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slanted 29 visits and authors Aarikka, Agency Leroy, Aivan, Andbros, ANKI Rugs, artek, Jesse Auersalo, Bond Agency, Erik Bruun, Double Happiness, Melanie Dower, Everyday Design, Fjord, GRMMXI, Helsinki Type Studio, Laura Iisalo, Jalo Helsinki, Arja Karhumaa, Marianna Kellokoski, Leena Kisonen, Matilda Kivelä, Kokoro & Moi, Hanna Konola, Ida Kukkapuro, Kuudes, Riikka Laakso, Eero Lampinen, Heini Lehtinen, Linda Linko, LUK, Ian Lynam, Dermot Mac Cormack, Sac Magique, Marika Maijala, Sanna Mander, Marimekko, Martin Martonen, Merkitys, N2, Nide, Rami Niemi, Nikari, Tino Nyman, Plantui, Prakt Design Agency, Lauri Ilmari Puustjärvi, Samuli Saarinen, Enni Sahlman, Saint Vacant, Ville Savimaa, Schick Toikka, Tikari & Maininki, Tsto, Tulva, Werklig, Wevolve
video interviews slanted.de/helsinki
Finland 2017: 45 % of total electricity production are produced locally with renewable energy.
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Visits to museums have increased in many countries. The number of visits in Finland has grown by nearly 30 % in ten years.
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Helsinki Design Week 2014–2016 Visual Identity, Type Design, Applications
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Finland 100 2016–2017 Visual Identity, Type Design, Applications
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Studio View Antti Hinkula, Niklas Ekholm, Antton Nuotio, Martin Martonen
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Helsinki is one of the coldest cities in the world. It doesn’t receive sunshine for about consecutive 51 days in winters.
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KOE15-fashion show 2015 Visual Identity Photos: © Tiina Eronen
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It is easy for a visitor to observe that in summer Finns are especially proud and happy to be Finns and to live in Finland, and encouraging these feelings is welcome.
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Powerfood 2016 Campaign Identity Powerfood is a campaign that aims to familiarize young Finns of 13–15 years with the use of oats and wild berries.
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Flow Festival 2015 Music and Arts Boutique Festival Visual Identity Team: Jesper Bange, Marina Kelahaara, Arttu Salovaara, Milla Selkimäki
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Club Kaiku Thursday Nights 2015–2016 Poster Series
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In Finland, nine out of ten plastic bottles are returned for recycling and almost 100 % of glass bottles are also recycled.
Th i s i s th e ma g azi n e of Fl ow Fe s tiv a l , He l sink i. FEATURING: Ir r i tat in gl y H e alth y Fo od, Gor g e o us Pe op le , Te c h n o Du ng e on s, Ta llin n , A rt P a rti e s Fo r Poor Pe op le , Wom e n L i ke C ows & Th e Ba se d G od .
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F Magazine 2016 Magazine for Flow Festival
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Studio View / Linda Linko Finnish Design Shop 2016 Nordic design event in London Pattern Design, Finnish Design Classics, Mixed Media
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ERIK BRUUN 90 7.4.2016
The Peacock Butterfly 2016 Poster Design, 50 × 70 cm Drawn in 2008, launched in April 2016 to celebrate Erik Bruun’s 90 th anniversary as an expression for his life-long love for the the Finnish nature. Pori Jazz 2015 Poster Design, 70 × 100 cm, 4-color + gold, various sizes Pori Jazz is one of the biggest annual Jazz festivals in Europe. Poster for the 50 th festival in 2015 that shows a bear, the symbol for the Pori city on the Finnish west coast. Erik Bruun has a special relationship to bears, so this was an obvious choice of motive for the poster. Finnair 2014 Poster Design, 70 × 100 cm 90 year’s anniversary poster for Finnair, the Finnish airline company. As the swan is the national bird in Finland, Eric Bruun wanted to use it as a motive in his design.
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Noe Display 2013 Typeface Krana Fat 2016 Typeface
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F IB N RA NN D IS S H Finnish Brands
Andbros Everything Design Jalo Helsinki Nikari
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132 Company name: Andbros Founded: 2014 Founder: Antti-Jussi Silvennoinen, Elisa Konttinen, Pekka Kuivamäki, Tero Kuitunen Points of sale: Flatpack, ethical and local manufacturing, ecological materials and design, ease of use Core: Lighting, ecological design Headquarter: Helsinki Most popular model: Model No 1 (in polar green). URL: andbros.fi
andbros
Andbros is a design brand from Helsinki, Finland founded by four design professionals. Matching the skills, ambitions and shared values of it’s owners has resulted as a product collection of the modern world. That’s what Andbros is all about: ecological and ethical design, local production, practicality and fun. It’s innovative products have gathered praise from various design magazines and blogs from both in Finland and abroad. Model No 1 was awarded as the light of the year 2014 in annual Muoto-gala in Finland. In 2016 Andbros opened it’s own shop / showroom in Helsinki. All Andbros products are made and designed in Finland.
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133 Jalo Helsinki is in the business of saving lives. The company develops and markets internationally award-winning design fire protection products for domestic use under the promise—“Safety can be beautiful.” Jalo makes life safer through design, by making beautiful fire safety products that people want to include in their everyday life and home decoration. There is a saying that “for every 10,000 smoke alarms one life is saved,” so Jalo has saved forty lives by now.
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Company name: Jalo Helsinki Founded: 2009 Founder: Mikko Järvenpää, Olli Nuutila Points of sale: ca. 350 in most of the European countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, UK, Austria, Estonia, Poland, Holland, Belgium) Core: Domestic fire protection products Headquarter: Helsinki Most popular model: Kupu smoke detector URL: jalohelsinki.com
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F O IL NL U TS N TR AA T ME ED S Fontnames Illustrated
Hanna Konola Riikka Laakso Eero Lampinen Sac Magique Marika Maijala Sanna Mander Rami Niemi Samuli Saarinen Ville Savimaa
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Sac Magique—Sauna
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Christa Björkstam — Agency Leroy Aki Suvanto — Aivan Daniel Bosch — Fjord Leena Kisonen LUK Safa Hovinen — Merkitys Lauri Ilmari Puustjärvi Tikari & Maininki Tulva Ville Tikka — Wevolve
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147 1 How did it happen that you do what you are doing today? Christa Björkstam / Agency Leroy Right now most of my work consists of creating branded spaces for our clients at Agency Leroy. I always knew I wanted to do something beautiful. As a child I used to do ballet and became really good at it, but becoming a professional dancer was never part of the plan. So you could say that a very rigid and uncompromising sort of aesthetic has always been part of my life and something that has appealed to me and what I’ve enjoyed. Perhaps following my dancing past, the connection between space and the people in it has always intrigued me and besides graphic design I have always felt comfortable designing spaces and thinking in 3D. Aki Suvanto / Aivan That’s a good question. In my case, I think it was a bit of a coincidence that I decided to go on to study graphic design. After high school I was going more towards studying something at university level, but it so happened that I got a job as a courier in an ad agency and I got to see designers at work. At the end of that year I was more assisting AD’s than delivering packages (that was still the time when all printed stuff were done on films and had to be hand delivered :) Daniel Bosch / Fjord When I was a teenager, there was a small design studio in front of my parent’s house at Menorca. I started hanging around at the studio, and working there, kinda, in the afternoons. I didn’t have a contract or anything.
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Leena Kisonen, Night Time Sticker Set, 2016. Papercut, vector graphics. Digital sticker set for an app on iMessage iOS10. Client: Blinks, USA.
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But it made one thing lead to another. Since then I’ve worked at boutique studios, big corporations, done freelancing, … until I ended up at Fjord in 2011. Each of these five years have been different, as the industry is in a continuous transformation, which makes it such a brilliant ride. Leena Kisonen I ended up being a designer because of my high school art teacher. He saw my art pieces in class and told me that I should apply to a design school. At that age I didn’t even properly understand what it meant, but I followed his advice because it sounded so interesting. I ended up studying at Lahti Institute of Design and then got my Masters degree at Aalto University. After graduating I did a bit of everything; I worked in the fields of architecture, publishing, and corporate comms for 10 years. For a few years, I had my full-time job during the day and filled up my weekends, evenings, and even holidays with my own client work. I ended up working at a crazy pace. This made me realize that I needed to choose between the financially steady fulltime job and my own business with no certainty of anything. I chose the latter. I made a business plan, saved up some money, and put together all the connections I made over the years. I was terrified to take the leap, but I’m grateful to myself that I did it. Now, I know I made the right choice, because the work I get to do brings me so much joy.
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along the way, so I’ve always been trying to bring it to whatever I do. I think it’s a state of mind and a way of thinking. It’s trying out different things, combining old and new and coming up with interesting ideas. It used to be all about sketching, painting and having fun but it has taken a slightly more corporate form these days. Tikari & Maininki We both have handicraft influence in our families. We have a seamster, a gold- and clocksmith, a toolmaker, a writer, an engineer, a builder etc., and we both also have entrepreneurs in our family. We have always seen how things are carefully made by hand, and how people can be
Tulva, Tulva, 2016. Feminist magazine. The Feminist Association Unioni.
creative in daily life. Being creative is a way of life for us, and we hope to pass it on to our son, too. Tulva Yes, Viivi spent her early years in girl scouts. Ville Tikka / Wevolve I guess every child is creative by definition, when they make sense of the world, experiment with it, and try to learn ways to cope with it and thrive in it. When I grew up, my version of creativity was mostly about thinking and understanding the world, often through the books that I hoarded from the local library. I read and daydreamed of things and the ways they could be, rather than tried to explicitly create them.
3 Finns have a strong sense of national identity. That is what is written in a lot of guides about your country. What does it mean? Christa Björkstam / Agency Leroy I guess it’s only natural for any people to develop a sense of identity and thinking. Historically we have had a lot of time to ourselves in a geographically secluded area with only little intervention from other nationalities to develop that sense of self. I’m quite certain that our sense of national identity seems special and perhaps more prominent to other nationalities because it has developed in a different environment compared to e.g. most other European nationalities. It’s also pretty apparent that we connect very closely and
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Agency Leroy, Christa Björkstam, Mood Coffee Roastery, 2015. Coffee Shop interior design (branding by Linus Vuorio).
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have great respect for unspoiled nature which we have a lot of here in Finland. Aki Suvanto / Aivan Do they? More than others? Maybe not. But being a quite a small population, probably people start to underline some of the less common and specific aspects of being born here. Daniel Bosch / Fjord I love the Finnish passion for craft, and how it comes out with its own dark and dry humor. But I am like most of the people I work with: I am from many places at the same time. If you look at our passports, we are 13 different nationalities. But that is
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151 not the whole story. It never is. Humans and identity in general is more complex than that. For me living in Helsinki and Finland has become a part of that. Leena Kisonen It probably comes from Finland being a mix of East and West. Finland has been a part of Sweden and Russia in the past, so the country ended up being a mixture of the both cultures. This is maybe why it’s been so important for Finns to define by themselves who they actually are and to write their own unique stories. LUK (Anna Muchenikova) I came from St. Petersburg to Finland in 2010 and was amazed by the strength of Finnish identity. Though Finland and Russia are bordering countries, the mentality, the aesthetics, the ways of how things work and people communicate are totally different. (Roman Lihhavtshuk) As a young small nation Finns highly value their identity. It is very natural for a nation in this stage of development. Safa Hovinen / Merkitys At best, it means being proud of the achievements of our nation as a unit. Like anywhere else, at its worst, it’s being arrogant—not seeing the interconnectedness of humanity and the tens of thousands of years of shared experience that has shaped, and is constantly shaping, mankind. Actually, many Finns today are a bit shy to use our national symbols, not wanting to be misidentified with the hyperbole that often surrounds blind nationalism. Lauri Ilmari Puustjärvi Us Finns are proud of our short history, since we are just turning 100 years old this year. I think the national identity is a part of everybody’s effort to bring Finland on to the world map. In Finland there’s only five and a
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Tikari & Maininki, Renkka, 2016. Illustration for Muumuru (their own paper products brand), used for posters.
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half million people living in 338,424 square kilometers, so we’re not many. For some, the national identity is about ice hockey and for others it’s about success stories like Supercell or Nokia. For me it’s the field of entrepreneurship, startups and how we want to position ourselves globally in the future. Tikari & Maininki Our nature is really strongly present within design and art, it is kind of written inside of us. Our country is a bit isolated geographically and linguistically. We think that is why our national identity is so strong and clear. Finland has a lot of forests and nature, and most parts of Finland are areas of dispersed settlement. Finnish climate is quite harsh in winter, and people spend lot of time indoors. This makes our nation a little rough and stiff, but once you get to know a Finn, you notice that they are all soft on the inside, it just takes time to get to know our peculiar nation. Tulva It can be a burden. Our ongoing process is defining Finnishness in a way that the main ingredients won’t be just the battles of World War II or the celebration of our isolation. Ville Tikka / Wevolve The idea of Finns as a small national tribe has a relatively short history. The country has been first under Swedish and then under Russian influence, and we now have some 100 years of independency under our belt. That might sound like ages, but you can still feel the persistent need for differentiation and reinforcement of Finnishness across the contemporary culture. Take for example the myth about sauna as the nearly magical social space that, as a concept, more or less originates from Finland, or the present folktale around Finland being the best start-up nation in
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Pauliina Aarikka — Aarikka Pekka Kuivamäki — Andbros Charlotta Björnberg-Paul — ANKI Rugs Marianne Goebl — artek Helena Mattila — Everyday Design Mikko Jarvenpaa — Jalo Helsinki Sami Ruotsalainen — Marimekko Johanna Vuorio — Nikari Karri Andersson — Plantui Janne Lax — Saint Vacant
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163 1 How did you enter the industry, what was your first job? And what is the most exciting part in the process of your work?
Pauliina Aarikka / Aarikka My parents founded Aarikka five years before I was born. There were always works in progress around the house, and heaps of wooden buttons and wooden balls of various colors. Right after my studies I worked as my mother’s design assistant for many years and gradually I got my own designs into the collection, too. The best part of my work is the moment when I feel that I have solved a design problem I have struggled with for long time. It makes me smile. Pekka Kuivamäki / Andbros I started working as a prototype / model maker for other designers during my studies in Aalto University. At that time I studied ceramics so my work revolved around different methods of ceramics making. That way I met a lot of people including my colleagues with whom I started our company Andbros. The most exciting part of the work is the start of each design process. There is an idea and you start to play with it. Maybe share it with others. Start making drawings and prototypes. You don’t know how the idea is finalized in the end but you have a feeling that something new and exciting is taking place. Charlotta Björnberg-Paul / ANKI Rugs Since I was 16 years old I helped my mother during holidays and weekends. After a break in the
Andbros, Model No. 3, 2016. Table lamp. Corrugated carboard. Photo by Marko Oikarinen.
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a 15-year professional life in the forest industry, I bought the business from my mother in 2012. She had then run the business for more than 25 years and was 72 years old. Since then Anki has shaped my weeks in a totally different way and I have learned to know a lot from new great people and serve very interesting and demanding customers. The most exciting part is getting all the little details of a business to match and work out. Marianne Goebl / artek I originally intended to work in the world of visual arts, but eventually discovered the “planet design” when visiting the furniture fair in Milan, while I was still a student of economics. My first job in the design world was at Vitra, where I started working in the training department before working on many different projects for about a decade. What I enjoy most about my work is the collaboration with a magnitude of people with very diverse backgrounds, mindsets and skills, whose contributions are all valuable and actually necessary to pull off a design project. Helena Mattila / Everyday Design When working outside the design industry, I was looking for some practical products that I was in need of. When I could not find them, I decided to design them myself and founded my own company everyday design in 1995. My first design was the house light,
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flexibility to incorporate the values to different parts of the company. And of course they work on a wider range in the first place. Charlotta Björnberg-Paul / ANKI Rugs There are similarities between the NOKIA and ANKI brand thinking. ANKI emphasizes awareness as one of its key values. That could be considered as a part of all aforementioned values. Awareness of product ecology, consumers and environment, society and historical values. They are all in the core of the ANKI values. Marianne Goebl / artek I can relate to these values as a valid approach to corporate culture in an ever-changing environment and I am sure so do Nokia’s employees. As a small design company, artek’s self-understanding is still fundamentally based on the vision of our founders, who were convinced that the world could be made a better place through art, design and architecture. Helena Mattila / Everyday Design I could agree with all of Nokia’s values—past and present, but our business is so small that the past Nokia values suit us well. Good relationships and achieving together are self-evident among our networks and customers. Our brand values could be written “for the love of everything living” or good everyday is our passion. Mikko Jarvenpaa / Jalo Helsinki We want to challenge the existing norms. Safety can be beautiful.
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Marimekko, Oiva Koppa serving dish, 2016. Design by Sami Ruotsalainen. Stoneware with a detachable leather handle.
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Sami Ruotsalainen / Marimekko I think we have great values that support our design work and company culture. They are: living, not pretending, fairness to everyone and everything, common sense, getting things done—together, courage, even at the risk of failure and joy. Johanna Vuorio / Nikari Compared to NOKIA, Nikari is a small, art-design-craftsmanship oriented studio. Nokia’s values— both the earlier ones as well as the latter key words—sound good and understandable for the brand of that caliber. Words like sustain ability, quality, passion for wood, creativity, design, craftsmanship and art are very close to us. Karri Andersson / Plantui I believe that a great business should be actively connected to its values which are formed and determined by the company’s employees. A business should be built on its values, which are also lived in collaborations with partners and customers. Nokia has been doing excellent work with this! Janne Lax / Saint Vacant It’s very important to honestly look in the mirror sometimes and define your values even as a brand. Still, when faced with catchphrases like these I do find my self longing for something more tangible. But definitely respect, we need more of that! And renewal every now and then.
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171 6 The Finnish capital stands out for its fundamental courage to rethink its urban ambitions, and for possessing the talent, ideas and guts to pull it off. Helsinki has indeed changed quite a lot from those not-so-far-away-days when one could only buy alcohol when one ordered a meal. What are the most positive changes in Finnland, especially in Helsinki? Pauliina Aarikka / Aarikka Helsinki has somewhat loosened up the unnecessary regulations and given opportunity for the younger generation to develop the city, which is great! Pekka Kuivamäki / Andbros The work for equal rights for everyone has been really fruitful in Finland. For example in the year 2017 Finland will have gender neutral marriage. Although there is still a long way to go for a fully equal Finland the steps we have taken now prove that equality doesn’t have to be a utopia. If we think about changes in Helsinki, I think it has become more and more relaxed and open minded. We’ve seen new cafés, restaurants and even cinemas emerge. The year 2016 marked the arrival of large scale wall paintings on residential buildings in downtown Helsinki, which is a small but very telling detail of the changed atmosphere. Charlotta Björnberg-Paul / ANKI Rugs Finland is becoming more international. The younger generations are less afraid to fail and there are many international events, such as Slush, which are a great example of a more entrepreneurial Finland. Nowadays
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artek, Rivi by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, 2017. Photo by Schaepman & Habets
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there are a lot of new restaurants and cafés in Helsinki, and that makes the cityscape so much more lively. Slowly we are becoming more European and learning to buy services; it’s actually OK to buy a good meal instead of cooking it yourself. Marianne Goebl / artek Not being Finnish myself, I cannot judge the changes the country and Helsinki in particular went through over the last decades. However, the qualities you quote certainly describe the city as I have gotten to know it over the last 2,5 years. I see the entrepreneurial spirit, level of creativity, highly developed design culture and self-confidence needed to keep changing or found something new. And this attitude has not been undermined by the rather difficult economic climate of the recent past, on the contrary. Helena Mattila / Everyday Design Young people have found new ways to carry out projects that are invented “out of the blue.” Some ideas need very little money— just good shared ideas and a lot of fun for those who participate in the project. One good example is the annual “cleaning day” with social media mag of pop-up flee
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Helena Mattila / Everyday Design My personal big challenge is to find more time for my husband, children, grandchildren and friends. After all—people are most important and valuable. And I am grateful to have so many treasures in my life. Mikko Jarvenpaa / Jalo Helsinki I want Jalo Helsinki to become the best fire safety consumer brand in Europe. Sami Ruotsalainen / Marimekko Marimekko has an incredible history and heritage, and I find this very inspiring and challenging. It is a positive challenge of course—one must constantly push oneself in order to live up to the legacy of the house and constantly challenge oneself in order to create new and interesting, yet timeless pieces. Lately we have been working with
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Jalo Helsinki, Lento, 2012. Smoke Alarm. Design by Paola Suhonen.
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new kinds of materials, which has also been an interesting challenge. Johanna Vuorio / Nikari This year Nikari is celebrating its 50th anniversary. We have a lot on our plate throughout the year; new products and even some plans to make a book. Naturally, after that we need to concentrate on the next 50 years! Karri Andersson / Plantui As a small company, every big step is a challenge, but our motivated and energetic team is the key to facing hardships with positivity. With every challenge, there is a new opportunity waiting for us! Janne Lax / Saint Vacant My challenge lies in letting the qualityconscious and environmentally aware gentlemen of the world know about Saint Vacant.
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Between the Devil and the Deep Sea Text: Matilda Kivelä Illustration: Rui Paz
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181 Helsinki is a vulnerable city, facing the vast open sea. Its shallow waters act as a time capsule—the bottom of the Gulf of Finland is a graveyard of countless
armadas of ships that will never rot, preserved forever by the low salinity of the cold water. The sea has borne witness to the arrival of both war vessels and cruise
boats, travelers and conquerors. It has persuaded the city to bend to its will and accept the changes it has carried.
1. Short-haired girls in short dresses make the floorboards creak as they dance the Charleston or some other dance that is fashionable right now. The memory of the first big war cannot touch this moment and the next war has yet to announce its arrival. The room smells of freedom. Even though the country is poor, some of its young people are no longer held down by traditional Lutheran values and restrictions. Modern girls want to dance. They know not to be afraid of the Great Depression that will make their hems long again and force them to hide their ornate jewelry in the furthest end of their closet. Tonight their untamed steps are accompanied by the soft jingling of their long glass bead necklaces as they make their rounds in the room, touching their favorite people’s shoulders with silkclad hands. The boys smile through the haze, their smiles widened by tea laced with rectified spirit. Their sloppily constructed hairdos are starting to droop, exhausted from the heat, the cheap oil used to hold their hair in place glistening in the soft overhead lights. They tug at their double-breasted suit jackets that have suddenly become too small. They buy another drink and their grins become wider. The supplies are running low. The last of the remaining alcohol is hidden behind the counter, just in case a policeman decides to knock on the door. Alcohol is not the only king that reigns tonight. The seductive white powder descended on the city some years ago and is now distributed widely. The girls are eating fruit marmalades laced with something sweeter than sugar and the doorman has a bag of it in his jacket pocket. The drug has become the talk of the town, first arriving hidden in the suitcases of German drug mules on their way to supply the hedonistic nouveau riche of St. Petersburg with their daily doses. It has now worked its way into every fashionable party in town. The tabloids are warning about the dangers of the drug that enables hungry girls and boys to dance until the first morning light to the latest jazz tracks that have been smuggled from Stockholm. The windows fog up and it is almost impossible to tell that winter is here. Nobody has time to think about it now, as everybody is busy tapping their unpolished shoes on the wooden floors, making the walls → 248
Matilda Kivelä
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184 swim to neighboring islands or hide behind the island’s boulders. The island cocoons its inhabitants in a blanket of black smoke and red flames, offering few ways to escape from the flames. The sea has isolated death once again. After the deadly explosions that paint the island black, the valley where the explosions started from is renamed Kuolemanlaakso, the Valley of Death. The Vallisaari Island will remain uninhabited for ten years after the events on the ninth of July 1937. Eventually, families will settle here again. The following generations will remember sunny childhoods spent running laps around the island, playing hide and seek behind old military barracks and peering out to the sea to wave at passing boats. The grass will grow again, small gardens will push through the broken bricks and the winds will bring rain clouds to wash the fields. The sea will isolate the island again, but for the better. It will protect and nurture dozens of rare species that will thrive where death once spread.
3. From the big windows of the hotel room on the ninth floor, people look like small plastic toy soldiers, although you would not know it now—at one o’clock in the night, the streets are empty. No toy soldiers hurry to get to work in offices, factories and construction sites. It is 1967 and the city is under permanent construction. The young city is not fully in control of its limbs yet, but it is trying its hardest, like a teenage boy who has grown too quickly. The room is barely big enough for all of them. The four boys are strewn across the room, lying in symmetric piles of long limbs and stylish clothes brought from the other side of the Atlantic. The girl is wearing trousers with a flower pattern. She is the only one who is from this city, although she behaves like a big city girl—she knows how to pick the right words to sound worldly. She → 248
Matilda Kivelä
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185 has a running subscription to NME and Melody Maker and she listens to Radio Luxembourg. She is finding it difficult to explain to the boys why there are no people around and why every bar, club and restaurant has already closed—it is like explaining the architecture of a galaxy to a group of children. Besides, they do not care for explanations. They want to fill their stomachs with alcohol, flirt with pretty girls and see the sun rise above the open sea. They are tired of lounging in their hotel rooms, killing time rolling joints, filling their jacket pockets with identical rolls of tobacco. They are getting fidgety and uneasy—even the one who is lying still on a divan by the windowsill, rolling one cigarette after another as if he was in a soft slumber. One of them has heard of a famous fine dining restaurant that stays open until the early hours. He hastily writes its name down on a piece of paper, one letter at a time. K A L A S T A J A T O R P P A. The unlikely gang faces the night high on the foreign city’s intoxicating newness. It is only two o’clock and the boys want to see something new. Monday has turned into Tuesday and the streets are so empty it feels like the aftermath of an atom bomb. The cab driver’s eyes are getting tired as they drive through the city, past the monuments and the small islets. The restaurant sits overlooking the big bay. This is where the city ends. On the other side of the bay, new buildings are being constructed for the urbanizing middle class, but the borders of Helsinki are drawn here. The bay is far enough from the open sea to have a calm about it, but close enough for it to carry salty winds that rattle the branches of the pine trees. The marble floors of the restaurant’s foyer shine in the bright lights. Nearly three decades ago victims of the Winter War were operated on in this room. This is as far as the boys will get tonight—the doorman refuses to let them in. Their peacockish moves and velvet suits are too much for this city. They silently stand still in front of the restaurant like a strange tableau vivant. It feels futile to explain that they are not denied entry because of racism, but a small-city fear of anything new. The bay is quiet. There is nothing exciting to see here, just the sea that stretches out for kilometres ahead. This desolate place is worlds away from Chicago, London and New York. The girl in flowery trousers is frantically apologizing over and over again. The boys nearly get into a fistfight with a group of drunken businessmen exiting the restaurant, just having celebrated an outstanding deal with too many glasses of imported cognac that has evaporated into a cloud of machismo and fear of the foreign. The boy who has the most reason to feel hurt about the racist doorman quietly suggests a drive to the sea. He lets his slender fingers rest from the cab window, stroking the crisp spring air. Three years later, he will die next to his girlfriend, a German artist, in a beautiful West London apartment on a leafy street. The meticulously painted façade of their apartment will not save him from dying of an overdose fuelled by Vesparax sleeping tablets. He will never mention the windy spring night spent in the tiny Northern capital that was shaken by the introduction of his outlandish manners. Tabloids in Finland will → 248
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Helsinki: People Make the City Text: Melanie Dower Photography: Laura Iisalo
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Melanie Name/Kapitel Dower, Laura Iisalo
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199 With a history entwined with its more vocal neighbours Sweden and Russia, Finland’s capital Helsinki is a compact and walkable city which at times is mistaken as sleepy. Yet while the long winter months do bring darkness and a stillness to the
city streets, life still goes on for its 600,000 residents, many of them using the time to innovate and create new visions in design, cuisine, art and coffee. “It’s the people that run the stores, make the food and create the vibes who make the city,” says local photog-
rapher Laura Iisalo, whose book Helsinki: People Make the City was released in May last year. “We wanted to capture that so people can meet these locals and experience and discover the genuine and local way of life.”
Working with Melanie Dower, who moved to the city three years ago from New Zealand, the pair started interviewing creative local people and telling their stories on Laura’s website Creating Helsinki. “It seemed a natural next step to collate the stories in a book and go deeper into what it is that makes Nordic life so unique,” says Melanie. “Finns are very good at adapting to new influences in food and art but we wanted to take a look at some traditions and how those appear in modern-day Helsinki.” Working through summer when the sun hardly sets made for easier photography but the pair decided they wanted to show how seasonal life in Finland is and the beauty of each time of year. “It was a really still foggy day when we visited photographer Dorit on the island fortress of Suomenlinna and we realized how beautiful even gray days can be when you’re surrounded by sea,” says Laura. The personal account of Dorit’s life on the island forms just part of a collection of stories about talented residents and their favorite parts of the city, allowing even locals to see their city in a new light. As well as tips on the best places to eat, drink and shop the book includes recipes and tips on creative DIY projects to do at home. “To me Finns seem like the cool kids at school who are just doing their own thing without realizing that others want to be like them,” says Melanie. “Foraging, eating seasonally and living an urban lifestyle surrounded by nature just comes naturally to them. We want people to be able to continue that experience for themselves at home.” Laura Iisalo & Melanie Dower → 247, 248
Melanie Dower, Laura Iisalo
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212 Many of the values familiar to Finns are also basic elements of cultural, environmental and social sustainability. In architect Kengo Kuma’s words, sustainability is born out of the harmony of the environment and materials.1 Sustainable design rarely contrasts with its surroundings but is integrated into them. Instead of aiming for the wow effect, it is often subtle. Much like the introversion often related to the Finnish character, it may not trigger a 3-minute fireworks of novelty, but once introduced and familiarized, it has a good chance to form a lasting, sustainable relationship. Perhaps it is an intimate house party in the midst of glittery galas. Perhaps it is subtle beauty integrated into its surroundings.
Kyrö Distillery Company. Brand Identity by Werklig, werklig.com. Brand photography by Kimmo Syväri / Koski Syväri, Veera Kujala, Sina Stelter, and Werklig.
To a large extent, calling for core values is a call for locality. Sectionalism, some could say. Staying in the comfort zone, someone else could state. Without genuine interest, openness, respect and willingness for a dialogue with the external— be the external other people or the global market—pursuing one’s cultural and individual values do threaten to become a one-view echo chamber. The internal and the external, or local and global, do not oppose each other, but the internal is a starting point to interaction with the external, and the local is a foundation for the global. This essay was originally written for exhibition Enter and Encounter, which takes place at Design Museum in Helsinki from March 24th–September 24th, 2017. The exhibition, produced by Design Museum and the Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo, displays contemporary Finnish design and asks how design challenges the present and shapes things to come. The author is a co-curator of the exhibition. 1 H eini Lehtinen. Kengo Kuma: All architecture should be integrated. TLmagazine Online, September 28th, 2015. tlmagazine.com/kengo-kuma-all-architecture-should-be-integrated (February 15th, 2017). 2 Heini Lehtinen. Nordic architecture looks in the mirror—challenged by rigid thinking and masters of the past. Helsinki Design Weekly, June 17th, 2016. helsinkidesignweek.com/weekly/nordic-architecture-looks-in-the-mirror-challenged-byrigid-thinking-and-ma/?lang=en (February 15th, 2017). 3 Victor J. Strecher. The search for purpose begins. The Wired World in 2015. p. 76. Wired 2014 / 2015. 4 Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras 1994 / 2004. Built to Last. Harper Business. 5 Klaus Helkama 2015. Suomalaisten arvot—Mikä meille on oikeasti tärkeää? Helsinki, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura.
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Heini Lehntinen
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213
Tackling Youth Homelessness with Design Experiments: A Home that Fits Enni Sahlmann
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Name/Kapitel Enni Sahlmann
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236 leave dreams alone, let them be no more and no less than dreams, not guidelines for the future. Type is just an antecedent model for the same thing, but a reflection of such. In near-summation, I quote Boym again: “Fellow survivors of the twentieth century, we are all nostalgic for a time when we were not nostalgic. But there seems to be no way back.” One’s heart makes a place for things, people, times and places—and those are all constructs—I know that in hindsight, but still, I hope. 18th century poet, philosopher and author Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg AKA Novalis, said: “Philosophy is really a homesickness; it is an urge to be at home everywhere.” I started figuring this out at age 16 when I fell in love for the first time and told that person, “YOU are my home.” With that statement, I shattered any future of expectation of notions of home for me to be anything akin to shelter … I unintentionally plotted my course as a nostalgic … I extend this—my sense of desire for belonging and inquisitiveness and finding answers as much as one may find them to each and every one of you.
1 Talking about type in terms of malformed physiology is always entertaining and can be applied pretty much anywhere. Boym, Svetlana. The Future of Nostalgia. Basic Books, 2008. Downer, John. Tribute. Emigre, 2003. This essay is an edited transcription of two-thirds of a lecture that was given at Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2017. That lecture, as well as this essay, are dedicated to my dear friend and colleague Natalia Ilyin, czarina of design theory. Thanks to Tuomas Kortteinen for suggesting Boym.
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A PH P EL ES I NN D KI I X Appendix
hot spots publications index useful words colophon
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238 Viikki
Haaga
Vallila
H O T S P O T S
Sörnäinen Kallio Töölö
Kluuvi Kruununhaka Kamppi
Katajanokka Kaartinkaupunki
Punavuori Ullanlinna Eira
01 Eira The district is named after the Eira Hospital, which received its name from “Eir,” the Scandinavian goddess of healing, and the district with the most expensive and highly coveted old apartments in Helsinki.
Alppiruusupuisto Rhododendron Park Laajasuontie 40 vihreatsylit.fi/en/?p=930 Fantastic rhododendron park, created in the 1970s for cultivating rhododendron. Beautifully blooming forest in the summer.
Café Carusel Merisatamanranta 10 carusel.fi Café Carusel is a cozy and elegant sea side restaurant with relaxed atmosphere.
03 Kaartinkaupunki Kaartinkaupunki was named after the old Russian army barracks, located near Kasarmitori. It is one of the oldest and wealthiest parts in Helsinki and located in the southern part of the city. You can find many Jugendstil and gothic looking buildings from the early 1900s here.
Hang out on the ice Merisatamanranta Get a beautiful perspective of the city by ice skating, skiing, or taking a walk on the frozen sea. Usually possible between January and March. 02 Haaga Around 25,000 inhabitants live in the neighborhood Haaga, a district and a former municipality in the Western major district of Helsinki. Haaga is known for the the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.
Anki Rugs Pieni Roobertinkatu 5 ankirugs.com High quality handmade rugs. Artek 2nd cycle Pieni Roobertinkatu 4 2ndcycle.artek.fi Second-hand cycle and vintage products from classic designers. Bier Bier Erottajankatu 13 bier-bier.fi They treat beer like wine— with deep respect.
Hot Spots
Hotel
Bar
Café
Restaurant
Fast food
Ice cream
Music / Club
Shopping
Books
Bathing
Theatre
Have a look
Museum
Architecture
Cemetery
Park
BRONDA Eteläesplanadi 20 ravintolabronda.fi An upscale, beautifully decorated restaurant, serving delicious European food. Tasting menus and à la carte available for dinner and lunch. All day bar is serving Bronda’s famous handmade cocktails with fresh ingredients. Emo Kasarmikatu 44 emo-ravintola.fi Emo has the longest tasting menu in town. Erottaja Bar Erottajankatu 15-17 karaokebar.net Finnish music in its purest form at this karaoke bar, named after its home street, Erottaja. Finlayson Eteläesplanadi 14 finlayson.fi Beautiful interior pieces with typical Finnish patterns. Hotel Fabian Fabianinkatu 7 hotelfabian.fi Hotel Fabian is a cozy boutique hotel with a homey atmosphere that is located in an old building, originally built in 1936, designed by Bertel Liljeqvist. It opened as Hotel Fabian in 2010 after its
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239 renovation. The architecture was designed by Jaakko Puro, and the interior designed by Minna Keltto. Hotel Haven Unioninkatu 17 hotelhaven.fi A little boutique hotel conveniently situated in downtown Helsinki. Hotel Lilla Roberts Pieni Roobertinkatu 1 lillaroberts.com A stylish luxury art deco hotel. Liberty or Death Erottajankatu 5 libertyordeath.bar The discreet bar is serving cocktails named after death penalties, nice atmosphere. OX Pieni Roobertinkatu 13 restaurantox.fi Located in the design district, OX is classy, intimate, and charming. Savoy Eteläesplanadi 14 ravintolasavoy.fi The Savoy is a well-known place for fine dining. Story Vanha Kauppahalli restaurantstory.fi Located in the old food hall of Helsinki, right by the sea shore. It is an experience of its own with a cozy and busy atmosphere! The salmon soup is a must! The Cock Fabianinkatu 17 thecock.fi The cool new restaurant in town takes care of all meals of the day. The Chia Porridge will kick-start your day. The Vongole pasta and Oyster platter are the perfect ending to your day. They serve the best gin and tonics in the world, made with Napue. Vanha Kauppahalli Eteläranta vanhakauppahalli.fi From dairy, fish, fruits, and spices to intimate restaurants where you can enjoy your purchases right away. Vinkkeli Pieni Roobertinkatu 8 ravintolavinkkeli.fi Vinkkeli is a perfect spot for fine dining.
04 Kallio Kallio is a very lively bohemian neighborhood with a busy nightlife. Mostly students and artists live there.
Kolo Pengerkatu 9 kolohelsinki.fi Kolo is a cozy vegan café in the heart of the Helsinki’s hottest neighborhood Kallio.
Ansa Agricolankatu 5 ansa-kauppa.com Ansa is a store owned by a lover of vintage things and filled with beautiful things. Ansa means “trap” in Finnish.
Kotiharjun Sauna Harjutorinkatu 1 kotiharjunsauna.fi The only remaining traditional wood heated public sauna in Helsinki. The most original sauna experience you can possibly find.
Bar Sandro Kolmas linja 17 sandro.fi Ethnic restaurant with a multitude of vegetarian choices. One of the tastiest brunches Helsinki has to offer.
Riviera Harjukatu 2 rivierakallio.fi The only cinema in Kallio that combines movies and bar.
Club Kaiku Kaikukatu 4 kansalliskirjasto.fi Located in an old factory, Kaiku is an intimate 400-person capacity space located in the heart of the city’s cultural district. Kaiku boasts a hefty sound system with a rotary mixer, spacious dancefloor, and a lineup of local and international DJs every weekend. Frida Marina Kaarlenkatu 10 facebook: fridamarinahelsinki Frida Marina is a vintage shop and flea market, clothes and accessories from the 1950s to the 1980s, also Finnish vintage. Gastro Café Kallio Fleminginkatu 7 facebook: gastrocafekallio A lovely café in the heart of Kallio. Hakaniemi Kauppahalli Hämeentie 1a hakaniemenkauppahalli.fi One of three genuine and authentic market halls of Helsinki. IPI Kulmakuppila Porthaninkatu 13 ipikulmakuppila.fi IPI Kulmakuppila is a shared living room in the neighborhood, a cozy place for starting the day or stopping for lunch. IPI offers a variety of delicious foods, served wholeheartedly in a pleasant setting in Kallio. Karhupuisto (Bear Park) A small triangle park with a large bear statue where locals enjoy the sun in summer when its kiosks open.
Hot Spots
Roots Vaasankatu 14 rootshelsinki.fi Roots Helsinki is a combination of yoga studio and vegan café— good feeling, fresh tastes, and nice encounters. Come for yoga, have a cup of coffee with a piece of raw cake, or enjoy the vegan dishes. Siltanen Hämeentie 13 B siltanen.org Siltanen offers a live music venue with Vietnamese kitchen and great summer patio. Bar Molotow Vaasankatu 29 facebook: Bar-Molotow 156875074356672/ The best bar in Kallio, but always packed full of people. SOUP Vilhonvuorenkatu 7 soup.fi Everyday three vegetarian / vegan soups with freshly baked sourdough bread. 05 Kamppi This district is one of the most crowded places in Helsinki and it’s the central point for transportation connections, but you can also find some of the oldest wooden buildings here. A21 Annankatu 21 a21.fi A21 is awarded as the best bar in Finland. Specialized in cocktails, which use Nordic ingredients. Amos Anderson Yrjönkatu 27 amosanderson.fi
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H O T S P O T S
244 meatballs with creamy sauce, mashed potatoes, and lingonberries compote. Navy Jerry’s Hietaniemenkatu 2 antonanton.fi It’s a cozy, pacific, Caribbean bar in the 1950s style.
H O T S P O T S
Penny Lane Runeberginkatu 37 pennylane.fi Penny Lane is a small, exclusive clothing store, offering original and retro vintage pieces. Q-theatre Tunturikatu 16 q-teatteri.fi Q-theatre’s aim is to create new ways and conditions to make independent and vivid theater. Taidehalli Nervanderinkatu 3 taidehalli.fi This art museum hosts exhibitions in contemporary art, design, and architecture. Winter Garden Hammarskjöldintie 1 hel.fi/www/Helsinki/en/ culture/leisure/experience/ winter-garden The Winter Garden is an oasis of over 200 plants cultivated over over more than a century. Cafe Blue Villa Linnunlauluntie 11 sininenhuvila.weebly.com Located on top of a hill in Linnunlaulu (“birdsong”) villa area on the eastern side of Töölönlahti Bay, Cafe Sininen Huvila (“Blue Villa”) has the best view overlooking the shimmering waters of Töölönlahti Bay and some of the city’s most famous landmarks such as the Opera House and the Finlandia Hall. This is a very peaceful place and definitely worth a stroll up the hill. Tasty homemade cakes and pastries! 12 Ullanlinna The name of the southern-most district Ullanlinna is translated “Ulla’s castle” and refers to the Swedish Queen Ulrika Elenora. Notable buildings there are the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture. Arkkitehtuurimuseo Kasarmikatu 24 mfa.fi
The second oldest architecture museum of its kind. The museum organizes exhibitions on both Finnish and foreign architecture as well as exhibitions on Finnish architecture for abroad. Chef & Sommelier Huvilakatu 28 chefetsommelier.fi Chef & Sommelier is a restaurant that concentrates on organic, fairtrade, and natural ingredients. designmuseo Korkeavuorenkatu 23 designmuseo.fi 143 year old museum, with thousands of design objects, and varying exhibitions. Healthinki Tehtaankatu 13 facebook: Healthinki A café as well as a movement focused on healthy thinking with focus on plant-based goodness and Finnish superfood. Kaivarin Kanuuna Korkeavuorenkatu 6 kaivarinkanuuna.fi Kaivarin Kanuuna is a self-service flea market which is the perfect spot to find treasures. Keisari Merikatu 3 keisari.com A bakery which serves delicious pastries and bread. Löyly Helsinki Hernesaarenranta 4 loylyhelsinki.fi Swimming while enjoying the breathtaking wooden architecture. Enjoy the real Finnish sauna experience beside the sea. Maxill High Mountain Street 4 maxill.fi Maxil is a local hangout with Scandinavian–French kitchen.
Ääniwalli Pälkäneentie 13 facebook: Aaniwalli A little bit of Berlin in Helsinki. Especially during the summertime, it’s a great place to listen to music on a Sunday night. Päiväkahvibaari Päijänteentie 29 helsinginkahvipaahtimo.com Päiväkahvibaari is a local coffee bar with delicous coffee and sandwiches. Paperbee Keiteleentie 12 facebook: paperbeehelsinki Shop for beautiful illustrations and paperwork. Puu-Vallila Keuruuntie 11 One of the few wooden areas in Helsinki. Large homes with shared communal backyards. 14 Viikki Viikki is known for its natural environment and the area of Vanhankaupunginlahti is an important place of nesting and migration for birds. Many apartment buildings have installed an experimental solar and wind energy system. Helander Auction Hernepellonkuja 8–10 helander.com At Helander Auction you can find real bargains, everything from boxes full of vinyls and books to Finnish design classics and art. Lammassaari Island Lammassaari is a beautiful island, just a short 20 minute busride from the center. Quite densely populated by summer houses (Mökkis), it is located near the Viikki-Vanhankaupunginlahti area.
Zetterberg Gallery Telakkakatu 6 zetterberggallery.com The art gallery represents and works with some of the most interesting contemporary artists. 13 Vallila Vallila has the reputation of being a working class neighborhood, but in the last 20 years artists and designers have discovered this area for themselves.
Hot Spots
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245 Nide opened a bit over a year ago in the Design District of Helsinki and was founded by Joose Siira and Terhi Jääskeläinen. They’ve been working for the same employer for years and started to plan the “ideal bookshop” at the time when many bookshops were closing down, web bookshops were aggressively growing, and e-books were expected to invade the market. Based on their experience they knew there was a demand for an active bookstore with a carefully curated selection of literature, books, and magazines on art and culture, plus a wide range of stationary. Nide’s aim is to offer all this combined with a friendly customer service and a comfortable atmosphere. Read on for their favorite publications!
Nide Bookstore Fredrikinkatu 35 00120 Helsinki
Helsinki in My Mind is a collection of Kari Hakli’s, the merited architecture photographer’s photographs of his hometown; its people, streets, and buildings which partly have been lost. I, too, having grown and lived most of my life in Helsinki, share the love for the city and find the book very nostalgic. It brings memories of our childhood and youth of the places that may not exist anymore and shows the urban development of our beautiful capital. Helsinki In My Mind / Kari Hakli (A), Maahenki Oy / Musta Taide (P) / 2016 / 21,5 × 26,5 cm, 143 p.
When we opened Nide, we truly missed updated books on Helsinki to offer for our foreign customers. The Helsinki based publishing house Cozy Publishing answered our hopes with this beautifully designed book that brings the citylife to this day. Instead of the official sights it describes the local way of life by some of the city’s creative professionals and Helsinki residents, and lists inspiring shops and eateries as well as memorable design, food and wellness destinations. Helsinki—People Make the City / Laura Iisalo & Melanie Dower (A), Cozy Publishing (P) / 2016 / 16,5 × 24,5 cm, 199 p.
Along with the Helsinki book, Cozy Publishing launched this very up-to-date Helsinki Food Book not only on a modern way of cooking but also of living in Helsinki. There are delicious recipes of goodquality local ingredients special for each of our four seasons com- bined with simple Scandinavian cooking with great taste. Beautiful pictures both of the food and of our capital city make this book a perfect souvenir from Helsinki. Helsinki Food Book / Teresa Välimäki & Johanna Lindholm (A), Cozy Publishing (P) / 2016 / 17 × 23 cm, 201 p.
A brand new art publisher, Helsinki based Garret Publications is dedicating to contemporary art, modern design and architecture. Their first book on an exhibition Finnish Landscape at the ethnographic openair museum on the island of Seurasaari in Helsinki, features nine contemporary artists. Besides the fine interaction between the site and the artists, the book includes interesting articles on our cultural heritage. With this book I warmly recommend everyone a visit to unique Seurasaari. Finnish Landscape / Inkeri Suutari & Joanna Warsza (A), Garret Publications (P) / 2016 / 13,5 × 22 cm, 191 p.
This book shows the capital city in an interesting way: It is the personal view of Helsinki based cook and restaurant owner Marc Aulén. In the book he has chosen all the places that he would like you to see and which he likes most; the restaurants where he likes to eat and the places he loves to hang out—and there are many. With special walking tours and even recipes, the book gives you a view of a lively and multifaceted city! The Helsinki Book / Marc Aulén (A) / Nollasta Oy (P) / 2016 / 17,5 × 24,5 cm, 253 p.
I am happy to introduce Leon, a Helsinki-based independent magazine about food and culture, in my opinion the only one in Finland to reach the high level quality of some international cultural magazines. The publisher, Agency Leroy, is a creative agency working with top brands and creating meaningful experiences across the full spectrum of today’s life. With its super quality paper, amazing photos, stylish outlook and ambitious articles Leon is a perfect example of this, and an absolute aesthetic delight. Leon Magazine / Issue 3 / Agency Leroy (A+P) / 2016 / 19,5 × 26,5 cm, 144 p.
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Nide Bookstore
+358 40 566 3040 nidekauppa.fi Monday–Friday: 10 am–7 pm Saturday: 10 am–5 pm
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P U B L I C A T I O N S
246 P 162–178 aarikka.com
Pauliina Aarikka / Aarikka, Helsinki (FI) Pauliina Aarikka was born in 1959 in Helsinki. She studied at the University of Wales, Cardiff, and did a Bachelor of Arts (BA hons)-degree in 1985. Since then she has worked at Aarikka. In the beginning, she worked as a design assistant and then later as a designer. Since 2005, she has been design director of Aarikka.
I N D E X
P 146–161 agencyleroy.com
Christa Björkstam / Agency Leroy, Helsinki (FI) Christa Björkstam is a designer from Helsinki with global aspirations. Having co-founded Agency Leroy—one of the foremost Finnish agencies in branding, digital, and spatial—she is now busy leading developments as Head of Interior. It’s all about pushing limits of how brands can build more engaging spaces and retail experiences on a daily basis.
P 146–161 aivan.fi
Aivan, Helsinki (FI) Aivan are born and raised in Helsinki. They are a multidisciplinary bunch of designers, even a few engineers, working together, offering holistic solutions with a design scope that includes research and insights, design strategies, identities, concepts, boats and yachts, products, interiors, and graphics. Curiosity and interest is at the heart of everything they do.
Index
P 132, 162–178 andbros.fi
Pekka Kuivamäki / Andbros, Helsinki (FI) Pekka Kuivamäki has studied Ceramic and Glass Art, and Applied Art and Design in Aalto University School of Art, Design, and Architecture in Helsinki. He graduated in 2014 as Master of Arts. During his studies he started his own ceramic studio where he worked as a prototype / model maker. He is one of the founders of Andbros, established in 2014 and located in Helsinki.
P 162–178 ankirugs.com
Charlotta Björnberg-Paul / ANKI Rugs, Helsinki (FI) Charlotta Björnberg-Paul is a 7th generation entrepreneur who has spent most of her professional life with communication and branding in the forest industry. In 2012 she bought ANKI Rugs from her mother. She continues to develop the design brand and to offer sustainable alternatives for environmentally conscious living. Charlotta is also active in the healthcare industry, contract manufacturing, and Finnish start-ups.
P 162–178 artek.fi
Marianne Goebl / artek, Berlin (DE) Marianne Goebl is the managing director of artek. With more than a decade of experience of design, she has developed numerous projects at the intersection of culture and commerce. From 2011– 2014 she was director of Design Miami, from 2001–2011 she worked at Vitra, where she contributed to new initiatives such as the Vitra Home Collection, the Vitra Edition, and the VitraHaus. Marianne is a native Austrian and studied economics in Vienna and Paris. Photo by Susanne Günther.
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247 P 96–103 jesseauersalo.com video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Jesse Auersalo, Helsinki (FI) Jesse Auersalo is a creative director drawn to an intersection of conceptual design, experience design, and creative strategy. Auersalo has worked with Uniqlo, Diesel, Nike, Converse, Maison Margiela, Colette, artek, American Express, Google, Sony, and Playboy to name a few. He has received awards and accolades in prestige competitions such as in the European Design Awards and in the D&AD Professionals. Photo by It's Nice That.
P 28–35 bond-agency.com video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Arttu Salovaara / Bond Agency, Helsinki (FI) Arttu is a strategist and concept designer at Bond. He is also the managing director and one of the founders. His work at Bond includes the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra brand strategy, the Roster restaurant concept and service design, and the Waastaa app concept design. Arttu leads Bond with the principle of fusing branding, digital design, spatial design, and data to develop holistic brand experiences. P 60–65 bruundesign.com video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Erik Bruun, Helsinki (FI) Erik Bruun is a Finnish graphic designer. He was born in 1926 in Säiniö, outside Viipuri, since 1945 a part of Russia. After exiling to Helsinki, he graduated as a graphic designer in 1950. Bruun has designed a numerous amount of logotypes, brand guidelines, posters, books, stamps, and even Finnish banknotes. The Art’s Council of Finland has granted him the title Professor in 2004, a tribute to his long-term work in the arts.
P 44–49 doublehappiness.fi video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Double Happiness, Helsinki (FI) To bloom in modern culture, brands and institutions need to adapt to profound technological and social changes. In a world constantly in motion, Double Happiness believe that good design can help people to navigate through the labyrinthine landscape, and companies to stand out from everyday mediocrity. They move from visual problem solving to strategic endeavors with ease.
P 198–207 heyhelsinkiblog .com
Melanie Dower, Helsinki (FI) Melanie Dower is a New Zealander who never expected to find herself living on the farthest side of the world, before moving to Finland in 2014 with her husband Jonathan and their son Miko. She now combines her love of exploring Helsinki with writing stories about Nordic life. Her goal this year is to surpass five-year old Miko at speaking Finnish, a task at which she is so far failing.
P 134, 162–178 everydaydesign.fi
Helena Mattila / Everyday Design, Helsinki (FI) Helena, MSc (law), MBA (finance), was born in 1953 in Helsinki. For 15 years she worked as a credit manager and financial analyst at a bank. Six years at TEKES taught her much of companies and international economies. The family genome—creativity—came into the picture in 1995, and the story of Everyday Design started. Everyday Design is not only products, it is more about people and their needs in daily life. That is an endless, rewarding story.
Index
P 146–161 fjordnet.com
Daniel Bosch / Fjord, Helsinki (FI) Daniel Bosch, works as a design and branding director at Fjord Helsinki. He works with creative technologists, business folks, and designers of all sorts to reimagine peoples’ and brands’ relationships with the digital and physical world. He loves to create useful, effective, and desirable digital services that impact peoples life.
P 36–43 grmmxi.fi video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
GRMMXI, Helsinki (FI) GRMMXI is a group of 13 friends that from time to time designs graphics together. Rather than being a “studio” with an “inhouse style,” GRMMXI is a mess of anarchic and often conflicting design powers: their work is full of intertextual references, irony, sincerity and (self-)critique, resulting in a concise flux of contemporary postmodernism that tries to resist the pull towards homogeneity.
P 72–79 helsinkitypestudio .com video interview: slanted.de/helsinki Helsinki Type Studio, Helsinki (FI) United by a bias for the current and the eccentric, they focus on redefining the aesthetic boundaries of typography. Currently Niklas travels and conceptualizes realities, Juho does arctic art and boreal mystics, Jungmyung explores transgressive narratives and the exhibition format, Eero researches procedural and animated typography, Jaakko works with iconic Finnish design brands and artists.
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I N D E X
252 P 146–161 tikarimaininki.com
Tikari & Maininki, Helsinki (FI) Tikari & Maininki is a compact, two designers’ creative studio located in Helsinki. They are Satu Dolk and Ossi Laine, and they work with illustrations, pattern design, exhibition graphics, and all sorts of graphic design projects. They also have their own paper products brand Muumuru, that’s based on unique and fun illustrations and patterns.
I N D E X
P 12–17 tsto.org video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Tsto, Helsinki (FI) Tsto is a graphic design studio based in Helsinki and New York. They are currently working mainly with clients in the fields of design and culture. The studio is run by Jonatan Eriksson, Inka Järvinen, Matti Kunttu, and Antti Uotila.
P 22–27 werklig.com video interview: slanted.de/helsinki
Werklig, Helsinki (FI) Werklig is an independent brand design agency based in Helsinki. They build brand strategies and design visual identities. Their mission is to help their clients to conquer the world. They are creative professionals who believe in hard and honest work. They design with purpose and believe in firm reasoning. “Brands must be built on truth, not fake stories.”
P 146-161 wevolve.us
Ville Tikka / Wevolve, Helsinki (FI) Ville Tikka is the strategy and design director of Wevolve, a Helsinki-based strategic design agency that works with forwardlooking leaders and organizations to co-create purposeful and value creative businesses, platforms, and services. Wevolve’s clients include organizations such as Design Museum, Iittala, Suunto, Yle—The Finnish Broadcasting Company and European Commission, among many others.
P 146–161 tulva.fi
Tulva, Helsinki (FI) Editor Tero Kartastenpää and art director Viivi Prokofjev and director of photography Dora Dalila used to make the trailblazing magazine FAT—it was all about art and life. Nowadays they are concentrating on the feminist magazine Tulva and exploring how to respect values of intersectional feminism in editorial design.
Index
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253 Hei! (inf) / Moi! (inf) Mitä kuuluu? / Kuinka voit? (inf) / Kuinka voitte? (frm) Pitkästä aikaa! Mikä sinun nimesi on? (inf) / Mikä teidän nimenne on? (frm) Nimeni on ... Hauska tavata! Anteeksi! Pyydän. / Olkaa hyvä. Kiitos! / Kiitoksia oikein paljon! Missä on vessa? En tiedä. Ymmärrän. Puhuisitteko hieman hitaammin? Soittakaa poliisille!
Hello! How are you? Long time no see! What’s your name? My name is ... Pleased to meet you! Sorry! Thank you! Where is the toilet? I don’t know. I understand. Please speak more slowly. Call the police!
Pidän hirvipihivistä.
I like moosesteak.
Olen kasvissyöjä.
I am a vegetarian.
Haluaisin vettä. Onko sinulla nälkä? Milloin (or: mihin aikaan) viimeinen bussi lähtee? Ihmeellinen! Tuo pahuksen lokki vei lihapiirakkani. Onko tuo täytetty poro myynnissä? Mikä maa, mikä valuutta? Olen hukassa ...
I would like some water. Are you hungry? When does the bus leave? Amazing! That damned seagull took my meat pie. Is that stuffed reindeer for sale? What country, what currency? I’m so lost ...
Onpa täällä pimeää!
God, how dark it’s here!
Saako tuota koiraa rapsuttaa?
Can I scratch your dog?
Missä kaikki ihmiset ovat?
Where is everybody?
Haluaisin mennä ongelle.
I’d like to go fishing.
Aja hiljaa sillalla!
Drive quietly on the bridge!
Ilmatyynyalukseni on täynnä ankeriaita.
My hovercraft is full of eels.
Miksi kukaan ei sano mitään Erikoista! Nyt on huono ajankohta aloittaa laihdutuskuuri ... Tämäpä oli herkullista. Saisinko lisää? Onko teillä hirveä? Tämä herra / rouva maksaa kaiken.
Why doesn’t anybody say anything? This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen! This is a bad moment to start a diet ... This is delicious, could I have some more, please? Do you have elk? This gentleman / lady will pay for everything.
Saisinko toisen kupin kahvia?
Could I have another cup of coffee?
Haluaisitko tanssia kanssani?
Would you like to dance with me?
Voisi luulla että pizza keksittiin Suomessa. Voihan peura! Menetkö kanssani naimisiin? En puhu ranskaa ... Paljonko tämä maksaa? Mistä voisin hankkia karvahatun? Tässähän ei ole mitään järkeä! Kulta, permanenttisi on oikein ihastuttava! Jätä minut rauhaan! Tiedän hyvän diskon ... Toistaisitko, kiitos? En puhu ranskaa. Onko teillä mitään halvempaa? Tuohan on kerrassaan naurettavan halpaa, eikö teillä ole mitään kalliimpaa? Tämä näyttää kamalalta! Olen niin visuaalisesti uupunut kaikista mukavista asioista mitä näen täällä. Vasta vastaa vasta vastaavasta vastavastaavasta.
U S E f u L
Please.
One could think that pizza was invented in Finland. Oh deer! Will you marry me? I don’t get it ... How much is it? Where can I get a fur hat? Brainless stuff! What a nice tattoo you have, darling! Leave me alone! I know a good discotheque ... Could you please say that again? I don’t speak French. Do you have anything cheaper? That is ridiciously cheap, don’t you have anything more expensive?
W O R D S
This looks awful! I’m so visually exhausted from all the nice things I see here. The bath whisk answers only to the respective person responsible for the bath whisk.
Useful Words
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254 Slanted Magazine Typography & Graphic Design SPRING/SUMMER 2017 29 HELSINKI
Production Print Cover & Finishing GRÄFE Druck GmbH Bielefeld / Germany info@graefe-druck.de, graefe-druck.de
PUBLISHER Slanted Publishers Leopoldstraße 33 76133 Karlsruhe Germany T +49 (0) 721 85148268 magazine@slanted.de slanted.de
C o l o p h o n
Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.) Lars Harmsen Managing Editor Julia Kahl Assistance Isabella Krüger, Katharina Sellier Art Direction Lars Harmsen Graphic Design Julia Kahl Assistance Graphic Design Katharina Sellier Video Editing Laura Urbach
Slanted weblog Editor in Chief (V.i.S.d.P.) Julia Kahl Editors slanted.de/redaktion
VIDEO Video interviews slanted.de/helsinki
ISSN 1867-6510 Frequency 2 × p. a. (Spring / Summer, Autumn / Winter) Copyright © Slanted, Karlsruhe, 2017 All rights reserved.
Print Inside Stober GmbH, Druckerei und Verlag Eggenstein / Germany info@stober.de, stober.de Book Binding Josef Spinner Grossbuchbinderei GmbH Ottersweier / Germany info@josef-spinner.de, josef-spinner.de Paperboard Cover Invercote Creato, 260 g / sm Manufactured by Iggesund Paperboard Iggesund / Sweden info@iggesund.com, iggesund.com
Paper Inside Holmen TRND 2.0, 80 g / sm Holmen TRND Vintage 2.0, 60 g / sm Booklet Holmen TRND 1.6 × volume, 52 g / sm Manufactured by Holmen Paper Norrköping / Sweden info@holmenpaper.com, holmenpaper.com Spot Colors HKS Warenzeichenverband e. V. Stuttgart / Germany info@hks-farben.de, hks-farben.de Cover HKS 44 K Inside HKS 44N-90-50 Fonts Berghall Old Style, tba Design: Jarno Lukkarila / typolar.com Label: Typolar
Chap, 2016 Design: Lauri Toikka & Florian Schick / schick-toikka.com Label: Schick Toikka
Noe Display, 2013 Design: Lauri Toikka & Florian Schick / schick-toikka.com Label: Schick Toikka
Noe Text, 2015 Design: Lauri Toikka & Florian Schick / schick-toikka.com Label: Schick Toikka
Suisse Int’l / Neue / Works, 2011 Design: Swiss Typefaces Design Team Label: Swiss Typefaces / swisstypefaces.com
Colophon
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255 Sales and distribution
Acknowledgement
Slanted magazine can be acquired online, in selected bookstores, concept stores, and galleries worldwide. You can also find it at stations and airports in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. If you own a shop and would like to stock Slanted magazine, please get in touch with us.
This issue could not have been realized without the enthusiasm and support of all participants (alphabetical order): Aarikka, Agency Leroy, Aivan, Andbros, ANKI Rugs, artek, Jesse Auersalo, Bond Agency, Erik Bruun, Double Happiness, Melanie Dower, Everyday Design, Fjord, GRMMXI, Helsinki Type Studio, Laura Iisalo, Jalo Helsinki, Arja Karhumaa, Marianna Kellokoski, Leena Kisonen, Matilda Kivelä, Kokoro & Moi, Hanna Konola, Ida Kukkapuro, Kuudes, Riikka Laakso, Eero Lampinen, Heini Lehtinen, Linda Linko, LUK, Ian Lynam, Dermot Mac Cormack, Sac Magique, Marika Maijala, Sanna Mander, Marimekko, Martin Martonen, Merkitys, N2, Nide, Rami Niemi, Nikari, Tino Nyman, Plantui, Prakt Design Agency, Lauri Ilmari Puustjärvi, Samuli Saarinen, Enni Sahlman, Saint Vacant, Ville Savimaa, Schick Toikka, Tikari & Maininki, Tsto, Tulva, Werklig, Wevolve A very special thanks to Florian Brugger—for his generous work, and to his wife Myriam—for her tremendous enthusiasm and future FCB-star Aloys (1) who brought us to Helsinki. Their input while making this issue and enduring friendship are invaluable to us. We would also like to thank Maria Tolvanen who joined us on the interview with Erik Bruun and helped us for the translations. Thanks to Katharina Sellier for designing a special Helsinki custom typeface in honor of Eero Aarnio that is available exclusively with the Helsinki limited special edition in our online shop (slanted.de/shop). This special edition comes along with a folded poster by Dafi Kühne (babyinktwice.ch): Letterpress printed in four print runs from hand cut linoleum, traditional plastic poster type, pantograph cut new wood type, and traditional metal type. A big thank you to Laura Urbach for editing the Helsinki video interviews, and welcome to the team! Goodbye to Hannah Schwaiger who was responsible for the editing of dozens of video interviews from Paris, New York, Portugal, and Warsaw—it was a great collaboration! You always meet twice ... Thanks to Thomas Appelius, Joachim Schweigert (Stober Druckerei und Verlag), and their team for the great printing of the inside, and thanks to Frank Denninghoff and Dirk Rehse (Gräfe Druck & Veredelung) for the shiny cover print and finishing! Last but not least, a big thank you to Ahmed Badran for his paper advice, and to Holger Tietje and Dagmar Näther (Holmen Paper) for their tremendous paper support—we hope to see Holmen TRND more often in publications all over the world! And thanks a lot to Iggesund Paperboard for supporting this issue with their high-quality paperboard for the cover.
Contact Julia Kahl, T +49 (0) 721 85148268 julia.kahl@slanted.de Slanted Shop (best!) slanted.de/shop Stores (all over the world) slanted.de/allgemein/stores Stations and airports IPS Pressevertrieb GmbH / ips-d.de International distribution Export Press SAS / exportpress.com Distribution US Ubiquity Distributors, Inc. / ubiquitymags.com Small Changes / smallchanges.com
Subscriptions Subscribe to Slanted magazine and support what we do. Magazines via subscriptions are at a reduced rate and get shipped for free directly at release. slanted.de/abo National (DE) One year subscription, 2 mags: € 32 Two year subscription + premium, 4 mags: € 62 Gift subscription, 2 mags: € 32 Student subscription, 2 mags: € 26 International One year subscription, 2 mags: € 38 Two year subscription, 4 mags: € 75 Advertising We offer a wide range of advertising possibilities online and in print. For advertising enquiries please get in touch with: Julia Kahl (advertising management / sales) +49 (0) 721 851 482 68, julia.kahl@slanted.de Uta Pfeiffer (advertising sales brand manufacturer) +49 (0) 30 30 20 94 22, u.pfeiffer@mediasalesup.de
Awards (Selection of design awards for publications by Slanted) ADC of Europe 2010, 2008 ADC Germany 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007 Annual Multimedia 2008, 2013 Berliner Type 2008 (Bronze), 2009 (Silver) Designpreis der BRD 2009 (Silver) European Design Awards 2011, 2008 Faces of Design Awards 2009 iF communication design award 2007 German Design Award 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 (Special mention) Laus Awards 2009 Lead Awards 2008 (Weblog des Jahres), 2007 Lead Awards 2013 (Visual Leader / Silver) red dot communication design awards 2008 Type Directors Club NY, 2011, 2008, 2007 Tokyo Type Directors Club 2015, 2014 Werkbund Label 2012
DISCLAIMER The publisher assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of all information. Publisher and editor assume that material that was made available for publishing, is free of third party rights. Reproduction and storage require the permission of the publisher. Photos and texts are welcome, but there is no liability. Signed contributions do not necessarily represent the opinion of the publisher or the editor.
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256
N Ä K E M I I N Florian with Aloys Brugger at Flow Festival Florian Brugger, Maria Tolvanen, Erik Bruun, Myriam Rochat, and Lars Harmsen in front of Erik’s house Julia, we missed you a lot!
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Finland—though a small country judging by its population of 5.5 million inhabitants and population density of 18 inhabitants per square kilometer (the lowest in the EU)—boasts many superlatives: there are more saunas than cars; it has the most heavy metal bands per capita; any Finnish noun can have over 200 different forms; Finns are the world’s top coffee drinkers, gulping down no less than 12 kg annually; they are the most avid readers of books and newspapers globally and world leaders in the use of libraries … The list goes on forever. We wanted to discover the design scene of Helsinki and its exciting summers, when the city is about to burst with culture and happy people, packed with outdoor theaters, al fresco cinemas, open-air exhibitions, awkward wife-carrying competitions and the great Flow festival!— only to frustratingly die down during the winter when the capital does not receive any sunshine for 51 consecutive days, and the temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius on an average of 169 days. When asking people how they survive the winter, quite a few have confessed that they hit southern destinations for a month, generously using up their vacation days. Most designers we met seem to have an awareness for design in their blood. The offices are packed with design classics combined with custom-made solutions, always with a sense of warmth, comfort and cosiness. In most offices people take off their shoes and walk around in slippers or barefoot—probably a tradition coming from those long snowy and muddy winters—admittedly, a little embarrassing for us Germans. Many design studios and agencies work for national brands with great pride, even if it is a Finnish pizza chain like Koti which named one of their bestsellers after Silvio Berlusconi—revenge served hot! In Helsinki, it becomes apparent that there are very few chain stores as we know them in Germany. It just seems to be too far away from market capitalism. Instead, as you walk through the city, Finland reveals itself to be a true design nation: local brands, designers, shops, restaurants and cafés make it exceptional. You encounter works of the world’s most imitated and admired designers and architects at every corner. From Eero Aarnio’s Ball Chair (James Bond’s favorite seat) to Marimekko Poppies (dresses once worn by Jacqueline Kennedy during her husbands’ 1960 presidential campaign), Finland has been setting trends for decades. We invite you to discover the world’s northernmost EU capital through our journey and share with us the love for its rich design scene, from legends like Eric Brunn to the young wild kids, newcomers from Aalto University, The School of Arts, Design and Architecture of Helsinki.
This issue of Slanted Magazine goes along with additional video interviews which have been conducted by the Slanted team in August 2016 in Helsinki.
To watch videos scan QR code, or visit slanted.de/helsinki
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