a proposal for 2012:

Even if great design museums like the Neue Sammlung in Munich (with it's large collection) or the Design Museum London (with its retrospectives) are in big European countries. The most activities in contemporary design come from smaller European countries like the Netherlands or Finland.

A proposal started to celebrate in Finland the "World Design Capital 2012". We have exclusivly the proposal for download.

Link to download the .doc document of the initiative

The 2009 biannual Habitare

The 2009 biannual Habitare fair (Weblink) of Helsinki finished last weekend. Habitare 09 was a joyful event that took place at the biggest exhibition venue of Helsinki; an extra large box to be filled with the best Finnish and plenty of international design can offer.

In fact internationalisation was evident in the presence of numerous projects wherein Finnish joined forces with foreign creative agents. See the case of the beautiful furniture designed by glocal talents Mikko Paakkanen and Naoto Niidome for the Japanese furniture company magaru, or the Italian company MAGIS with their colourful exhibits from legendary Eero Aarnio (pappy/stool, toy) and Oiva Toikka (paradise tree/cloth hanger) but also Javier Mariscal’s Villa Julia (play house). Skanno is one of the Finnish Companies with a long lasting footprint on the design world. It is a family business run since 1946 and going strong into the new millennium. The presentation of Skanno included their own line of furniture and some of the classic favourites of the house that they are going to get back into production, such as the Bomba armchair by Hillevi Sepponen from 1954, or the Lago table by anonymous from the 60s. Skanno is also taking into production strong ideas by new up-and-coming international designers, such as Tsutomu Mutoh with his playful high-tech lambs. The company is getting a new flagstore in the centre of Helsinki and launches a full scale interior design service. I must thank Shoreh Tervanen and Zeina Naso two of the in-house designers of Skanno who enthusiastically showed me around Skannos’ exhibits.

There were many projects that caught my attention in Habitare 09: the wooden lambs by Secto Design; the winning hanging chair by Samuli Naamanka; the very interesting exhibition design at savo a company specialising in kitchen appliances and lighting; the IGLOO book selves system by Linda Bergroth; Anna-Mari Vierikko’s lambs; the minimalistic designs from the brand Selki-Asema; NOUNOU design and Anu Penttinen’s “city plan” retro glass relief for the wall; the excellent project of the 15 designers’ collective called Design Migration; the slick furniture by the company Rintala; the classic and beautifully crafted wooden coffee table by late Ilmari Tapiovaara revisited for Aero; the essential mökki (cottage) by Naoto Niidome for Aamon a project with of far-east simplicity and spiritualism perfectly suiting Finnish back-to-the-basics style. Indeed there is not enough space here to go through the powerful display of design creativity in Habitare 2009. Before closing, though, I must add that sauna is a theme that is time and again revisited by Finnish designers.

It is in a way playing with the theme of Finnishness. This year too there were a few examples of studies on the Finnish sauna; the ones I visited were thoughtful examples of design amplifying the experience of sauna … right back to its essence, whatever that is.

Enjoy the photos!

Michail Galanakis

HABITARE, Helsinki 2009

Design vs. Art

How often design is confused with art and how often art is inspired by design? Michail Galanakis collected some impressions at the Art Fair Suomi 08:

On Thursday the 11th of September there was the opening of the Finnish Art Fair 2008. Venue was the famous Cable Factory and the organizers (MUU artists’ association) managed to put together a terrific show. Admittedly here reigns photographic art but contemporary, experimental, exciting. Painting was almost absent, and only a few attempts for sculptures. Video and performative arts were also present. Could this signify the trivialization of the art scene? Or simply the desire of the artists for reproducible less time consuming pieces that can sell at reasonably high prices in these times of artistic pluralism (saturation?) and foreseeable economic crisis? In any case it seems to work! There was certainly a commercial interest motivated by the wide artistic offer and its affordability. The highlight of the opening was the performances of London based Finnish artist HK. With her funny uncomplicated lyrics and staging she comments on popular culture and sexualisation. Briefly my impression of the fair is this: Finnish artists often demonstrate a dark idiosyncrasy; the “put-a-smile-on-your-face” occasions though do take place and consist of the instances when Finnish dryness and quirkiness make their defining artistic splash. For more: www.artfairsuomi.fi

by Michail Galanakis


Link to the complete picture gallery

Design Week Helsinki 2007 #3 the habitare fair

The Design Week Helsinki is running the same time as the HABITARE, the biggest Finnish furniture and interior design fair. Michail Galanakis visited the fair on 23th September:

I waited the last day to visit Habitare 07. Already the reputation of ahead! had spread: this was the part most interesting regarding new concepts, experimental design and fresh outlooks. Most of the pictures that accompany this text are from ahead! and concerned design production companies, design associations and manufacturers (showroom Finland: verso design, secto design, selki-asema, Formverk, Rintala interiors, adora textiles, the Artisans, Designers and Artists Cooperative of Fiskars, onoma art, and more), design schools and their stands (Turku University of Applied Sciences, Lahti Institute of Design, University of Lapland and University of Art and Design Helsinki), and the “container village”. The last was a conglomeration of cargo containers, each housing an exhibit-installation of Finnish or international designers, such as Jurgen Bay, Ola Kolehmainen, Bruno Borrione, Ludi Architects, Ilkka Suppanen, Jasper Morrison & Naoto Fukasawa, and the Diesel Creative team of Renzo Rosso.

My overall impression of ahead! is that once again one of the most favored themes of aspiring design exhibitions was the CHAIR. I find the theme unchallenging although it sells enormously. The Lahti Institute of Design had a conceptual aspiration to present an ambiance as a design
product. Lahti’s room though because of its product vacuum was attracting very little visitors; in other words it wasn’t selling well. In ahead! one could find interesting design pieces with a certain dignity in the use of material, the execution of the design and the purity of the design itself. One could find austere Finnish design furniture and objects, as well as more playful ones by the younger
generation of designers; however, a fair is a fair and all is a consumption trick. Paradoxically, it is when this trick is invested withdifferent layers of meaning that it sells best. I felt this with the
“container village.” All an all ahead! was not that innovative, but it transmitted the tranquil reassurance that things are not stale but rather promising (regarding aesthetics, creativity and economic viability).

Final note: Design for People vs. People for Design
Finland is not famous for its customer services (funny to say that to Greeks who are neither particularly polite). There are instances that justify this ill reputation as well as graceful exceptions. While admiring the exhibits of the furniture manufacturer Piiroinen, I tried the resized classic chair PK1. A metal part in the back rest was protruding and I hit slightly my upper back. The representative of the company came to talk to me. I explained my reserve about the chair. The tired young woman looked at me with her smiling face and told me with the most natural way: your body is wrong for the chair; we haven’t heard this complain by anyone else. She found hard to accept that maybe there was a small design issue to improve especially since the chair was enlarged 6% from the original design.
I am one of those believing that Design for All is a fad, although it does create awareness, especially amongst designers, about our discriminatory misconceptions. However, it is one think to hear that an object is not suitable for oneself and quite another to hear that oneself is not suitable for an inanimate object.


Michail Galanakis, UIAH Helsinki (email:Michail.Galanakis@taik.fi)

See also our great picture album from the fair:

HABITARE, Helsinki 2007

Links:
www.habitare.fi
www.piiroinen.com
www.thorsen.dk

Design Week Helsinki 2007 #2

The Helsinki Design week is an annual event and is organized since 2005.

Kari Korkman is the soul behind of it all and calls himself I think a design producer is a very nice and approachable person. My only question about these events is that they are one off every year and take place all together in the end of summer beginning of autumn. In the dark winter months very little is happening (apart from the Forces of Light that have been shrinking every year). On the other hand, as Helsinki is a small capital and Finland in general has a strong tradition and appreciation of design, you can imagine that everything that is happening is showcasing in Helsinki.

By this I mean that there are a lot design shops, galleries, and design is more or less part of every day life for the middle class. It is interesting though that for instance Marimekko which is a legendary brand has a huge range of products to fulfill needs and desires of lower income earners too. As I say: there is no household without at least one Marimekko product. From my perspective Finnish designers are somehow trying to overcome the conventions of Finnish design and without losing their distinct identity to become more international. Multiculturalism in this small country is a big issue, as NOKIA expands and internationalization worries especially peoples of recent nations.
Michail Galanakis, UIAH Helsinki (email:Michail.Galanakis@taik.fi)

see also the post below

Design Week Helsinki 2007 #1: Design Partners

Tuesday 18th of September, there was the public opening of the exhibition of Design Partners 07, in the famous Cable Factory (multifunctional space old cable factory) in Helsinki. Link to the exhibition

The organizers promised, as in previous years, a point of communication and relaxed interaction. Big names of Finnish design and industry, and new talents co-exist and the effect is a design wonderland, with smaller and bigger surprises. All design fields are represented here; industrial, ceramic, interior, fashion and textile, furniture, and architecture. Panel talks, side exhibitions, like the one with the biggest names of French design, are all enriching an institution such as the design partners, part of Helsinki Design Week.
My favorites were the mobile lamp by Mikko Pakkanen, the silk cocoon and latex lamps, the concrete bench incorporating old fabrics and high technology. Interesting was the IKEA fashion collection where IKEA sponsored fashion and interior design creating an atmospheric living room.

Michail Galanakis, UIAH Helsinki (email:Michail.Galanakis@taik.fi)

See also our picture album from the exhibition:

Design Partners, Helsinki 2007

FACTS
Helsinki Design Week is an event for designers and consumers
arraged for the third time (2005, 2006,2007).
It is combined with the "Habitare" furniture fair and the
"Architecture and Design Day"