Finnish Design Blog

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.

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!