The factory’s areas of special expertise include stencil decoration and the painting of ceramics using proprietary art glazes. Pentik Studio ceramics are decorated by hand using various tools and painterly techniques, though many other products also involve manual craftsmanship. For instance, the patterns on the Kivi tableware range are hand-painted onto every single piece, whereas the patterns for the Haave, Saaga, and Posio series are created using stencils. Ceramic ornaments and art pieces are also crafted by hand.

The ceramic factory workers have given names to all the machines. For instance, one machine was initially named "Hopeless" because it did not perform as expected. Later, however, it improved, and its name was changed to "Hope." Pertti was named after an electrician who frequently visited the factory. The newest arrival is named Impi.

After a firm handshake, the factory building suddenly felt so vast that finding the way out seemed like a challenge. The year was 1986; she held her one-year-old daughter in her arms and carried a brand-new job offer from Pentik in her breast pocket. Since then, she has clocked up over three decades of service, and the factory itself has expanded several times. Outi Mursu’s career path has wound its way from trimming excess clay to glazing, and finally to the role of studio decorator. When the morning begins, Outi switches on the radio and immerses herself in a world of colors and patterns. Her table is laden with stencils and decorating paints, and her experienced hands work at a steady rhythm, transforming something beautiful into something even more exquisite. After numerous stages of work, the moment of truth arrives when the kiln door is finally opened and the colors have burst into their full, brilliant splendor.

After the senior pattern maker had taught Jani Kämäräinen just about everything he knew, he had one final piece of advice. For all their sense of form and technical mastery, every pattern maker occasionally hits a dead end. A designer’s bold idea might seem to defy the laws of nature—practically impossible to execute. In such moments, the best approach is simply to tuck the problem away at the back of one’s mind and wait patiently for the subconscious to churn out a solution. For Jani, that stroke of genius strikes best while fishing and enjoying the nature of Lapland. The skilled pattern maker has thus evolved into a passionate angler—or perhaps it happened the other way around. Once the puzzle is solved, Jani transforms the designer’s concept into a plaster model, then a ceramic prototype, and finally a master mold—the mother of all molds.

Given his surname, it is hardly surprising where Pekka hails from. Strictly speaking, however, Pekka Posio is a returnee; he came back to his home village from Rovaniemi in 2006 to build a new house for the Pentikäinen family. The house turned out so well that Pekka was recruited to work at the Pentik wood workshop, located right next to the factory building. At the workshop, Pekka crafts store fixtures ranging from cabinets and tables to shingle-clad partitions. He has a particular knack for blending the new with the old: in his hands, a weathered window frame becomes an excellent room divider, and old floorboards are transformed into a sturdy store table. When the new is paired with the old, the result is something truly original and authentic.