Finnish Design Blog

Congratulations to Sirpa T. (Berkeley, CA) and Judy T. (Cloquet, MN) who each won a
glass bird by Iittala in a drawing held at the FinnStyle booth at FinnFest. There were over 700 entries in the drawing for chance to win either a Common Redpoll glass bird by Oiva Toikka or a Cotton Candy glass bird by Anu Penttinen. The Common Redpoll was Toikka’s official bird for FinnFest 2008. The Anu Penttinen collection was released this year by Iittala.

I thought I’d post several photos of our special guests who stopped by our FinnStyle booth at FinnFest last week. It was a real honor to have three prominent figures in the Finnish community participate with us. Many thanks to Beatrice, Osmo and David for taking the time to visit and sign their works. FinnFest 2008 was a great success!

Our FinnStyle booth at FinnFest 2008 in Duluth, MN.

Beatrice Ojakangas is a well-known chef and author of over 25 Finnish/Scandinavian cookbooks.

Osmo Vänskä is an acclaimed conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra.

David Salmela is an accomplished architect whose original designs and buildings have won multiple industry awards.

The iconic Moomin cartoon characters by Tove and Lars Jansson continue to be alive and full of energy today as Iittala’s Arabia has added two new character drawings to its Moomin dish collection. The new porcelain mugs and bowls feature classic Moomin characters, Little My and Mymble (also known as The Mymble’s Daughter). In the famous book and comic strip series, Mymble is the oldest daughter in the Mymble family and considers it her duty to watch after young Little My, who is a very determined and brash little girl. These fun and cute mugs, as well as the rest of the Moomin collection, are available at FinnishGifts.

FinnFest 2008 has come and gone and what a time it was. The excitement started last Wednesday and ended last night with an estimated 7,000 people taking part in the Finnish celebration. FinnFest definitely offered a chance to “learn, celebrate and grow” Finland as there was something for everyone. The five day festival in Duluth (Minnesota) was filled with a variety of renowned speakers, talented music acts, delicious Finnish food, even a fashion show and of course plenty of booths to shop for your favorite Finnish merchandise (i.e. Marimekko accessories, Aalto vases, Iittala glassware). The festival was highlighted by an unforgettable ceremony with the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, speaking and receiving an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Our friend Angela (at frozenreindeer.com) has posted a great recap of her FinnFest trip, complete with many photos and video clips! To read and see more of the sights and sounds of FinnFest 2008, please visit FinnFest 2008, Flickr, Duluth News Tribune and the Frozen-Reindeer blog.

(pictures courtesy of Angela @ frozenreindeer.com)

For over 70 years, the Alvar Aalto Savoy vase has withstood the test of time and continues to be a shinning icon in the world of modern design. Alvar Aalto’s famous vase has recently inspired Czech designer, Jan Ctvrtnik. Ctvrtnik recently won the Climate Competition put on by Dutch design company, Droog.

The competition was open to anyone with interesting and challenging design ideas. The design could take on any form but had to incorporate some type of climate theme.

The original influence behind Aalto’s classic Savoy shape has always been under speculation but many people believe that he modeled it after an outline of a lake in Finland. The word ‘droog’ is a Dutch word that means ‘dry’ and Ctvrtnik’s Aalto inspired vase literally incorporated ‘dry’ into the climate theme. Ctvrtnik’s simple modification suggests how the lake’s shape could change due to global warming. For more pictures of the Aalto inspired vase, visit Droog’s website.

A few studies have shown that we will spend around two weeks in the bathroom per year. Essentially you’re taking about as much vacation time from your job as you are in the bathroom! With that said, shouldn’t you spruce up that little room where you’re spending two weeks of your time in each year? A simple way to freshen up your bathroom is with a new shower curtain by Marimekko.

A bathroom should reflect your personality, whether relaxing & elegant, fun & bright, the combinations are endless. A new shower curtain is one of the most inexpensive ways to create the biggest impact on the overall look and feel of the room. Marimekko provides several kinds of shower curtains in various colors and patterns to fit your personality. Are you a bright Unikko fan, prefer a quiet and natural scene of birch trees in the Kaiku design, or are you more into modern design like the Fokus pattern offers? Let you bathroom reflect you and spruce it up today with a shower curtain by Marimekko.

FinnFest 2008 is officially underway in Duluth, MN, at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Our retail store, FinnStyle, is in attendance so please be sure to stop by booth #70 and say hi. FinnFest (July 23-27) is packed with five solid days of great events this year. Some of the things that FinnishGifts/FinnStyle are bringing to the table is the opportunity to meet with three of the most prominent members of the Finnish-American community, Osmo Vänskä, Beatrice Ojakangas and David Salmela.

Osmo Vänskä is the revered conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra and has recently received a Grammy nomination for his classical works. He will be available to visit and sign Minnesota Orchestra CDs on Saturday morning at 10:00-10:30 AM.

Beatrice Ojakangas is a Duluth native and well-known chef and author of various Finnish and Scandinavian cookbooks. She will be signing her cookbooks on Friday from 4:00-4:30 PM and Saturday 2:00-2:30 PM.

David Salmela is an accomplished Minnesota architect whose original designs and buildings have won multiple industry awards. David will be available to sign posters, photographs and the book, Salmela Architect, on Thursday at 1:00-1:30 PM and Saturday between 10:30-11:00 AM.

A short video of the amazing glass blowing process used by iittala’s highly skilled glass blowers as they produce designer Anu Penttinen’s unique glass birds.

Our semi-annual Marimekko sale is coming close to an end. We still have a great selection of discounted Marimekko products at 20 or more percent off. Hurry and take advantage of this event as sale prices are valid through July 15th or while supplies last.

Iittala’s Nuutajärvi glassworks family continues to grow. Alongside world-renowned designer Oiva Toikka and Georgio Vigna, the Nuutajärvi glass factory has added the young and exuberant creations of Anu Penttinen.

The starting points of the work of glass designer Anu Penttinen (born in 1974) are graphical clarity and bold colors. She is fascinated by the urban environment from which she distils her own strong style. Penttinen’s endearing glass birds have been inspired in particular by wax animation and the nature of the tropics. Penttinen’s new bird collection contains six birds. While resembling the confident stance of penguins, their colors are tropical. Their vertical format emphasizes their beaks and eyes, features that make the collection very much its own. The amusing names Penttinen has given her birds highlight their different personalities. Which do you prefer? Ippie the Hippie, Cool Joe, or Cotton Candy? Or what about Night Bird or Snowball? Or I’m All Bananas? The names say it all. Check out these fun birds for yourself!