Interview with Joakim Andreasson, who has been spearheading licensing for Tom of Finland Foundation since 2014.
The Tom of Finland Store launched in February 2017 as a platform to gather all official Tom of Finland products in one place and that position the brand as one that encompasses progressive values, fine art and personal expression
Over the past few years, Tom of Finland Foundation, under my direction, has been more active with licensing than ever, across categories and in different regions. However, we quickly identified a glitch in distribution between territories and markets, and TOFS helps solve that by centralizing our offerings.
Since when are you working for Tom of Finland store?
We began working on it in mid 2016 and launched in February 2017.
Do you remember what was your first impression when you bumped into Tom of Finland artworks?
I first came up-close and personal with Tom’s work in Paris when I bought one of the Taschen book in the gay book store in Marais. I was thereafter captivated – And Tom has been part of my life since. I never imagined that I would end up working with Tom’s art in this capacity – But it certainly has been a sexy ride…
How many items do you feature in the shop?
About 500 products.
Do you have favorite pieces of clothes/accessories?
I am really proud of the clothing collection we developed together with artist duo assume vivid astro focus for Print All Over Me, where we gave avaf access to the Tom of Finland’s archive and never-before free reign to crop, manipulate and morph his body of work with their visual language. I believe this is the first time contemporary artists have been given access to an artist estate of this stature and the result is mind blowing to say the least. The collaboration really manifests Tom of Finland Foundation’s mission to nurture contemporary art and popular culture through Tom’s magic.
You feature different designer’s works in the shop too. Do you have a dream collaborator?
We include art products by other gay artist, that to date include assume vivid astro focus, Bruce LaBruce and Bjarne Melgaard. In terms of collaborations, the partnerships happen quite organically – And I do for sure have some dream projects, but if I mention them I think it will add bad luck and they may never come to fruition… That said, I would love to break the mold and do a baby stroller one day! Would be cool.
Do you have any expectations about the upcoming Tom of Finland movie?
It is a very fine movie – I have seen it a few times and have been involved throughout the making if it. Each time I see it I get touched by the bigger picture of Tom’s influence. The positive message of what he accomplished is what keeps us going, and keeps us creative in coming up with new avenues to communicate his vast body of work
Tom’s artworks is a message of tolerance and sexual freedom. Looks like some parts of U.S.A. have a different point of view of that. What do you think generally where all this will leads U.S.A.?
The markets for Tom of Finland have pretty much opened in tandem with advances in human rights and equality. We hope that our work of embedding TOM further in popular culture, has some kind of effect in terms of opening people’s eyes and eliminating the stigma of gay sex. In some part of the U.S.A. it will take a bit longer, but any kind of activism through art is one that can’t be censored nor silenced.
Photos by Josh Paul Thomas @josh_paul_thomas/ www.thestudiohaus.com
Model: Terry @terrysphots
More TOM: @tomoffinlandstore / tomoffinlandstore.com