Balmuir pops up in Helsinki

The Finnish luxury label Balmuir opened yesterday a pop up shop in Helsinki. There you can see and feel a lovely collection of the quality textiles and home accessories. Simply said: temptations.

New trunks and notebooks are covered with pony leather.

Heidi and Juha Jaara, the owners of Balmuir, are still living in Oulu. Working hard and with joy the couple has in few years made Balmuir a well known brand all over the world, and it´s future looks more than promising. Quality, lovely designs and sustainable working ideas are their key to success.
Heidi Jaara is Balmuir´s managing director and designer. And a mother: the couple has two small children.
”Actually we have three children, Balmuir was our first child”, Heidi laughs.

But hurry - the pop up shop is there only two weeks until April 16th!
Address is Galleria Esplanad, Pohjoisesplanadi 33, 1st floor. Opening hours are Mon-Fri 10 am-7pm, Sat 10 am-5 pm.
PS. The new Balmuir web shop is on it´s way and opening before summer. Stay tuned.

Photos©Paula Hietaranta

North from Eden

You might know that the short and often chilly summer in Finland poses challenges to the gardening, but love – it has no boundaries.The new documentary Eedenistä pohjoiseen by Virpi Suutari is not about seeds or flowers or flower beds or gardens. It is about love. 

The film shows us Finnish couples who love gardening and love each other. It is full of feelings from craziness to tears, from tender togetherness to sweet loss. It shows us the lovely Northern nights when the sun hardly sets (yes, you can weed even then) and the joy of buying plants and bushes, not clothes (in gardens of Eden you can go naked).

Eedenistä pohjoiseen (Garden Lovers) won a few weeks ago the main prize in Tampere Film Festival in the over 30 minutes category.

Now in cinemas in Finland and let´s hope soon all over the world!

Get a taste of the film here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV2kMMfPkv0

Eedenistä pohjoiseen | www.finnkino.fi

The perfect traffic jam

Good morning!

I bet this layered apricot, gooseberry and strawberry jam is the sweetest traffic jam you ever tasted!

It is avallable in Anton & Anton, a Helsinki based food market for people who appreciate good, fresh food, carefully chosen producers and seasonal ingredients, both from Finland and abroad - simply healthy quality food available in your neigborhood! (Or sent to you on order.)

Now Anton & Anton has three shops in Helsinki. New one just opened in Ullanlinna, Kapteeninkatu 26, three weeks ago.

www.antonanton.fi

Photo©Paula Hietaranta

The art adventure of colour and design

What happens when two racy creative spirits put their ideas together?

Finnish shoe designer Minna Parikka and illustrator Janine Rewell decided to create a spectacle combining the Minna Parikka SS14 shoe collection and the art of colourful body painting. 

In these pictures you see that a human body is a perfect canvas that gives a three-dimensional approach to painting. 

Who would not like to be dressed in those patterns and colours? 

And hey, look at the shoes as well!

Photos Jonas Lundqvist


Art direction and illustration Janine Rewell


Shoe design Minna Parikka


Body paint Riina Laine & Saara Sarvas


Here in this video you see how it all happened

http://minnaparikkashoes.createsend1.com/t/j-l-iyhlkkl-udijlidl-d/

A medal for every Tove Jansson fan

This year celebrates the life and art of our beloved artist and author Tove Jansson, born in Helsinki 100 years ago, and perhaps known best all over the world as the mother of Moomintroll.
If you want to show your admiration to the artist you can decorate your jacket or dress with a lovely Tove Jansson Medal of General Value handmade by Finnish designer Katariina Guthwert.

Her medals are sold in Helsinki for example in Design Forum Helsinki, Design Museum, Kiasma and Ateneum.

You can also order the medals directly from designer´s website even with a picture of your own hero

http://www.katariinaguthwert.com/?lang=en

Sweet Christmas wishes from Finland!

And may the year 2014 bring you many happy days!

PS. When in Finland do taste Petris handmade fresh chocolates in Fiskars, Helsinki or Espoo Tapiola. The shops, selections and news you find here:

http://petris.fi/

Photo@Paula Hietaranta

Finnish Design in a new bright light

Pop! Pop! 

What is it? Did you hear it? 

Is it the sound of bubbles bursting? 

Pop! There they go – our illusions of the superiority of Finnish Design. 

The design journalist Hannu Pöppönen has done a huge job in researching the myths and reality of the Finnish design and written a book about it. 

Designkuplia, suomalaisen muotoilun ilmiöitä (Design bubbles, the phenomena of Finnish Design) reveals interesting aspects about the successes of bygone days and unsuccessful fights of today: what the famous Finnish Design was, what it is now, and where it is going? 

One of reasons to the failure making our new design the success it deserves is that the Finns can be silent in many languages. And that is a major minus in today´s world, if you want to get the audience´s attention. 

Luckily there are some fresh winds blowing already but let´s hope that the Finnish Design is not an Noah´s Ark where only the Angry Birds are bringing the twigs of hope.

Hannu Pöppönen: Designkuplia is published by A? Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and lovely illustrated by Samuli Saarinen.
The book is available in Helsinki for example at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, Design Museum, Kiasma shop and Aalto ARTS Books -kirjakauppa, Hämeentie 135 C, 6. krs. (Open Mon-Thur 11 ap-4 pm, Fri 11 am to 3 pm.)
Or you can simply order it here

https://www.taik.fi/kirjakauppa/ 
Photo©Paula Hietaranta