Design Finland

Anne Linnonmaa - Woman of The Year

Fashion designer Anne Linnonmaa was awarded the title Woman of The Year by BPW Finland. Anne Linnonmaa designs are sold under her own Anne Linnonmaa ecological fashion line. The products are mainly modern knitware with affordable pricing and solid ecological background from the cotton fields all through production and distribution.

For more information about Anne Linnonmaa collection, check out the website or visit the shop in the new Kamppi shopping center in Helsinki.

Picture by Anna Hämäläinen, courtesy of Anne Linnonmaa.

The New Skanno Salmisaari

The new Skanno shop in Salmisaari is finally open! This new concept shop is unique in Finland, it reminds you a bit of Habitat shops (which do not exist in Finland).

The shop is in an old industrial building, which gives the possibility to create a great shop in this open space with 20 feet high ceiling.

The entry is from a former warehouse loading zone. In the yard there are giant pots with duck and teddy bear shaped molded plants.

Inside of the shop you can find designer furniture, lamps, other design items, paintings, modern video installations, home electronics, flowers, books and many kinds of other stuff, all for sale.

What brands do they carry? Ligne Roset, Minotti and several international brands.  Jatta Lavi and number of new Finnish designers. Maybe the best collection of design lamps I've seen in Finland. Unique paintings from various artists. Video installations from Finland. Books from Hobbooks. Home electronics by ProAV Saarikko.

Overall, Skanno Salmisaari is a very nice addition to Helsinki design scene. If you are in Helsinki and want to see an overview of what the Finns are buying, Skanno is for sure a place to visit. If you live in Finland and need to shop for design, Skanno is one of the places in your shortlist.

Skanno Salmisaarentalo
Porkkalankatu 13 G
001800 Helsinki
tel. 09 - 6129 440

Opening hours
Mon 12-19, Tues, Wed and Fri 11-19, Thu 11-20,
Sat 10-17, Sun 12-17

Means of transport
Metro Ruoholahti
Tram nr. 8
Buses 20, 65a and 66a
Parking area for cars

Ristomatti Ratia, a multitalented designer from Finland

Ristomatti Ratia is a public celebrity in Finland. For the general public he's known from the yellow press. Unfortunately.

Ratia is currently one of the most versatile and productive designers in Finland. His works include textiles, glassware, furniture, bags, tableware and many other. He's worked for various companies since his breakthrough with Marimekko Made in USA product line (1967-1983). Ratia's first glassware was introduced in 1980.

Some works of Ristomatti Ratia:

• Sauna Heaters for Saunatec (Helo)
• Mekano Saucepans for OPA
• Archipelago (Saaristo) product line for Pinetta
• Pala storage system for Woodman (sold by Asko)
• Numerous glass products for Muurla Design

Ristomatti Ratia's mother, Armi Ratia, the founder of Marimekko, was a very special person in making Finnish Design what it is today. Still, Ristomatti Ratia has made a clear and bright career of his own.

To learn more about Ristomatti Ratia, visit his webpage here.

Alvar Aalto's Aalto Vase 70 Years

This year it's 70 years since Alvar Aalto's Aalto vase was first launched. To celebrate this, Iittala has announced a 2006 jubilee collection.

The new collection introduces two new colors, petrol blue and flaming red. In addition, there are new two-colored vases, where the white translucent outside shows the glow of the colored inside in red, blue, dark blue, green or brown.

More info on Alvar Aalto Collection here.

All pictures courtesy of Iittala Oy Ab.

Taito Award 2006

  The winner of the Taito Award 2006 was announced today in Helsinki. The winner was selected from the 17 regional award winner. Taito Award is given every year by the Finnish Crafts Organization to the best handicrafter in Finland.

This year the winner was designer Annamaija Halonen from Studio Halonen Oy. She lives and works in Kuopio.

Studio Halonen designs and produces high-quality products from birch and alder. The products combine clear shapes with harmonic combination of natural and painted wood. Her products have won also some international prizes at least in Japan and Norway.

The award was worth 5000 Euros and the jury was chaired by Dr. Pentti Arajärvi (yes, the spouse of Finnish President Tarja Halonen).

These products can be found in many shops selling Finnish handicrafts and design, among others at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport.

St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel in Turku

Inaugurated in 2005, St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel in Turku is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I've ever seen. It is a very simple building with a shape that reminds you of a fish or a boat.

The roof, or actually all of the outside, is made out of copper. The inside of the chapel is made completely out of wood. This 12 meter (40 feet) high ceiling looks much higher than it really is.

The natural light changes the balance of light and shadow constantly, thus the inside of the chapel never looks exactly the same.

The chapel was awarded with "The Roof of The Year 2005 (Vuoden Katto 2005)",  "Wood Award 2005 - people's choice (Puupalkinto 2005 - yleisön suosikki) ", "The Cultural Award of the Church (Kirkon kulttuuripalkinto)" and it was noted highly at the Biennale di Venezia. It was featured in the Japanese  magazine a + u, Architecture and Urbanism in 1997 and represented Finland in the "Holy Space" exhibition in Tokyo in 2003.

• Architects: Matti Sanaksenaho, Pirjo Sanaksenaho and Enrico Garbin
• Construction designer: Narmaplan Oy
• Glass paintings: Hannu Konola
• Acoustics: Alpo Halme
• Contractor: Hartela Oy (Henrikki Hirvelä)

The main altar was supposed to be planned by famous Finnish artist and sculptor Kain Tapper who unfortunately deceased before his work was finished. Since the artist was not satisfied with the latest draft of the altar, it was decided that there will be no altar in the chapel.

Currently the Art Chapel is second in number of visitors to religious sight in Finland, right after the Temppelinaukio Church in Helsinki!

The chapel is open to visitors every day from noon to 6pm. The address is Seiskarinkatu 30, Turku.

More information can be found here (in Finnish only).