New fashion in Finland, part 7: DUSTY

There is a lot happening in the menswear fashion now in Finland. 

Marjut Uotila is a wonderful designer creating avant-garde DUSTY clothes for bold city cowboys (and why not also for cowgirls, as well). Made in Finland and sold all around the world.

Her Spring-Summer 2014 collection was presented last Saturday in Kellohalli restaurant Helsinki celebrating label´s 10th birthday.
Here are some tasty pieces. Well-thought silhouettes, lovely details, beautiful fabrics and colours. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

www.dusty.fi

Photos by Leena Aro

The new beautiful Iittala world

Mats Lönngren and Arni Aromaa from Pentagon Design Ltd are 

the men behind the soul of new Iittala flagship store.

The colourful wall of Kivi votives by Heikki Orvola welcomes you to the Iittala world in the middle of Helsinki. 

The place of the store is the old one but the interior is new. Now it is well-thought, fresh and inviting - it really confirms the power and value of good design. 

Well-known Finnish brand of tableware, cookware and home interior can now show it´s versatile selection of safe classics, hand-made art and new creations well presented in one place. 

Just pop in, wander around and enjoy!  

But watch out - you might fall into temptation to buy some adorable thing you did not even know you were lacking.

 

Mouth-blown glass birds by Oiva Toikka have now a room of their own. There you can see the metamorphosis from an egg to a bird. On the walls are Oiva´s drawings.

 A good designer is able to use even a minor disaster to create something new. The decorative spots of a big bird are dust from the factory floor.

 

If you are fed up with your Teema mugs, you might use them as lampshades...

 

Iittala Flagship Store Esplanadi, Pohjoisesplanadi 25, Helsinki. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm.

www.iittala.com

Photos©Paula Hietaranta

Hello, it is time for felt!

http://vimeo.com/75330513

Felt has not been the first thing to pop into your mind during the hot weeks we have enjoyed in Finland during this summer, but now we all are ready for felt news.
The felt footwear factory Lahtiset - a family company established in 1921 by the farmer Alex Lahtinen in Jämsä - made a lucky choice some years ago asking the Finnish shoe designer Aki Choklat to create a new attitude to the hand-made felt boots.
The result has been a success. – Without Aki we would have not survived, says the grandson Jukka Lahtinen who is now running the factory with his sister Riitta.
The Vimeo film by Christian Trippe invites you to see the story of handmade felt products and the wonderful scenery of Finland, enjoy!
Check the whole Lahtiset collection – sneakers, boots and bags by Aki Choklat, new bags and backbags by Jonas Hakaniemi and the factory classics - here

www.lahtiset.fi/en

New fashion in Finland, part 6: FRENN

Happy fellows behind the new menswear label, born in Helsinki: Jarkko Kallio and Antti Laitinen. Photo©Paula Hietaranta

Oh, those lovely guys!

I have been admiring Jarkko´s bold sense of fashion and Antti´s perfect talent of tailoring for some years, and now the big day is here – yesterday they launched their own menswear label.

FRENN (the name started as Fresh Nordic Tailoring and became Frenn having the meaning and sound of a friend) is the basic garderobe for every occasion, with a twist. 

It is a bit soft, a bit rough, a lot refined - made for the urban working man who appreciates quality, comfort, style and lasting values. 

The handmade details make the whole picture complete and bring the message from those golden times when clothes were worth of keeping and cherishing. 

 

Read more about the story and ideas here

www.frenncompany.com

Fashion photos © Lauri Eriksson

Since the beginning of September FRENN is available in these shops in Helsinki:

THE MEN by My o My, Erottajankatu 9,

Sauma, Bulevardi 14, and

Acolyth, Iso Roobertinkatu 40.

The Silky Way of Marja Kurki

 The scarf Pieniä unelmia (Dreamlike Life), 55 x 55 cm.

The opening night of Marja Kurki flagship store in Helsinki. A lot of guests, friends and associates, smiles and chatter. Glass, mirrors, lovely colors and shine of silk scarves, ties, bags, umbrellas...
And there in the middle of the shop stands a happy lady, Marja Kurki herself, and a bit further away stands a happy man, her son Tapani Kurki, CEO of Marja Kurki Ltd.
You know the story about a man who sold sand to Sahara? Well, Marja Kurki is the lady who sold – and the company still does - Chinese silk to China.

It all started almost 40 years ago, when Marja Kurki got fascinated in silk and decided to design silk accessories for women and men.

There has been a lot of water running in Vantaanjoki since then, but now Marja Kurki company is again a family owned business, doing well.

Cheers to the successful future of the Finnish Design and Marja Kurki!

 

Marja Kurki Shop, Pohjoisespladi 25-27, 00100 Helsinki.

www.marjakurki.com
Photos©Paula Hietaranta 

Finnish art on summer pastures

Summer is soon over, and so are these summer exhibitions in the beautiful Finnish countryside.
I know this comes a bit late, but anyway - here are just a few examples of the works I liked best on my art tour yesterday in Orimattila (www.villaroosa.fi) and in Auttoinen.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did, and if you are interested in the artists just use the internet to find more information.
These were my Orimattila favorites.

 

Sade ( Rain) by Milla Kuisma.

  

Tuija Markonsalo: Club Cool.

 

Anu Tuominen: Plimsolls of a small berry picker.

In Auttoinen (www.auttoinen.fi) there was so much fun for the visitors! (But unfortunately the exhibition is open only until Saturday 3.8.)

Lasse Ursin: Juurijalkaiset. Drawing umbrellas activated by the movements of visitors.

Matti Rauhaniemi: Aphorisms. Be yourself, be a monster, be an optimist.

A wooden sculpture, coloured with crayons by Terhi Kaakinen.

Empty Stomach! Two little girls in a bit different bouncy castle by Andy Best and Merja Puustinen.

Photos©Paula Hietaranta

Vuokko has a brand new address

There are not very many designers known only by their first name. 

Our legendary designer Vuokko Nurmesniemi, forever young and still going strong, is one of them. 

Now she has moved her shop to a new address. 

So do not go any more to Pohjois-Esplanadi to admire and buy the timeless quality of her clothes and accessories, now you find them in Korkeavuorenkatu 4, 00150 Helsinki.

Jumpsuit by Vuokko, still in production.

Vuokko´s shop is open Mon-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-3pm.

Welcome!

Photos©Paula Hietaranta