DESIGN OF THE CENTURY

2010-06-30T03:28:00.000-07:00

Moving On

As you've probably noticed, I've been quite bad on updating the blog. It is due to the fact that I contribute to other forums as well as to my own new more dynamic site at the moment. Rest assure that this blog will be up as long as Google is but you can find the same (and more) material over at Forth.fi. Hope to see you there!

Cheers

Jonas F

2009-04-29T23:14:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Thinglink from Ulla-Maaria Engeström on Vimeo.

I'm slow on updating the blog right now because most of my time goes into uploading photos and discussing design on Thinglink. Why don't you join as well.

Thinglink is a way to share design collections and photos while making new friends and meeting the designers first hand.

2009-01-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

Great losses in interior design and architecture history

The Alvar Aalto library in Viipuri, Russia.

The library was originally drawn in the late 20's but was completed in 1935. When built, it was on the Finnish side of the border but after WWII it remained on the Russian side. Damaged during the war it was left to further deteriorate, and among other things the innovative wood ceiling was destroyed. It has been repaired to some extent from -03 to -08 and is currently on several lists of endangered and culturally important buildings.

The Hindenburg interior

The fate of the blimp Hindenburg is known to most people, but have you seen the passenger accomodations that were lost in the disastrous fire? The interior was decorated by the architect, Fritz August Breuhaus.

Pure functionalism was in the rage in the early 30's and bent steel furniture came to symbolize a more simple and cleaner living.

2009-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 6

A caricature of some of the most famous furniture designers in the 50's in Finland. From left to right - Olavi Hänninen, Antti Nurmesniemi, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Hiort af Ornäs and Olof Ottelin. It was drawn by Olof Ottelin in 1959.

2008-12-12T04:24:00.001-08:00

Design Of The Century wishes everyone a merry christmas. I will return to you in January 2009.

The mademoiselle chair by Ilmari Tapiovaara.

2008-12-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Five IKEA items that will be sold at auctions in 2030

I has been said that IKEA furniture will never see the inside of an auction house much less sell for any significant sums. I don't believe that. The strength of IKEA is that they are willing to take risks with short series using new techniques and there will always be gems. Here is my list.

The Jonsberg floor vases by Hella Jongerius

They are well made, simple and designed by a steadily rising star in the design field. The production series are relatively small and over time a big part of them will be discarded making the existing ones more valuable. There is even four of them creating a need to get them all.

The Vilbert chair by Verner Panton

Created in 1993 it sold poorly and soon the chairs were soon taken off the shelves. This is in fact the second piece of IKEA furniture sold at an auction, the first being an mid 1950's cupboard. Verner Panton is yet again gaining momentum and over time these will become even more rare because of the short production span.

The PS Ellan by Chris Martin

The chair is made out of plastic mixed with sawdust making it durable. It is a perfect mix of a new technique, simple design and an added feature (the rocking function). It is easy to furnish with and suits any occasion. At the auction there will be a bunch of them like in the picture and the buyers will be thrilled.

The PS IKEA Gullholmen by Maria Vinka

A rocking chair with a twist. These will all in a number of years have been tossed out, rained on or rocked to death by overenergetic kids. The rattan series is innovative and fun and will certainly become classic IKE. That goes for much of the PS series.

The PS Vågö / Vago by Thomas Sandell

Some would say that it is a copy of Ahti Kotikoskis chair for Asko but you can make up your up own mind. It is perfect for outdoor use and it is already sought after. It came in a variety of colours as well. Sandell has made some other nice pieces.

IKEA has overall during the last few years created new ways of thinking of design and sustainability after being criticized for it for so long. Let us hope they will keep on bringing in new designers with fresh ideas.

A few more: the hanging chair PS Svinga, the low rocking chair PS Vagga, the carpets Alvine Triangel and Stockholm, the Bench PS Ekhov, the table PS, the bench PS Bånk and the clock PS.

2008-11-30T05:29:00.000-08:00

Known and unknown Finnish design in Hollywood movies

The Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and the last crusade

The grail used in the movie was created by Saul Nordqvist (1911- 2003) and Holger Granbäck (1927-1985) who made ceramic objects together for 38 years at the Savitorppa studio in Nurmijärvi. The production in the studio was relatively small scale and the first years were rocky. The simple gold plated Grail was selected for the movie and it is widely available as a reproduction these days.

The Leia necklace from Star Wars

Björn Weckström designed the iconic piece of jewelery that princess Leia wore in Star Wars IV, a New Hope. It is still available in stores, though in a smaller size by Lapponia. It is said that the jewelery was specially ordered by George Lucas for the films and that Björn Weckström was initially not aware of what kind of film they were for. However, because of lack of time, Lucas had to choose a pre-existing piece. The original necklace is called 'The Planetary Valleys' and only a few were made.

The Ball chair in Tommy

Ann-Margret trashes the Eero Aarnio classic in the film based on the rock opera by The Who from 1975. By the end it is so covered in beans that it was probably not solvable after the camera stopped rolling.

The Nokia 8110 in The Matrix

The Nokia slide cover phone 8110 perfectly fit the high tech gritty neopunk atmosphere in the late 90's film and I can imagine it boosted sales. It came over time to be called the 'banana phone' attributed to its somewhat bent shape. Wish I'd saved mine.

Various Marimekko fabrics in Sex And The City

Carrie's apartment has been furnished with Marimekko over the years in the series and so too in the movie. A perhaps obvious observation on my part - I'll try to find some more unknown designs in the following posts.

A bottle of Finlandia vodka in Deep Blue Sea

Ok, I'll admit I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here but it's still good. The bottle was designed by Tapio Wirkkala in the early 70's and it was redesigned by Harri Koskinen a couple of years ago. The director Renny Harlin isn't too subtle in putting in nods to the Finnish culture.

A Pony chair in Ace up my sleeve
Karen Black rides a Eero Aarnio Pony chair (1973) in the film drama comedy film Ace up my sleeve. There are some other design objects in the scene as well but none of them Finnish.

I distinctly remember some lamps by Paavo Tynell in an old Hitchcock flick and the Yrjö Kukkapuro Karuselli chair in a science fiction movie. I'll find them.

2008-11-23T08:03:00.001-08:00

Scanned design

I have been scanning old brochures, books and booklets during the year and they can all be seen on my web page. There's so much valuable info in them you wouldn't believe. Hours and hours of fun. Digg or Stumble if you like it.

2008-11-19T04:19:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 5

Life magazine has launched a service on Google Images where you can search and look at thousands and thousands of classic images. The search function is here. Here's one I find interesting.

Charles Eames and his solar toy. Original is here.

2008-11-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

The top 5 most overrated design objects

This is my list of objects so overexposed that they no longer have any of their initial innovation or charm left. Don't take it the wrong way - it's all down to personal taste.

1. The Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe

Designed 1930 and copied to such extent I'm not even sure this is an image of an original.

2. The Savoy vase by Alvar Aalto

The vase can be found in virtually every Finnish home. I use my small white one as a tooth brush cup. They have made newer versions of it trying to squeeze all there is out of the design, even making napkin holders out of the shape.

3. The coffee table by Isamu Noguchi

A beautiful sculpture as well as a table but it is just way too much associated with the 50's-60's look. To make matters worse, many also buy copies in the process of building their lounge pad.

4. The Ball chair by Eero Aarnio

I like Aarnio's design but he has copied himself many times over. The pop look of the chair has outgrown itself and now I see it mainly as a novelty piece. It has been extensively copied as well.

5. The Fun shell lamps by Verner Panton

Yep, copied is endless versions. I don't know what it is but it just feels like there is too much lamp with all the shells - like you tried too hard to be innovative. Designed in 1964 it was a child of its time.

You might not agree with me - comment if you disagree.

2008-11-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 4

Aeroplane veneer tables/sculptures by Tapio Wirkkala.There is actually a newly launched reissue of the 1958 table. Price: 9500 € - ouch.

2008-11-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Arabia 135

We visited the exhibition Arabia 135 at the design museum in Helsinki last weekend and we recommend you do the same. There were many pieces that normally don't see the light of day and all periods of the factory were represented. It's only open until January 25th next year so you better hurry up.

2008-11-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 3

The Finnish design exhibition tour across Europe in 1961 .

2008-11-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 2

From left to right Georg Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom. From Playboy magazine 1961. Original is here.

2008-11-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Awesome image of the day # 1

Ilmari Tapiovaara presents some of his chairs all in the same image. I know there is another similar earlier one. As soon as I find it I'll post it.

2008-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Three must see videos on design

.

Poul Henningsen presents his views on lighting and design

Ray and Charles Eames present the lounge chair on NBC

2008-10-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

2008-10-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

My list of Top 5 Wish-I'd-been-there-design-moments

Some moments you just had to be there. If you could go back in time to see some of the great moments in history of design, when and where would you go? These are my 5 choices.

1. The furniture fair Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan 1981.

On the first day of the fair, the Memphis group came in and blew everybody away with colors and shapes that were meant to shake things up. And the critics either loved it or hated it - and still do so to this day. But it must have been quite a show and the design field was not really the same after it. Imagine walking around all those chairs, lamps and bookshelves that well, just didn't look like anything ever seen before. It truly was the start of a new era. The founder of Memphis, Ettore Sottsass said this about the movement: "Memphis exists in a gelatinous, rarefied area whose very nature precludes set models and definitions." As all great revolutionary groups, the band(formed in late 1980) split up in 1988 and they have never reunited.

2. The Milan Triennale 1954

Finland, this small country ravaged by two wars and a staggering national debt had slowly been cultivating a refined movement of handcrafted and industrialized goods. It was beauty in small packages made with finesse and meager means. And they swept the Triannale prize table clean. Sarpaneva, Wirkkala, Franck and Muona to name a few hade selected their most equisite creations and the jury was unanimous. It gave small Finland selfesteem and it was the start of Finnish modernity as we know it.

3. The auction for the interior of Alvar Aalto's Paimio sanatorium

In the late 40's they sold a large section of the interior of the sanatorium, which Aalto designed and built 1929-1933. As Aalto's design was not yet valued as it is today, much of the chairs, stools, beds, lamps, tables and cupboards were sold to the highest unknowing bidders (or in this case low low bidders). The things was also that the people attending the auction were mostly farmers looking for cheap stools and chairs to have in the farming facilities for milking and such. I problaby don't have to mention that the same pieces of furniture are today sold at Sotheby's for five figure sums.

4. The first major Bauhaus exhibition in July 1923

Bauhaus, the higly influental German art school, was founded in 1919 and was finally closed by the nazis in 1933. During the school's brief existence it shaped virtually all art forms from architecture to industrial design and painting. There were many exhibitions during that time but this one was the first larger showcase of what had been created the first years. Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer were amongs those who later fled Germany. How exiting it would have been to see all the innovative designs and feel functionalism gaining momentum.

5. The Case Study House #8 aka The Eames House December 1949

The design of the house was proposed by Charles and Ray as part of the famous Case Study House program for John Entenza's Arts & Architecture magazine. The pair were avid travellers and picked up art from all over the world. They filled the house with books, art, exotic furniture and projects in development - just the way I would want my home to be. I believe they moved in to the finished house on christmas eve 1949. It must have been a joyous season.

2008-10-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia

I just wanted to post a few old polaroids I took in my old apartment back in 2004. I had bought a camera a few years earlier for a film we were shooting and there were some pictures left. Major nostalgia now looking at them.

A picture of me. 23 at the time.

The living room. Notice the Bonanza sofas. The picture might as well have been taken in 1967.

The bedroom. It was quite red I know.

The kitchen was a mixture of a little of everything.

How time flies and taste changes. This was one period in my life.

2008-10-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

An Asko retrospective

I visited the Lahti Historic Museum last weekend at the same time I was picking up an Eames Elliptical table. The city is known as the birthplace of Asko Avonius, who later founded the company which bears his first name. It was a retrospective from 1950 to 1970's and so reflected the golden days of Asko. All the great designers were represented and you got a great overview. Even I saw some things I'd never seen before so if you're in the neighborhood pay it a visit.

The entrance sign

The Fanett chair and Aslak chairs in the background. Designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara.

Mademoiselle chairs in different versions by Ilmari Tapiovaara

Chairs by foreground to background by Ilmari Lappalainen, Ahti Kotikoski and Olli Borg.

Magnificent old posters by Asko. Please write to them - info@indoorgroup.fi - and demand that they either put the print files on their web site or sell the posters at the Asko shops.

A great selection of Wirkkala tables. Some of the table models were designed by Lappalainen but the table tops are Wirkkala's. The table tops are either made with intarsia or with rhythm veneer (that you made propellers out of in the old days) sawed in different ways to create the
patterns.

Anna watching the Lulu chair by Tapiovaara for the Marski Hotel in Helsinki. Behind it is Olli Borg's chair with a black vinyl cover. And furthest in the back is one of the chairs from the silver Wing (Hopeasiipi) series by Esko Pajamies, designed for the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

This is a two-seater sofa from the Bonanza series (yes the name was inspired by the series with the same name) by Esko Pajamies. It must say that this is perhaps the most unappreciated piece of furniture in Finnish design history right now. It was ridiculously expensive when it came in 1965 (equivalent of 2 month salaries my parents told me) and to my knowledge it was the most exclusive furniture you could buy at the time. They were even more expensive than similar Italian, Danish, Swedish sofas or even Kukkapuro's Ateljee sofas (I checked). And now you can buy them for practically nothing. Some things don't just stand the test of time. But I love them, I grew up with them and some day I too will have them in my home.

2008-09-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

My living room on Pleppo.fi

The comic duo Ted & Kaj had a photo session at my place a few months back. And the web site has now launched. Visit them at Pleppo.fi.

2008-08-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

WANTED!

I'm currently looking for these things. So if anyone has some for sale, please hit the email button on my profile and let me know. And that's regardless of the condition, color or size of the furniture.

1. Gae Aulenti's Table with wheels by Fontana Arte

2. Harry Bertoia's Diamond chair with seat cushion by Knoll

3. Yrjö Kukkapuro's Karuselli chair by Haimi or Avarte

4. An LCW chair and low wirebase table by Charles and Ray Eames by either Herman Miller or Vitra

2008-03-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

ASKO

The furniture company Asko hits 90 years this year. Over time they have developed into a moderate design store with practically the same furniture like everyone else. But there was a time when Asko stood for innovativity, style and in particular good design.

In the 60's and 70's it was the largest manufacturer of furniture in the Nordic countries with stores from Sweden to Germany. It started with Maija Heikinheimo, continued with Ilmari Tapiovaara and progressed over the years to among others Stefan Lindfors. In between there was Esko Pajamies, Olli Borg, Eero Aarnio, Voitto Haapalainen, Ilmari Lappalainen and Tapio Wirkkala. The chairs, tables and sofas not only landed in Europe but they were also sold to the states. The exported chairs can be noted by the plaques with the text 'Asko Export' or 'Asko Finnternational'.

One can only wonder what would have come out of the world of Asko had there not been an overflooding of low priced MDF-furniture in the late 70's and early 80's. Most of the designs that came from Asko in the 40-70's were forgotten during the 80's and 90's but they are again in fashion as of the new millenium.

2008-03-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

The posters of Knoll

I've always liked the Knoll posters advertising the products of the well-known furniture manufacture. The posters showed Bertoia's, Saarinen's and der Rohe's furniture in a new sometimes comic light.

Herbert Matter was a Swiss-born American photographer and graphic designer known for his pioneering use of photomontage in commercial art. The designer's innovative and experimental work helped shape the vocabulary of 20th-century graphic design. He made some of the posters but there were also other artists.

As I live in Finland it was hard to acquire these posters. However, while browsing the Knoll web site I found that they had published all of them on their site. Unfortunately they were only medium-sized jpegs in 150 dpi so there was no possibility of printing them on a large canvas. But I wrote to them and they were kind enough to send three of the posters in a large 300 dpi version and they now decorate my walls.

The name Knoll is imaginatively spelled out by combining colors and letters on top of each other.

The poster depicts the Saarinen Tulip chair. I haven't been able to find out who the lady in the picture is though.

For some reason the poster turned blue (maybe it was the cmyk). Anyway is shows Bertoia's Diamond chairs from above.

And here they are on my walls. Great posters.

2008-01-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Look-what-I-found-and-I-
paid-virtually-nothing-for-it post

First out:

A table lamp from the 40's or 50's. Don't know who designed it or even where it is from. I removed the paint (it had been first painted in blue and then poorly in white) and the original black paint somehow remained. Had to repaint the cast iron foot though and oil the wooden handle. Works and looks great!
10 €

An Austrian floor vase from the 60's or 70's. Amazing surface.
5 €

A Remmi chair from the 70's by Yrjö Kukkapuro. Made by Haimi. Original brown leather in excellent condition. In fact it looked as if it had never been used. Amazing.
60 €

Eight original Bertoia side chairs. They were in a terrible shape though so I'll have them repainted. The seller claimed that they were of a first batch ever produced but it is still to be verified.
75 € / chair

A Variatio chair by Yrjö Kukkapuro. In production by Avarte from -86 to -88 so they are a rarity. A future sought after piece of furniture if you ask me.
30 €

A Boman table by 'B. Eriksson' dated -45. I bought it in the spur of the moment knowing having seen a similar one somewhere. And yes, another table with a flower painting top dated -45 had been sold at a design dealer in Helsinki. That table was painted by Hilkka-Liisa Ahola - a well known ceramic artist at Arabia. There is however no references to a B. Eriksson in any books and neither the Arabia museum nor the industrial school of arts could help me. I've done some research of my own and I suspect it could be Birger Kaipiainen. This based on the drawing style and the shape of the B. Why he would write Eriksson I don't know. If it is Kaipiainen's were talking about a major find. Could anyone shed any light on this?
80 €

Four Italian booklets by Abitare. Lots of hand drawn images of furniture classics from the 20's up until 1987 when these came out. Now I only have to find the rest of the series.
5 €

I helped out with some photography at a local elderly home and got these as a gift. They are Finel / Arabia containers with graphics by Esteri Tomula. Kindness always pays off.
Free

An "A" sign from the old Finnish Merita bank headquarters. I installed some led lights and a switch, and voila - we have a mood lamp.
40 €

A 1930's functional stool by Pauli Blomstedt. Marked Merivaara.
30 €

Two chairs by Olli Borg - reminiscent of the Eero Saarinen Executive's chair.
20 €

Two poorly repainted Alvar Aalto stools. You can't get enough of them as they are really useful for parties. One does wonder though how many have injured themselves standing on one of these three-legged wobbly things.
4 €

A large copper lamp by Stockmann Orno. I'm guessing Lisa Johansson-Pape or Yki Nummi. I'd go with the former. Copper is all the rage again since designers have started using the material in new products and this one will fit just perfectly in the living room.
5 €

A ceramic monkey by Arabia. Maybe by Michael Schilkin or someone else. He was just sitting there covering his ears and I was hoping there would be two more. But there wasn't.
0,5 €

A set of Arabia Ruska for 10 people. Ruska by Ulla Procope is just right for those cold, windy autumn evenings when you just want to stay inside and drink tea.
45 €

An IKEA Vilbert chair by Verner Panton from 1994. The design was perhaps too radical for IKEA shoppers and not that many were sold, making them rare to find today.
25 €

Loads and loads of vintage design magazines and brochures from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, The US (mostly MoMA), Germany and Italy. I found them all at a thrift shop in Helsinki and they had been left there by relatives of a wealthy traveling family with a design interest. I sat for hours going through them and picked out about a hundred, but had to finally leave for an appointment. I'm going to scan some of them and add them to my web site soon but if anyone is interested in certain publications I'll happily send them to you (no point in buying them at outrageous prices on Ebay).

2 € / magazine (- a 20 % discount with my student card at the time)

A graceful table by Ilmari Lappalainen for Asko 1956. It's quite rare I think.
5 €

An art noveau side table by Louis Sparre marked with Borgå and the squirrel logo. It has the Finnish railways logo carved on the sides so it must have been specially ordered. It was reserved when I found it but the previous buyer hadn't picked it up so they sold it to me.
10 €

A Danish Kevi office chair with leather seat. The seller claimed it was designed by Alvar Aalto. Must have been mr Aalto's metal, plastic and leather period in that case.
50 €

This one is not exactly design but it is a find nevertheless. The hockey club of a young Linus Torvalds who later became the founder of Linux, the free operating system. As some may know he was born in Finland and I bought it from his mother at a flee market in Helsinki. She was kind enough to send me a certificate of authenticity with an adorable picture of a young Linus.
10 €

2 x Stefan Lindfors three-legged chairs designed for the Finnish industrial school of arts. Real rare ones with armrests.
150 € for two

My worst miss was missing out on two Jacobsen Egg chairs for practically nothing. The ad is in Finnish so I'll translate.
" Two Arne Jacobsen Egg chairs, 1956, some damages, fake leather, 130 € per chair"
I usually get up at 7:30 AM on Saturdays to read the paper and the classifieds. This one day.. this one day! I decided I'll sleep and when I woke up at 9:00 I see this:

I threw myself on the phone but the line was busy. No wonder. Later in the evening, knowing they the chairs were sold, I called the number and an elderly lady answered. I asked her why she would put such a ridiculously low price on them and she just answered that she had gotten them in the 60's as a gift an always felt ashamed by them. She didn't like their style. I have never really gotten over it. And as you can see I kept the ad to remind me.

Three teak bowls by the little known Finnish designer Eino Mattila. The largest one is 40 cm across and I've bought them all at separate occasions.
5 € for the large one, 10 € for the middle one and 20 € for the small one.

A Nordmende Spectra Futura Radio designed by Rodolfo Bonetto. The guy who sold it to me was sure that it was from the 40's. He just wouldn't listen.
40 €

Four Arne Jacobsen 3107-chairs with armrests. Found them at an flea market in Ostrobotnia in 2005. The family I bought them from had about 20 of them from a passenger ship that cruised in the south of Finland.
140 € for all

A rare exhibition table by Antti Nurmesniemi (it turned out to be in bad shape though. I could actually have bought three of them, only a handful were made for exhibitions) Here is one in the home of the Nurmesniemis.
100 €

Two 'Airbag' chairs by Ilkka Suppanen from the first collection by Valvomo.
150 €

A Richard Sapper 9091 kettle from 1983
8 €

Two Lukki chairs by Ilmari Tapiovaara from 1954
12 €

A table lamp from Taito by Paavo Tynell from the 40's
5 €

A large set of Swedish interior decorating magazines from the 60's
2 €

A dining set by Risto Halme from the 60's
55 €

A red Ericsson cobra phone from the 60's
5 €

A set of Spisa Ribb by Stig Lindberg from 1952
25 € (couldn't believe my eyes)

That's all for now. But there's lots more to show so check in soon.

And if you have any good finds of your own, do comment!

2008-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Viljo Revell

I'm back. After a pause of a year and a half. There just hasn't been much time. Or maybe I'm lazy.

I thought I'd start again by showing my apartment a writing a few lines about the much forgotten architect Viljo Revell. He just happens to have drawn the house I'm living in as well.

He also drew the critized Sausage house and the acclaimed Glass Palace and the Palace Hotel.

The apartment

The view from the hall to the livingroom

The view from the livingroom to the hall

A section of the livingroom

Another section of the livingroom

A view of the kitchen from the livingroom
The bedroom is at the other end

A view of the kitchen from the bedroom

I live in Vaasa, where Mr Revell is born, and he also drew the town center called Rewell Center.

2006-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

LINKING

I will in this post list a couple of links that I check regularly for updates

The Finnish design museum

The museum hosts several exhibitions per year and they never disappoint. They have a permanent departement but their current exhibition deals with the 125 year anniversary of the Finnish glass company Iittala. Be sure to visit their store and café.

www.finnishdesign.fi

Finnishdesign is a site with links and resources for Finnish design. It was put up due to the new interest in design in 2004. The site is supported by the design industry in Finland. You want contact information - you find it here. You want to know what's happening in the field - you find it here.

Finnish Design Shop
The best way to find new (and old) Finnish design products is to shop here. They have a news letter and an easily navigated layout. They ship internationally. Go crazy if you can afford it.

Tomorrow's Antique

The main seller of modern design in Finland. Decent prices and a good selection. And the owner Esa Väisänen is nice. He ships internationally. There are sections with Tynell, Tapiovaara, Aalto and Kukkapuro. Well worth a visit in Helsinki if you have the time. There are several other design dealers in the Hietalahti hall where TA is located.

Huuto.net

The Finnish Ebay. It is only in Finnish but you can either directly go to Antiikki ja taide -> Taideteollisuus -> Design and go through all the listings. Or you can search the whole site for what you're looking for by clicking Haku. You have to register though to be able to participate in the bidding. The prices can be quite reasonable and it's fairly easy to do finds.

Designaddict

A must. If you didn't find it anywhere else you will find it here. They have all the listings whether it's news, shops or whatever you're lokking for. Check out the classifieds as well.

www.architonic.com

Architonic provides you with information on the products of different companies and designers. They have a wide selection of vintage products and products currently in production. In six languages! Enjoy.

2006-06-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

THE EARLESS CUP

Arabia, the still active Finnish porcelain factory in Finland, renews itself now and then. One of their main designers in the early 60's, Göran Bäck, was assigned the task of making a new saucer-cup combination and in 1963 the cup was put into production. Bäck did not want the cup to have the traditional handle and made only a ring that would prevent the user from burning their hands. This was not only estetic but also highly functional as five to six cups could be stacked on top of each other without them toppling over. It is hard to imagine that the cup was designed as early as it was.

The model bore the model number DA and was produced up until 1972. You seldom see it now and you practically never see the saucers. According to certain sources this is due to the fact that the saucer was too flat and it slipped through the drying cabinet's plateholders breaking on the kitchen sink.

You see the cups in white and the pattern as the one in the first picture: "Kanerva". Others were painted with a golden ring or hand painted with different patterns.

An altogether brilliant cup that feels as modern today as it was in 1963. Göran Bäck worked at Arabia from 1948 until 1986.

2006-06-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

DIETER RAMS

In 1957 Dieter Rams, a german industrial designer, develops the modular Atelier 1 series with L1 speakers separated from the receiver unit, an innovation that soon became an industry standard.

I found this one by chance. Almost every day I passed a second hand shop specialized in religious books but they also sell other merchandise given to them. In their window they had the Rams Aterlier 1 top unit and I stopped every time to look at it but I never went in. There was a 65 € pricetag on it. Time went by and it did not disappear from the window so one day I went in. I took a good look at it and decided to buy it. At the counter the saleswoman asked whether I wanted the speakers as well. What speakers I asked. Could it be? And behold, there were the accompaning speakers. I was thrilled to say the least. The personnel assured me that the unit had been stored in a warm house and that it was fully functional. It had belonged to the principal at a religious school in my city. I took the unit home and eagerly plugged it in. At first nothing happened. Then the display lights went off and on. And then there was smoke. A lot of smoke. I concluded that I had been deceived. Not intentionally but still. I took the stereo, went to the local repair shop and asked for it to be fixed, if possible. A week later the guy calls me and instantly asks me where the stereo had been kept. I asked why and he replied that much of the interior was gone, eaten by mice. We had a good laugh and he informed me he would fix it for 90 €. And that was it. It now runs perfectly and sounds great. Quality German design by Dieter Rams. And it made a good story.

2006-04-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

THE HOME OF
Tapio Wirkkala

Born in 1915. Studied sculpture at the Central School of Arts and Crafts 1934-36. Married to Rut Bryk. Participations in foreign exhibitions: Stockholm 1947, Scandinavia, Zurich, Milan 1951, Great Britain, The U.S.A. and Canada 1952-1954. Worked for Karhula Iittala, Asko, Kultakeskus and Rosenthal. Was influenced by nature and used glass, wood and metal in his objects.

The Wirkkala home in 1948

The Wirkkala home in 1959

2006-04-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

ASKO BROCHURE

I found an old Finnish Asko brochure from the early 60's. Where has all this furniture gone?

2006-04-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

MoMA

MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art was founded in 1929 to preserve the cultural heritage and make modern art accessible to the common man. The founders, among them John D. Rockefeller, Jr, wanted to create: "the greatest museum of modern art in the world".

The Museum of Modern Art's collection has grown to include over 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architectural models and drawings, and design objects. MoMA also owns approximately 22,000 films and four million film stills, and MoMA's Library and Archives, the premier research facilities of their kind in the world, hold over 300,000 books, artist books, and periodicals, and extensive individual files on more than 70,000 artists.

My own interest lies in the fact that I stumbled upon old MoMa catalogues from the 40's and 50's. I was visiting a second-hand recycle center in Helsinki in 2004 and found a handful copies of 70's architectural magazines. While going through them a member of the staff asked me whether I would like to see the rest of them. He led me down to the basement, where they stored goods not yet displayed in the shop. He pulled out a chair for me and said that they had just gotten in eight boxes of magazines from a elderly Finnish couple that had recently passed away and that I could take my time going through them. I started opening the boxes and quickly realized that this was a once in a lifetime moment. It dawned on me that this was a well traveled, educated group of people's private collection of magazines from the 1940's to the 1970's. There were catalogues and magazines in Swedish, Finnish, Danish, German, French, English and other dealing with art, design, architecture, you name it. I started going through them and spent two hours doing so. All in all, I bought about a hundred publications but I still regret that I did not buy more. Well anyway, I post some of the MoMa brochures for you here.

MoMA hosts one of the largest selection of design products in their online shop - check it out

Looking forward to visting the museum some day ourselves.

2006-03-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

OBJECTS FORGOTTEN

There are quite a few things we would like to be taken into production again. Over the years many forgotten classics, such as Aarnios ball chair, have been rediscovered after the market created a demand for them. But we will list our selection here:

Olavi Hänninens chair for the Hotel Palace Café:

Olavi Hänninen, born 1920, studied industrial design and got work at the departement store Stockmann in 1948 where he drew interiors for the furniture section. Finland was to host the olympic games in 1952 and a hotel by the name of Palace was created in order to host the large amount of people that would arrive. In the hotel there was a café and for this café, Hänninen drew chairs. The chair consisted of a metal structure with an acrylic seat. And these chairs do not exist anymore. They have vanished. I do not know whether they were ever taken into larger production or if only the small batch for the café were made. The hotel was renovated on two occasions but the café still exists. As often happens with renovations, the interior gets thrown away and I believe this is what happened. If someone knows any more about it please inform me.

The chair is also listed here as an acrylic chair.

Merivaara functionality furniture and plywood stools

Merivaara is nowadays a hospital equipment manufacturing company but it used to be a forerunner in functional design of the 20's and 30's with the designs of Pauli Blomstedt. Later it also produced the 1950's furniture of Ilmari Tapiovaara and Antti Nurmesniemi. In the 1960's Ola Kettunen designed a series of chairs made out of bent plywood. There were armchairs, rocking chairs and stools. It is the stool that we especially like. Simplicity in action. A bent seat. Two cut out holes. Black legs. Exquisite.

You can see examples of their functionality furniture here and here as the Helsinki university has scanned some of the publications they have in stock. Nice to see that some of our tax-euros are well spent.

These are only two of many things we wish could exist again. We will add more later.

On a happy note: Arabia has taken Birger Kaipianen's Apila into production again. Designed in 1971, it quickly disappeared from the shelves and it became a rarity on the second hand market. It is only sold to the end of this year, so hurry up!

2006-03-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

PALASET

I first started collecting Palaset (Bits/Pieces) when I saw that Antti and Vuokko Nurmesniemi had built a system of shelves with them. They must at least had one hundred of them.

The man behind the boxes is Ristomatti Ratia. He is the son of Armi Ratia, the founder of Marimekko. A plastic producing company in Finland, Treston Oy, struck a deal with Ristomatti on creating something new for the factory in Turku. A product that could utilize the moulds that the factory specialized in. The year was 1972.

The idea with Palaset was to create a custom storage system for homes of different sizes. The cubes could be bought individually and with different accessories. The boxes could be fitted with other boxes inside so that you could build your own system. Everything came in the colors white, brown, yellow, red and green. Smaller boxes for office supply use were also available. Palaset were exported in enormous amounts and they became hugely popular nationally as well. Then the oil crisis occured.

In the early 80's Ristomatti Ratia updated Palaset using a different plastic and they were again taken into production for a while. They were however not as good as the original.

I currently own 42 boxes and I'm still buying them. I've acquired most of them as single boxes but I've also bought them in packs at auctions. People have started to realize their value and you seldom see them now. This is somewhat strange considering the amounts that were produced.

An updated picture on some of the cubes. I'm up to 54 now - August 2008.

2006-03-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

EGO

In May of 1996, the ceramic company Arabia approached Stefan Lindfors with a proposition. Lindfors, then in his early thirties, had already shown himself to be a bold designer with an eye for what's next. They wanted him to design a new set of cups. Cups for a new generation of coffee consumers.

Lindfors took on the challenge and the mouthwatering result was presented to the public in Frankfurt in 1998. The cups came in three sizes and they were to be called Ego. Beauty and functionality in one package. The small cups were for espresso, the middle for coffee and the large for latté. The cup together with its handle fit snuggly into the saucer and the saucer fit onto the next cup if stacked on top of each other. The different sized cups also fit onto each other. The series was completed with plates and bowls in the year 2000. The color of the series is white but as one can see in the pictures, the espresso cup was temporarily decorated with a bull's head in black. Supposedly modelled after the designer. You can see where he came up with the name of the cups.

We drink our coffee with these cups. Not tea, not coco, just coffee. That's what they are made for. Whenever we go abroad and need to bring presents from Finland, we bring these. We just love them. Let us congratulate Stefan on a work well done.

Arabia Ego cups are easily acquired via the web at Finnish Design Shop.

2006-03-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

TEAK

Antoher one of our favorites of the past century is objects in teak, rosewood and other nobel variants of wood. Since teak is endangered it is no longer freely available and the teak we see now is grown, making it expensive. In the late 40's/early 50's up until the 70's, teak and other types of darker wood became available to furniture manufacturers in the western world. Teak had previously been used by shipbuilders for it's unique advantages when in contact with water, but it was now being put to use for other things because of it's exotic nature. It was also seen as a durable material that suited for use in everyday things.

Teak came at a point when a postwar prosperous world wanted something new. The swelling conflict in Korea and Indochina locally requiered new roads and campsites, and trees were cut down and cheaply exported to among others the Nordic countries. During the 50's and 60's is was favoured in furniture production and the Danes came to be known for it's high quality tables, chairs and sofas. One could mention Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner.

Teak and rosewood was not extensively used in Finland but you can still find some furniture from the time. Finland was accustomed to light types of wood such as birch and pine and these were more often used, but teak was sometimes replicated by darkening light wood. There was not a large production of bowls and other products in teak but perhaps Backman was one that stands out. You can find objects made by local Finnish entrepreneurs in small scale. Teak and rosewood was however sometimes used in lamps and as a compliment to metal and plastic in chairs, trays and other products. Sweden and Denmark had a far superior production of teakobjects.

I buy all the original teak I can get my hands on - bowls, sculptures, candleholders and so on. There will not be a similar period in a long time.

2006-03-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

ENAMEL

Always when I find designed enameled items, I buy them . There used to be a large production of enamel in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark but no more. Finnish Finel, Swedish Kockums and Catrineholm , Norwegian Emalox and Danish Torben Ørskov all made beautiful objects that are sought after today. Especially enameled signs are valued among collectors.

Enamel is created by applying glass in powder form to a metal, ceramic or glass surface and heating it at high temperatures. This creates a hard, durable surface which can stand most outside stress. These abilities made it popular in kitchenware, outdoor surfaces and other objects that had to stand e.g. heat and strong weather. The practice of making enamel has been known for thousands of years.

It was only later in the mid 20th century that enamel started to be used on other objects as well. Artists found that one could use enamel to create beautiful jewellery, table tops and household objects. The furniture section at the great department store NK in Stockholm sold great tables in enamel by artists such as Algot Törneman and Stig Lindberg. See an example by Lindberg here.

In Finland designers such as Antti Nurmesniemi and Kaj Franck used enamel as a way of creating new modern objects that gave a splash of colour to the perhaps grey existence. Later Heikki Orvola and Bertel Gardberg also used enamel for kitchen objects. Franck won the Grand Prix at the Triennale in Milano in 1957 for his colourful bowls in five different sizes.

Let's hope there will be a new wave of enamel sweeping over us soon.

2006-03-02T12:13:00.000-08:00

THE NURMESNIEMI POT

One of our favorite objects is Antti Nurmesniemi's pot from 1957. It came in two different sizes in the colours red, yellow, brown, blue, dark blue, white, selected by his wife Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi. Inside there was a filter for brewing coffee, resulting in many of the pots you find today having a brown interior.

The pot is enamelclad iron with a plastic handle and top. The handle is placed so as not to get too hot when kept on the stove. It was very modern for its time and still is. Nurmesniemi was contacted by Wärtsilä, a engine maker and former owner of among others Arabia, to create a new product for the factories in Pietarsaari in Ostrobotnia, Finland as orders were at a low at the plant. The pot became a huge success and was manufactured well into the 1970's. Nurmesniemi himself said this about it: "it is one of few household products of its time that bridged the increasing gap between city and countryside"

I remember a time when the pots were quite easily found a fleamarkets and other places but today they have almost um but disappeared. This is perhaps due to a increasing domestic interest into 50's design but I also believe that it can be blamed on certain individuals shipping them abroad to e.g. Japan, where pots can fetch up to 150 €. I wish we could protect our artifacts better and not be sorry in 50 years.

The pot has recently been relaunched in a series of 2500 pots in 10 colours. The web page is here. The price is 159 € (but you get a t-shirt as well)

2006-02-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

KAUNIS KOTI (Beautiful Home) was first issued in 1948 as a trade magazine for the growing handicraft industry in Finland. It was however also directed at the general public, which in the postwar years had more money to spend on interior decorating. The magazine finally merged with the still existing Avotakka (Open fireplace) in 1972 and a excellent publication was terminated. Over the years people such as J.S. Siren, Yki Nummi, Antti Nurmesniemi, Tapio Wirkkala, Kaj Franck, Olof Ottelin, Ilmari Tapiovaara and many more contributed to the magazine with texts, drawings and photographs, giving their views on the emergence of Finnish design.

The magazine urged for beautiful but cheap everyday goods for the people and reported national news but also international events. With the Finnish success at the Triennales in the 1950's and 60's the magazine became more bold and artistic in it's appearance and the covers are often pieces of art in itself.

There used to be a well organized site on design at www.kotikaunis.fi but it was closed for unknown reasons. Please mail wmhost and ask them to contact the contributor and demand for it to be reopened.

The images show the first and the last issue of Kaunis Koti