Finnish Design Blog

Nice use of Flash design/programming on Iittala’s website that features this year’s holiday items by the popular Finnish company. It also features a calendar that showcases one Iittala product for each day in December. Just thought it was kind of cool — some great pictures of product arrangements thrown in there. Enjoy and happy holidays!

View the Iittala holiday catalog calendar webpage.

Helsinki will be the World Design Capital of the year 2012. The designation was announced by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) at the Icsid World Design Congress 2009 in Singapore on November 25, 2009.

Altogether 46 cities from 27 countries applied for the designation. An international jury first shortlisted Helsinki and Eindhoven of the Netherlands and then awarded the designation to Helsinki after careful consideration.

Helsinki will be the third World Design Capital, following Turin (Torino, 2008) and Seoul (2010). The World Design Capital is a biennial designation given to one city at a time.

Design is a factor deep-rooted in the urban lifestyle of Helsinki. Design is manifest in the everyday lives of Helsinki citizens in many ways, ranging from home furniture and items that represent old Finnish design traditions to modern urban solutions in the city and contemporary interior design.

The creative sector is re-shaping Helsinki’s economy and enhancing the citizens’ quality of life. Design seen from a broad perspective – in city planning, architecture, industrial design and service design – plays an integral role in the development of Helsinki, city services and consumer products.

Helsinki’s World Design Capital year 2012 will comprise a wide range of events and projects related to design and its manifestations. In 2012 Helsinki will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of becoming the capital of Finland, when the country was a grand duchy of the Russian Empire.

For more information about the World Design Capital, please visit these great websites:

• World Design Capital 2012 Helsinki
• World Design Capital

Finnish Designer Harri Koskinen has received a significant design award in Gothenburg, Sweden. The award, which was presented by the Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Foundation, is worth 93.000 Euros, making it the world’s largest design award. Read the entire story.

One of Koskinen’s most famous works are his block lamp creations.

The new Moomin Adventure Collection by iittala Group’s Arabia Finland, brings Tove Jansson’s illustrations straight from the pages of “Moominpappa’s Memoirs,” “Finn Family Moomintroll” and “Moominsummer Madness,” onto porcelain jars, a bowl, mug and a plywood serving tray. See the entire Arabia Finland Moomin Collection.

Iittala recently posted their latest product catalog online using a neat tool by MagNet. The “Designed to be combined” titled catalog features 65+ pages of Iittala’s current product line. Everything from dishes to glass birds are shown, accompanied by many great photos and a lot of interesting information. View Iittala’s catalog.

Each year iittala Arabia releases a special edition Moomin Christmas mug. The 2009 Moomin Christmas Mug is titled, “Christmas Surprise.” The mug features colorful artwork by Arabia artist, Tove Slotte-Elevant, who dipicts a wide cast of Moomin characters out delivering presents on Christmas Eve.

On October 7th, MyIittala members (register for free at iittala.com) have an opportunity to chat online with designer Ilkka Suppanen. The chat takes place on Wednesday October 7th at 17:00 (UK), 19:00 (Finland) and 12:00 (United States EST). 

Iittala is also running a contest to win a Suppanen Fireplace.  Contestants are to set the mood with an Iittala Ambient Light object in use and then take a picture and submit it for a chance to win a Fireplace. Contest ends October 31, 2009.

A quick note to our Marimekko wallpaper customers: prices will be increasing significantly on October 1st. Place your orders now to receive the best price at FinnishGifts.com.

Iittala recently released its new Satumetsä dinnerware collection. Satumetsä means “fairytale forest” in Finnish, and is similar to the Taika line as it tells a story through its beautiful images. Klaus Haapaniemi designed the collection that focuses on a young blue deer in an elegant green forest. The Satumetsä collection includes a dinner plate, salad plate, cereal bowl, mug and serving bowl, and is now available at FinnishGifts.com.

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) announced on behalf of the members of the World Design Capital (WDC) Jury that the Cities of Helsinki (Finland) and Eindhoven (Netherlands) have been selected for the shortlist of cities that will move on to the next round of evaluation in the hopes of becoming World Design Capital in 2012.

The World Design Capital is a biennial designation appointed to cities based on their accomplishments and commitment to design as an effective tool for social, cultural and economic development. The evaluation for the WDC designation is founded on a comprehensive assessment process spanning a five-month review and deliberation period, during which time, applicants were requested to demonstrate evidence of their strengths in the following areas: Design, Programming, Infrastructure and Financing.

The official announcement of the WDC 2012 designated city will occur during the ICSID World Design Congress in Singapore on, November 25, 2009. To learn more about the World Design Capital Award or to read the full article, please click here.