The women of Pärnu put together a design festival

The women of the Estonian spa resort town Pärnu decided to showcase that there are exciting activities happening in Pärnu beyond the summer season and how one idea, zero euros, an excellent network of Pärnu entrepreneurs, and a tremendous amount of enthusiasm lead to the birth of a large city-wide event. Among the organizers of the event was also changemaker Kaydi Tomson.

Under the leadership of the Pärnu County Development Center, a community of women entrepreneurs has been actively operating for years. Various training sessions, inspirational trips, and meetings bring women together from time to time, and collaborative ideas always emerge.

The long-awaited idea gained momentum this year when three women joined forces and decided to organize Pärnu’s first design day.

Kati Vaas – Creative Director of Kolme Karu Kaubamaja, founder and CEO of Vaas&Vaas and Nordic Verdure, Kaydi Tomson – Head of Pärnu Entrepreneurship Incubator and founder of Lahendaarium, Liisa Mägi – Marketing Manager of Port Artur and design enthusiast.

There was no budget for it, but there was a strong desire to do something, so an agreement was reached – let’s do it!

The design market was just one of approximately 30 events that took place throughout Pärnu on that day. Companies organized exciting workshops and engaging discussions at their premises. Pärnu College invited companies to design their services, Gamecan’s game development school provided inspiration for web design, the Coffee Shop offered the enjoyment of coffee design, Myceeni’s sustainable design workshop introduced participants to mushroom material, furniture stores provided free design advice and insights into the trends of the next season, guided tours took participants for a walk to the beautiful houses of Pärnu where design was not spared, Pärnu Keskus hosted a fashion market with over 23 traders. In addition, alternating long and short DESIGN talks took place in the discussion area, moderated by the host Kai Tarmula. The entire venue featured pop-up exhibitions and installations, and DJs set the mood throughout the day.

Pärnu Design Day received a lot of positive feedback and thousands of participants. The entrepreneurial women, however, brought their dream to fruition!

Photo credit: Kati Vaas