Hannu Väisänen, the one and only

Laulurausku/Singing Ray (2012). Oil on canvas, 130 x 110 cm.

There are artists who paint with brushes, but Hannu Väisänen paints with his trembling heart.

Isän kyyneleet/Father´s Tears (2012). Oil on canvas, 160 x 100 cm.

Silent Yellow (2012). Oil on canvas, 195 x 120 cm.

Hannu Väisänen´s new exhibition Singing Ray is open until March 13th in Galerie Forsblom, Lönnrotinkatu 5, 00120 Helsinki.
Opening times Tue-Fri 11am – 6pm, Sat 11am – 4pm, Sun 12am – 4pm.

www.galerieforsblom.com/news/hannu_vaisanen_exhibition/

Sky on a globe and time in a bag

The Arabic celestial sphere, a planetary simulation of the sky, 

is from the year 1873. 

This original time signal bag was lifted to the mast of the observatory roof and 

dropped down exactly at noon to tell the right time to the Helsinki port and 

central railway station. Next to it is the comet seeker dated 1830s.

These are only a few of many interesting things you find in the newly renovated Helsinki Observatory, which is now open to the public for the first time during it´s long academic history. 

The so-called Argelander´s refractor arrived in Helsinki 1835 

and was mainly used to measure the positions of comets. 

This new Centre for Astronomy introduces the visitors into the history and basics of astronomy and to the secrets of space on a nice way (hey, the target is get even the schoolchildren interested!).
There you can for example test how heavy you would be on another planet, see the sun rise and set, admire the planets photographed by different methods and touch an old piece of meteorite.
And ask a question still unanswered: how and why did all this get started? 

The building of Helsinki Observatory was designed by architect 

Carl Ludvig Engel (1778–1840) and built between 1831 and 1834.

The address of Observatory is Kopernikuksentie 1, just at the end of Unioninkatu. Opening hours are Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday from 12 to 4 pm, Thursday from 12 to 8 pm. On Sundays and Mondays it is closed.

www.observatorio.fi/english/index.html#

Photos © Paula Hietaranta

Welcome, Gudrun Sjöden!

Gudrun Sjöden has been for ages a household name of the textile design not only in her homeland Sweden but also all around the world.

Until last week her Finnish customers (and here are tens of thousands of them!) could buy the clothes, home textiles and accessories by this Pippi Longstocking of the Scandinavian design only on the internet. Or during their trips to Stockholm.
But now, since last Friday, we have Gudrun´s concept shop here in the heart of Helsinki.
It is a happy place to everybody in love with her comfortable, colourful, eco-friendly clothes, and you can be 17 or 70 years old, thick or thin, tall or tiny, it does not matter. Layering is the thing here, and the more the merrier!
But better to be careful – it might happen that you came to buy a scarf and in addition to that bought three T-shirts and a doormat.

Address of the shop is Erottajankatu 19, Helsinki, and it is open Mon-Fri 10 am to 7 pm, Sat from 10 am to 5 pm.

www.gudrunsjoden.com

Photo©Paula Hietaranta

Japanese delicacies in Helsinki

No, this time it is not about food but about textile fibres.

The wonderful new exhibition Fiber Future – Japan´s Textile Pioneers in Design Museum introduces us 30 leading textile designers in Japan and shows us the amazing power of creative and investigating mind.

    

W-Orbit by Akio Hamatani (2010). Huge rayon sculpture is made 

in collaboration with Chiaki Murakami, a specialist in dyeing 

with wood-ash lye and fremented leaves of the indigo plant.

 

Hideho Tanaka combines in his Vanishing and Emerging sculpture 

(2009) cotton, flax and paper.

 

Shape of Red 1 (2009) by Shigeo Kubota is an amazing sculpture 

made of nylon, sisal hemp and plain weave. 

His art of weaving is inherited – Mr. Kubota was born 

into a family of traditional weavers.

 

 

Umi kara no okurimono: Air, X (A Gift from the Sea:Air, 2010) 

by Yasuko Iyanaga is made of tie-dyed spun silk and wire.

The exhibition opened yesterday and is open until May 5th.

www.designmuseum.fi

 Photos © Paula Hietaranta

The amazing cosmos of Klaus Haapaniemi

The international power couple of Finnish design 

Klaus Haapaniemi and Mia Wallenius.

There are still many unknown, weird species and animals in this world, and many of them exist only in the imagination of artist Klaus Haapaniemi.
The businessman chalk-stripe look of the artist does not give a hint about the wild universe spinning around inside of his head.
Now you are lucky to have the unique opportunity to dive into the world of this London-based designer in his Winter Pop Up shop in Helsinki.
But hurry!
The treasure box of Haapaniemi´s signature collection of cushions, silk shawls, hand tufted rugs, umbrellas, crystal, jewellery, limited edition prints et cetera et cetera is there only until the end of February (not January as mentioned elsewhere).

A detail of the huge Purppurahämy-ryijy (Purple Haze rya rug) 

realised by Suomen Käsityön Ystävät, The Friends of Finnish Handicrafts. 

The cushions.

Address of the shop is Unioninkatu 27, 00170 Helsinki. Open Tue-Fri 10 am-7 pm, Sat 10 am–5 pm, Sun 12 noon–4 pm.

Visit the world Klaus Haapaniemi also on his website www.klaush.com

Photos © Paula Hietaranta

New colour therapy by Marimekko

Florestan by Maija Isola 1976/Kristina Isola 2012.

Hello New Year, and hello the new bright colours Marimekko brings to our life during the upcoming spring and summer!
It is lovely to see the old beloved textile prints in flaming colours and a lot of new, fresh ones.

 

My new favorite is a print Lakia (above) by Aino-Maija Metsola. It pictures the landscape of Ostrobothnia (a part of Finland) seen from the air, showing it´s cornfields, pathways, rivers and piles of timber.
It is a most wonderful party tablecloth, which requires colourful food, too.

For example something like my sweet potato soup with herb oil and roasted pumpkin seeds.
Enjoy!

Eat whatever you want...

... and lose weight. -->

Sounds promising, doesn´t it?

This is the message of a book written by Teemu Ollikainen, a Finnish psychologist and psychotherapist, who approaches dieting from the mental starting points.

Food and feelings are intertwined, and many of us overeat to control stress or calm down.

In this clever book Teemu Ollikainen gives us expert advice how to negotiate with yourself and find the reasons for your impulses before acting.

Why and when are you tempted to eat more than you need? Can you distinguish hunger from ghost hunger? Are you really hungry or just thirsty? (Drink water to find out.)

The writer himself tested these psychological weight control advices a few years ago and lost 20 kilos. I met him shortly at the book fair in Helsinki and asked how many kilos he has gained since.

- None, he said. And smiled.

Teemu Ollikainen: Syö mitä mielesi tekee (WSOY).

www.wsoy.fi

PS. First translation rights of this book are sold to Estonia. 

Photo©Paula Hietaranta