea Latvala on suunnitellut puisen dildon Mr. Rosewoodin. Latvala kertoi Korporaatiolle, että hän on kasvanut puun parissa sillä hänen vanhempansa toimivat puualalla aikanaan Latvalan synnyinseudulla Kurikassa ja innostus materiaaliin juontaa jo sieltä asti.
Latvala on saanut puudildolleen myös Valtion innovaatiokeskus Tekesin tukea kansainvälisille markkinoille pääsemiseksi. Jakelusopimuksia on tehty jo Latinalaisen Amerikan puolelle ja Latvalan tavoitteena on saada puudildot tulevaisuudessa myyntiin markettien hyllyille.”

RADIO ROCK