Can Finnish gnomes and elves be used for serious design? Answer: Not for serious, but for design yes! We Finns don't really know how to appreciate our traditions. Our current Santa Claus habitus is also a red-haired kind uncle created by Coca Cola's advertising department. And the edges of the elves are also rounded with the washing water. I boldly set out to design a series of figures based on our folklore. A real connoisseur of elves, the writer Heikki Saure, helped me delve into the topic. He is now a guest blogger and opens up more about the topic here.
Tila ilman kalusteita on vaan tila, ja kalusteet ilman tilaa ovat vaan kalusteita - yhdistettynä ne muodostavat kodin. Olen opiskellut sekä sisustusarkkitehdiksi että kalustemuotoilijaksi ja tehnyt molempia asioita elääkseni. Tämä yhdistelmä on auttanut ajattelemaan alaa avarammin. Huonekaluillani on aina joku ilmeinen tai ilmeetön konteksti tilaan. Lue lisää mitä meinaan.
One day I was thinking about what things have influenced, moved or touched me as a designer. Professionals in all fields have a role model, thing or influencer who has acted as an inspiration or a trend setter. It doesn't have to be a representative of your own field, because it can be an object, a landscape, a painting or an atmosphere - so almost anything. Like a book, a film, a poem, an object, a performance, an exhibition, a building, a space, a person - the list could go on and on.
Can you name four things that have made a lasting impression on you? Go read my latest blog and you'll find out which four I named.
In my childhood, when the garden swing or chair in the yard started to deteriorate, it was repainted - either with the original colour or with some passing fashion colour of the wild 70s. This was done without even thinking about it. It was a natural way to extend the life cycle of things or recycle - before those terms even existed. Could this still work today, and could the furniture have been originally designed to be like that when it was new? The short answer to that is - it could. Go ahead and read the longer answer.
My friend, whom I thought was smart, excitedly explained to me how an incredibly good deal he had made - the furniture had been reduced by -70%! I didn't dare to spoil the atmosphere by starting the lecture of how it really went. But now I am about to spoil it - welcome to the fun...
Right off the bat, plot reveal - I'm not going to give a clear answer to that question. I still wanted to think about that topic that always worries designers in this blog. What elements must a product have in order for it to successfully achieve success, a smash hit, an earth-shattering hit, or an insane hit? After all, there must be something in a successful product if it has been successful.
Keep reading to see how I'm succeeding with this topic.
What is the difference between knowledge and opinion? Why does someone else's scream sound loud, but one's own doesn't? What time is? Why do adults stress about climate change but do nothing about it? What is the purpose of people? Is anything certain if it hasn't happened yet? Can birds have a fear of flying? Why do people want to be famous? Can a cat have ADHD? Why is dark black?
These are children's questions and very relevant ones. Why have I picked them here? Read more and I'll tell you.
They say there is no forest without trees, no tree without branches and no two trees alike. In furniture, however, we want something that doesn't exist - knotless wood, an even grained pattern, and a surface of the same tone. When we pursue something unnatural for wood by force, we hit our heads with Karelian pine in design, manufacturing, sales, and using. So why do we do this and what could we do differently? Read more about what I've been thinking.
ON sofa bed is perhaps my most famous product. When it hit the market in 2007, it was completely different from what we were used to. Such a product always has its risks - and the biggest one is how consumers adopt a completely new concept. How did it all start and how has the journey progressed? Read more.
In May, The Association for Finnish Work had an apt campaign bearing the name of the title, which emphasized the origin of the design. That slogan was a great insight and contained the basic idea of all creative work. Unfortunately, there are also products coming to the market whose beginnings come from someone else's footsteps. Figuratively, this could be called tailgating, which has always been and always will be.
Pumped inner rubber in the sink, let's see if there are bubbles... already found. Drying and roughening patch with the roughener in the box. Tinner smelly and finger-sticking rubber glue on the patch and around the hole. After a while, when the glue is dry, the patch is pressed into the inner rubber. Now it's ready. The inner rubber is carefully placed in its place and soon you can pedal again. Do you remember the last time you did this? Or have you ever done? And what does this have to do with furniture?
Compensation has been discussed a lot recently. It suffers from the same problem as the Finnish economy now - i.e. inflation. Mixed-meat soup will never be ready when the industry lacks clear recipes and there are too many cooks in the kitchen. The reputation has also been tarnished when the soup spills and boils over. This is a shame, because when cleaning the cauldron, even the good things go down the drain with the washing water. We still believe that the ingredients of the soup are by no means out of date. Our product manager Severi has thoroughly familiarized himself with the subject. How we cook up a compensation soup, read more.
On the top of a trendy wave - or on the beach watching the splash of the waves?
We made the annual designer pilgrimage to the megalomaniac Milan Furniture Fair. We usually go there to taste the trends of the big world, which burn the Finnish tongue used to the food made by mothers. For a designer, trends are a bit of a double-edged sword; you should follow them, but on the other hand do something timeless and your own. How can you get through this sanely and go back to producing trendy stuff that is nevertheless unique?
I decided to ask the artificial intelligence some tough questions about design. Now, when there was an opportunity to ask something wise and find out the biggest secrets of the mystery of design, it felt a bit like getting the opportunity to ask God for all the ultimate riddles of life - so just then nothing very intellectual comes to mind.
What do Finnish Wiener schnitzel and the strategies of many companies have in common? There is something mandatory in both. In Finnish Wiener schnitzel it is anchovies and for companies it is responsibility. Anchovies are never eaten, but is responsibility swallowed as such? Guest blogger, our product manager Severi, tells how we eat the whole plate empty from the nourishing food circle of responsibility.
Traditional spindle back chair stays always relevant
I am often asked questions: Because the world is full of chairs, so why are you making more of them there? Are there any more new ones needed? How can I invent new ones? The answers to these will become clear if you don't block my blog - that is, read more.
Why must we import wood to Finland? You don't think about this often, but when you do, it sounds crazy. It would be same as if tulips were exported to Holland, beer to Belgium or Christmas trees to Finland. There must be some reasonable explanation for this.
This is an open and confessional donkey bridge to the topic, which tells something about the point of view or perspective, how differently we perceive things. You probably still don't understand what it's all about and that's why I recommend reading more. Warning: This story contains product placement.
"During my career, I have focused on sensible, practical and versatile design. When I start designing a new easy chair, I decide that now I will do it differently. Will the tiger escape its stripes?Was I able to stick to my goal - read more."
"As a company, we compensate the carbon footprints of all our products. People's footprints can also be compensated. I turned 60 years in the summer, and received a gift from my company, which compensates my entire current journey in the world."
