On the Pier. Summer Fun, Angling.

Greetings from the Summer Holiday. It’s been a while when I last posted anything here. Spring was so hectic in work I didn’t have any time for this poor blog. Too bad.

Then came the blessed summer holiday and the cottage life in Finland countryside. The countryside life is surrounded by nature. That includes angling and fishing, eating the fish caught from the lake and blueberries from the woods. This year we had a lot of sunshine and it was a pleasure to jump into the lake swimming several times in a day. Rare delicacy in these levels as Finland.

I haven’t seen much interesting street style lately. Therefor I’m sharing some images from summer sketchbooks. In the image above is my daughter angling. Dressed in all time classic Nokia Kontio -rubber boots (first pair made in year 1973), jeans, striped shirt and to the top yellow fisherman’s hat. The color of the hat fits perfectly with the yellow waterlily.

Simple life barefoot, sleeping in a tent to avoid mosquitos. In the evening it was a great pleasure to fall asleep listening the sounds on nature, wind, insects, birds, bees. This is the best way to reduce stress levels in life.

On the Street. Turban Hat Revival, Kamppi, Helsinki.

My steps walked a block amount the same journey with this lady. Interesting combination with the somewhat military style cape and turban hat. All accessories colored to match together perfectly. Saved to mind and drawn later. Check.

There has been a revival of turban hats already a few years. When I was kid it was only senior ladies who used turbans. The ones were made of panther pattern or red vine color tone velvet's. Many times combined with extra amount of black eye liner, emerald green eye shadow and lipstick. In my teen age years I thought that when I am old I start to use turban too.

But as mentioned, why wait old age! Turban hats has truly made it’s way back to women’s heads in all age groups. At least in Helsinki. There is cotton options for summer and merino wool for winter. Not to mention the fact that the turban is perfect accessory for bad hair day.

Where to get your own turban hat?

Herné products in Weecos >
I have bounced in to pretty new Finnish label Herné. It is available in Weecos webshop. It is a label of Heli Väätäinen and based on ecological and ethical values. All her products are hand made in Helsinki.

Ainamuoti Hatshop from Tampere Finland >
Another option found from Internet is Ainamuoti (in English Alwaysinfashion) Hat shop from Tampere Finland. They seem to have pretty decent selection of turbans. Even made of merino wool. If you prefer click your way to English version of the shop on the site.

If you are not familiar with Weecos, sustainable marketplace – it is the best place to find ecological products from Finland. It gathers responsible companies under one platform and gives consumers easy opportunity to make better choices in terms of sustainability. There is a wide variety of products for home, men, women, kids, bags and purses, accessories, jewelry, shoes, beauty and cosmetic products.

Go ahead and make visit to Weecos >

* * *
I’m sharing these tips for pure joy. It is the concept of finnhits in this blog. There is no collaboration with the brands mentioned in this post. Check the finnhits tag below if you like to know more.

On the Street. Vuokko Wool Coat, Kamppi, Helsinki.

In Kamppi bus terminal I stepped out of the bus and saw something bright blue with bold print hurrying in front of me. Of course I made my steps go with her pace and we had this conversation:

”Oh what a wonderful beautiful coat you have!”
”Oh, thanks.”
”Where did you find it?”
”Err, I bought it from UFF secondhand store.”
”Okay, but WHO has made it? It looks so special.”
”Oh, you mean that. It is VUOKKO.”
”There we go, no wonder it looks so great. I suggest you next time tell straight away it is Vuokko-coat and tell secondly that UFF-thing.”
”Yes, you are right. It is great that someone’s trash is another woman’s treasure.”

To you who don’t know Vuokko, it is the label of Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi. She is the designer of the first Marimekko hits and later she created a label of her own. In one interview she said, among other things, that she believes in sustainable development. As a designer she works for continuity rather than trends. Vuokko is still working in the age of 86.

Vuokko has definitely succeeded in her ideas. Marimekko still uses her iconic designs, like Jokapoika -shirt (I have two) and Piccolo-pattern. Just to mention few evergreen items. And this bright blue wool coat was like new! I assume it is maybe originally from 80’s. Sustainable fashion it is, right.

Happy New Year With Marimekko ss 2016

Happy New Year 2016! New Year can be seen as blank cartoon grid that is waiting to be filled during the year. Last October Marimekko presented their ss 2016 collection in Paris Fashion Weeks for the first time ever. It can be seen kind of a new start. The collection is the first one totally lead by the new head of design Anna Teurnell and a fresh breeze from nordic district.

The best part with Marimekko is that the clothes are for everyday life and for every woman no matter what the size may be. Clean minimalist design spiced with characteristic bold patterns is easy going and smart at the same time.

I confess to belong to Marimekko fan club. Marimekko clothes I have in my wardrobe belong to the ones I use the most. Marimekko stands self evidently among the Finnhits-club of Flash For Zonzon. Click the tag finnhits to find out the rest of the heroes.

Ready – Steady – GO
Let’s start filling the empty cartoon grid of year 2016!

Finnhits. Sauna, Marimekko And Hai Rubber Boots.

Healing Holiday
For many Finns after Midsummer begins finally summer holiday time.  A typical Finnish spend their holidays at the cottage by the lake in the middle of nowhere. A cottage is a place where you can breathe a sigh and leave stress and hassle. The daily dose of healing green woods energy starts to affect right away when you step outside the cottage. Sauna belongs to Finnish cottage life all right. It’s best if you can take a dip into the lake from the heat of sauna.

What to do at the cottage
What else besides going to sauna people do in summer cottages? Simple things that are rare to do in city, like angling from the pier, rowing a boat, picking blueberries and mushroom, chopping wood, carrying water from the well, wash dishes by hand, making food with grill and eat outdoors (literally), throw darts, reading books under the tree, stare the life of ants, walk on wooden legs, read old magazines on the attic, carve wooden boats, laze on the dock watching the clouds passing by.

Favorite things
Marimekko is the clothing brand that has a strong pond to Finnish emotion. Like sauna is Finnish so is Marimekko. Therefor I decided to take something from Marimekko SS 2015 -collection to this illustration. This simple shirt dress made of linen would be my favorite summer dress. The beginning of this summer has been filled with rain showers so yellow HAI rubber boots completes the outfit. The umbrella I borrowed from Totoro, the anime charcter of my favorite animated movie.

Visit the Sauna in Helsinki
Frankly it’s not everybody running exited countryside when holidays dawn. Alone the idea of stinging bugs is too much for some. In that case in Helsinki it is possible to enjoy the pleasure of urban sauna in the city. Some with the possibility to swim on the sea. Website Visit Helsinki offers a good list of all the possibilities.

Personally I would like to try Kulttuurisauna. (Culturesauna) The website is a bit rough but I’m sure Kulttuurisauna is worth a visit.

Finnhits. gTIE Attitude Neckwear.

Jenni Ahtiainen, the designer of gTIE is out of the box -thinker. Now it’s time to introduce her brand gTIE in the series of pearls of Finnish Design brand aka Finnhits.

gTIE offers an alternative to people who feel the traditional tie is so seen and boring. It is a brand for people who prefer to be a bit original. gTIE offers innovative neckwear and accessories for men and women. Materials are silk, leather and silver. The attitude is slightly rock and definitely alternative.

She’s won many friends for her design among the celebrities. Her designs have been at the Golden Globes, Oscars, American Music Awards and Eurovision Song Contest.

The products are manufactured in Finland homeland territory. The materials are used effectively to the last scrap. Craftsmanship is close to Jenni’s heart despite the design nature of her brand. She is definitely the one that is not contented just thinking of doing. I her own words: I will go down in history as the woman who revolutionized neckwear.

I visited the gTIE shop. It is decorated with all kinds of antique lamps, mirrors, chairs, clocks. Craftsmanship is important part of the space itself. I was told that the origin of the stuff was her mothers antique shop. And really, when I think of gTIE products it has kind of historical aspect although it same time feels modern. If the surroundings in the childhood has been filled with antique furniture, it must have had some influence to the esthetics Jenni is after in these days.

The lady in the first illustration is actually street style. I met her in Old Students House in Helsinki and was absolutely thrilled about the style she had drawn her eyebrows high on the forehead. White and pale as valkyrie and dressed in black. And truly, she had the gTIE Jack the Noble Pirate around her neck.

Here we come to the end of this fan post.
Now if you'd like to find out more about gTIE click your way to gTIE website and webshop .
gTIE store in Helsinki you can find at Unioninkatu 27.

Catwalk. Belt Ideas for SS 2015.

Looking through the Vogue SS2015 catalog I found some nice ideas for the belt as accessory. Dior had leather belts with whip-like tail. Saint Laurent had this red wide front tie belt. Especially in summer it is easy to alter the look of simple one color dress with using different types of belts.

Finnish designer Jukka Rintala had a little same kind on front tie belt in his collection last summer. It had borrowed the appearance of men in tuxedo belt. Although the feeling was way more feminine. In this case the belt strips are knotted in a bow tie.

This kind of cloth belt could be made as a diy-project. To measure the right length you can use a long rope or ribbon that it would go twice round the body plus the length that the bow tie needs.

On the Street. Street Credible HAI Rubber Boots, Vallila, Helsinki.

I spotted this lady in Vallila Emmaus Thrift Store. It was a refreshing change to see some colour, when the majority of the people in Helsinki dress in dark shades. In her feet she had the very street credible bright yellow Hai rubber boots.

It’s nice that in these days of globalization, when almost same products can be found in every big city around the world, there is still some islands of national style icons. Finland one such iconic piece of clothing is HAI rubber boots (HAI-saappaat) made by Nokian Footwear. Designed in 1967 by architect Esko Lahesmaa the model has stayed true to the original design ever since.

Lahesmaa was challenged to design a rubber boot that would be perfect for boating. As a sailor himself he knew the properties that a rubber boot should have in sailing circumstances. Quick-drying polyester lining, firm grip of the outsole (ideal for yachting), light-coloured rubber outsole leaves no traces to the deck of a boat. Low and wide stem makes it easy to move around the boat and – if knocked overboard – allow easily get rid of the boots.

The name of the boot came after a certain boat model called Hai, which Lahesmaa had sailed a lot of his youth. Hai means Shark in english.

If you want to try out Instagram photos for tag #haisaappaat you will notice the huge love that Finns feel about HAI rubber boots.

Now I’d like to know if you have some similar style icon in your country. Like HAI rubber boots are in Finland. Time after time super popular item and not necessarily very well known abroad. Share your ideas on comment box below.

Links and sources:
Nokian Footwear, since 1898, story
Hai rubber boots
Hai-saapas, Wikipedia
Hai (keelboat),Wikipedia

On the Street. Resembling Little My, Lauttasaari, Helsinki.

In Finland last Saturday was the endpoint to this school year. The kids get their school certificates and freedom from school begins, lasting two and a half moths. It's the point when people dress up. I saw this little angry fashionista in my daughter's prize day. Little girls are shameless in showing their moods. This contrast is juicy.

She is certainly one character that Tove Jansson would have been interested in. At least to me she looks like relative to Little My.

Right now we are having a wonderful exhibition of Tove Jansson at Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tove Jansson (1914–2001). Many of us know her art from Moomin characters and stories. But in this exhibition there is so much more: paintings, murals, political caricatures, films, 3D tableaus of Moomin scenes. And of course the original ink drawings of Moomin-books.

Also, to celebrate this anniversary, a special the "Tove 100" website is open. If you can't come to Helsinki, there is several happenings concerning Tove around the world this year. Check up the Calendar section from the website.

It is funny that even though the exhibition has a huge amount of artwork, the one picture that stays in my mind is a little drawing of a little girl that walks crocodile twice her size. A thin rope is between the two.

Finnhits. Ahonen & Lamberg at Design Forum Showroom.

Right now we are having an exhibition of Finnish Graphic Designer of the Year 2014 in Helsinki at Design Forum Showroom. Flash For Zonzon wants to celebrate this occasion by making an fictional portrait of the powerful team of two creative women Ahonen & Lamberg.

Their company is based in Paris but as they say the tradition and values in Finnish design shows in their work. You know the clean lines, Scandinavian design etc. Also they do design symbiotically bouncing ideas between them. If one runs out of energy momentarily, the other takes over. There is a good point in this. We don't need to compete with colleagues but better encourage them, right?

What makes their work extra interesting is that they are very much working in the field of fashion. Just check up their website ahonenandlamberg.com

Now if you hang around Helsinki their exhibition is still open until 8.6.2014 at  Design Forum Showroom (Erottajankatu 9 B). Also, I should hurry in there next week!

Finnhits. Costo X Johanna Gullichsen.

 

 Oh how I love this collaboration of Costo with Johanna Gullichsen. They have made a special collection of Costo Kombai hats with high quality 100% cotton fabrics designed by Johanna Gullichsen. There isn't two similar hats in the selection, each one of the hats are unique. And one of them is mine now! Could'n resist the temptation while autumn is coming closer and closer. Well, I'm ready now to change the season.

I have praised already earlier Costo – hats with pompoms. Now I'd like to open your mind to see Johanna Gullichsen's designs.

Johanna Gullichsen Textile Craft & Design offers an extensive range of woven textiles for modern living. Her patterns are filled with striped geometry and rhythm. She makes designs that are modern and classic at the same time. Natural materials fill the circle of comfort and Scandinavian style.  

Just look at her bags and purses. They are just my taste. Let's see when my footsteps lead to the Helsinki store in Fredrikinkatu…
Now when I have the hat…  It could be like that… Ooh, it's pure poetry.
Another flagship store is located in Paris, rue du Cherche-Midi. If you can't make you way to these two, there is a Johanna Gullichsen webshop too.

Finnhits. Minna Parikka Shoes.

I'm presenting in my series Finnhits Finnish clothing brands that I truly like.
Minna Parikka with her delightful, playful, stylish shoe design deserves my true admiration by all means.

There is certainly many wonderful Minna Parikka shoes that would be fun to draw. She has done many shoes with ears, cat ears and bunny ears. Now that we are living Easter, I thought bunny ears would fit fine to this season.  I'm sure that I'm going to come back to her shoes later on some time.

You can get Minna Parikka shoes straight from her webshop. It's worth checking just to see all the pretty shoes with a lot of personality.

Catwalk. Junya Watanabe Men, Fall/Winter 2013.

 

When I first saw Junya Watanabe fall/winter 2013 collection for men in The Sartorialist site I was totally thrilled. I absolutely loved the whole thing, colors, pattern mix, patchwork, texture, shape. A lot of similar colors I can find from my own closet. Although this is men collection I'd like to wear many pieces myself.

 

Most fun in the show was that the models had a big amount of personality. Check Junya Watanabe fall collection 2013 in Style.com if you like.

This kind of style could be a good DIY-project too. You can make your own patchwork to some grey tone vintage coat. Just get some quality mens suit fabric patches and start sewing. Same treatment could be done to your old pair of jeans too. Like that you can have a home made Junya Watanabe -style.

 

The striped T-shirts you can get from Finnish design brand Marimekko. They have this Tasaraita -classic pattern that would do the stripe job here just fine. Tasaraita stripes are designed by Annika Rimala in 1968 and ever since Marimekko has had this evergreen pattern in production. The stripes are 1 cm wide and the stripes are knitted. You can find in Marimekko webshop right now: 

T-shirt with long sleeves, Pitkähiha, that fits for men too and Mari Classic for women.

To some extent the whole thing reminds me of Charley Chaplin's wold. I have just recently seen the very first Chaplin films from 1916 in Cinema Orion, Helsinki. (Eerikinkatu 15) Orion is a cinema of Finland's National Audiovisual Archive. It's possible to see all the masterpieces of film history there. Right now they have a series of Chaplin's work going on Sundays 16.00. It's a pleasure to dive into the past world and styles through the film history. 

To be true I have got few style ideas from the Chaplin's movies in my head, but I leave them to some future post. So stay tuned!

For Fun. Circus.

When I was a kid, always on Boxing Day came Billy Smart's Christmas Circus on TV. It was a magical moment to see all the glitter of the costumes and the acrobats flying in the air. Trapeze was so high up and there was a lot of animals in the show. Those were the moments when my love for circus has begun. 

 I have visited Circus Finlandia's performances with my kids. I love the atmosphere in the big tent. The starred top of the tent, the orchestra, cones of light, the variety of feelings from joy and excitement to wonder when a magician conjures a parrot out of nothing. This year before the acrobats acted their most demanding act Circus Finlandia's director Carl Johan Jernström introduced the coming stunt with the words:

"Circus performers are showing off the best they can do."
What a great phrase to think of when we are due to do some demanding task in our daily lives.

Dolce & Gabbana would be my number one costume designer for Circus Princesses. The first lady could perform an entrance in the pelerine and throw it off to some assistant's hands before starting to walk with string up in the air.

Sometimes when I look through my favorite street style sites I hear echoes of Circus. Or what do you think of these two characters below in the framework of circus?

The Urban Spotter

The Streetstyle Aesthetic

Seasons. November Blue Love Poem.

 

November is the month, when light suddenly falls down earlier every day. In northern part of Finland - Lapland - the darkest time is the polar night, a time when the sun does not rise above the horizon and there are only a few hours of daylight. 

This dark period can affect people in a negative way. Some sink into winter blues  or people may feel twilight fatigue. A combination of couch and chocolate may feel so inviting. However, there are methods to keep away from depression. One is to have a daylight lamp next to your breakfast table. Finnish Valkee goes a little further. They bring the light straight in to the ear.

Valkee offers a Bright Light Headset that channels bright light directly to photosensitive regions of the brain through the ear canal. They say that treatment lasting 6-12 minutes once a day is enough to increase energy. A friend of mine has one headset, but I don't remember her feelings about it. I'll ask her to put her impression of Valkee to comments of this post.

My medicine is to eat extra doses of vitamin D and take a spoonful of fish oil every day. Recommendable also is to take a little stroll in a daylight when it is available. Not forgetting sports. And in my case, the more I draw the better I feel. Yep.

And it certainly helps if you decide to love the blue dark season thinking that this is different. Oh so different! Outside you can't see a thing, so let's focus on the inner side, friends, family, music, books, baking, crocheting, studying, yoga, dancing and inventing childish poems. Forget the internet and prefer to do things instead.

What else could we do to avoid winter blues? You tell me.

Finnhits. Costo, Hats With Pompoms.

Hello everyone. With this post I may solve all your "what to put in your head when fall comes" -problems. I'm presenting in my series Finnhits Finnish clothing brands that I truly like. Costo is the one.

But let me first remind you of last seasons Burberry Prorsums summer 2012 straw hats with visors and pompom's swinging on the top. If you found those caps nice I may have good news for you. Costo is specifically famous of the pompoms that sit in the top of their hats.

COSTO

Costo is a creation of three Helsinki based designers. In the beginning Costo products were done by the designers themselves. They started to utilize industrial leftover materials to satisfy their need to create products in a more sustainable and ecological way.

MATERIALS

In this case it still means high quality in their materials. For example they are using  premium fabrics by the Italian textile manufacturer Crespi1797. Crespi is specialized in natural fabrics and is world leader in linens. They also use leather, wool, denim, cotton and jute in their designs.

HUPLA HAT

I just fell in to this Hupla-hat in the happening Helsinki Design Market. The discreet beige herringbone will definitely bring the light to me when fall comes. Maybe this model  attracted me most because it brings a story of Tintin on my mind, The Black Island. On the cover Tintin is wearing a little bit similar style hat with Scotish kilt and jumper. Though Tintin's hat is a beret. But anyway, the pompom is there. I can't help it. I'm a big fan of Tintin series. It seems that reading those stories as a kid has affected a lot to my visual thinking.

The green pom-pom was my profit of this post. They gave it to me free, while I mentioned I was going to blog about them.

KOMBAI UNIQUE

Because of the nature of leftover materials the series of hats are limited editions. In addition Costo makes even individually original hats. A special line of Kombai hats: each  Kombai Unique is totally, absolutely unique. This, if any guarantees the individuality for your style.

DETACHABLE BOBBLE

Bobbles in the hats are detachable and it takes no engineering skills to do the trick. There´s a usual button in a usual button-hole: fast but firm. You can get a different look to your hat by changing the bobble color. Or you can use the hat totally without a bobble for a change.

WOOL BEANIES

Costo makes also 100% merino wool beanies with bobble. What could be more jolly and comfortable in the harsh winter frost. Naturally on the top sits a pompom. I started to dig this kind of beanie style in 90's when there was the Monkees TV-show in the television. It was about the misadventures of a struggling rock band. Somehow the show appealed to me with it's childish 60's humor and style. Not to mention the good music. One of the characters (Michael Nesmith) always had a beanie with a pompom in his head. Ever since a beanie like that has gone under name Monkees Beanie to me and it has belonged to my style also.

See for yourself the original Monkees Beanie. The Monkees - You Just May Be the One



As a conclusion I agree to this phrase from their website: For Costo ecology, style and quality go hand in hand. But I'd like to add one thing. That is the delight that the pompoms bring with them. Anyone who has a hat with a bobble swinging in the top, doesn't feel too pompous or dangerous. And that is a good sign to me.

Final here is the direct way straight to Costo webshop. Are you ready to choose your style? Go!

On the street. Mermaid in Angry Birds Land, Tampere.

It has been a little silent here because of my summer vacation. For the past few weeks I have concentrated in eating strawberries, picking up blueberries and waiting the mushrooms to appear. I'm staying in the woods by the lake with my family in a summer cottage where the community of bats make music on the attic.

The place is situated near Tampere. So we popped in town to visit Särkänniemi Amusement Park. Amusement Parks tend to have something new in every summer season. In Tampere the Big New Thing this year is a Angry Birds Land. The area is designed according to Angry Birds game. You know the phone app people play like mad. The game is made in Finland by Rovio Entertainment, so the world's first Angry Birds Park is situated in the home territory.

In the same visit I saw this mermaid-like lady that caught my eye. She was very convenient with the red birds and green pigs that surrounded her.

Finnhits. MAKIA Clothing.

Last week I went to a happening for entrepreneurs in Wanha Satama, Helsinki. I went there to hear interesting entrepreneur stories like the story of Finnish street label MAKIA Clothing. I am a true fan of MAKIA! So it self-evidently belongs to my series of interesting Finnish clothing brands. You find the rest under the label Finnhits (this is second so far).

I had noted a guy with huge brown beard combined to orange Hoodie before the show started. It's not so common combination, after all. To my surprise this beard guy climbed to the stage to tell the story behind MAKIA Clothing. I must tell you they make supercool street wear. The guys behind the label are like retired snowboarders and skaters. And these garments are designed to that point, responding for a bit more mature taste. 

The catalogues are another story. The models are as well former snowboard or skater professionals. Not the prettiest boys in town. I love their attitude in all and the catalogues!

You can check out the catalogues in Makia website. And they have a web shop too, if you want to grab the thing right away. Nowadays they have the line for girls and kids too. I wish all the good happen to MAKIA Clothing!

Finnhits. Globe Hope, Rokua Dress.

Hello there! I guess I am beginning a serie of pictures under label Finnhits. There I will comment some finnish clothing brands that I truly like. This is the first one. Here you have an autumnal image. 

This girl is wearing Globe Hope’s Rokua dress. Globe Hope makes ecological design out of recycled materials. For example this Rokua dress is made of dark blue wool-mix trousers that used to fly around the world as a part of an airhostess' uniform! What a good idea. If you want to get to know Globe Hope better, go for it here. 

On the street. Miss Marple, Pasila, Helsinki

I had to ask her about the corduroy coat if it was from seventies or not. Well, it wasn't. Actually it is made by Ivana Helsinki. She described he outfit of the day Miss Marple -style.