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

Birger Kaipiainen - beauty without boundaries

Decorative plate, 1980s.

Violets, larks, swans, pearls, roses. Butterflies, mirrors, clocks stopped at fifteen minutes past twelve, volatile portraits of beautiful women and men. Pure poetry in ceramics. 

Our beloved ceramic artist Birger Kaipiainen (1915-88) offers us now a lavish celebration for the eye and heart in EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, thanks to the collector Kyösti Kakkonen who owns a major collection of Kaipiainen´s art. 

In the chilly climate of Scandinavian design Birger Kaipiainen was a strange bird of paradise who always knew his own way and value. 

As the artist said in an interview to mark his 60th birthday, ”The imagination doesn´t cost a penny. It has no boundaries, and nobody can dictate where it changes it´s course."

Angel (sculpture, 1967).

 

Bust of Birger Kaipiainen by Michael Schilkin (1942).

Birger Kaipiainen – kuriton kaunosielu (Aesthete Extraordinaire, Birger Kaipiainen´s Ceramic Fantasies) is open until January 12th 2014 in EMMA, Ahertajantie 5, Tapiola, Espoo.
How and when to get there: www.emma.museum 
P.S. A specialty you can now buy only in EMMA is the wallpaper Kiurujen yö (Night of the Skylarks), designed in 1958 and now available in colours approved by the artist but never before this in production.

Photos©Paula Hietaranta

 

The best of Helsinki – especially for you!

Is there a more challenging job than writing a travel guide? 

It is almost impossible to get everything right, there are always some new things popping up and old ones closing down or moving to a new address. Especially in Helsinki where is now so much fun going on all the time!

Considering this I think the Finnish journalist Heidi Kalmari has done a pretty good job. The brand new Mondo Travel Guide Helsinki is now out, and it is so versatile, fresh and interesting that you should have a copy of your own, even if you are living in Helsinki. 

You can buy it in Finnish or English in a bookshop or order it straight from the publisher here:

http://verkkokauppa.a-lehdet.fi/Mondo-matkaoppaat

Also available as iPad version, perfect!

Photo©Paula Hietaranta

We are sailing...

Jacob Hashimoto: Armada (1998-2010). Mixed media.

What do we see when we see art? 

This is really a weird question, and the answer depends on the amount of our feelings and experiences. 

Yesterday I visited the Jacob Hashimoto´s exhibition at Galerie Forsblom, and suddenly I felt  a rush of happiness. 

In front of my eyes was a big room full of  hundreds of small sailing boats, moving softly on the invisible sea. 

The sight was pure beauty, illusion of freedom – something a man could and could not create. Illusion made with wood, paint, fabric, electricity, contingency, reminding us of the unknown powers of life.

Jacob Hashimoto: Armada & resent kite works until 27.7.2013 at Galerie Forsblom, Lönnrotinkatu 5, 00120 Helsinki. 

Opening hours Tue-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm, Sun 12am-4pm.

Photos©Paula Hietaranta