Bird in nest

This is the result of my bird watching today ... :-)

Aalto bowl

The classic Alvar Aalto bowl with a couple of small spring Crocuses ... :-)

Abstract art

This is abstract art I like:

Detail of a vintage Georgina von Etzdorf tie

Two Finnish design icons

Two Finnish design icons: Fiskars scissors and Marimekko Unikko fabric:

"Fiskars is perhaps best known for its scissors and their distinct orange colored handles. The first pair was manufactured in 1967 and had been designed to have handles that were going to be either black, red or green. As the prototype went into production, the machinist decided to make a first sample with the orange color he had left over in the machine. This resulted in four different colored prototypes of which the orange and black were the most popular. After an internal vote at Fiskars, the orange color was chosen. That same orange color, Fiskars Orange®, was officially registered as a trademark in Finland in 2003 and in the US in 2007.
The success of the orange handled scissors led to Fiskars international expansion and in 1977 Fiskars founded a scissors factory in the United States which provided a basis for international trade". (Wikipedia)
"Two pioneering designers set the tone for Marimekko: Vuokko Nurmesniemi in the 1950s and Maija Isola in the 1960s.  Nurmesniemi designed the simply striped red and white Jokapoika shirt in 1956. Isola designed the iconic Unikko (poppy) print pattern in 1964. Marimekko's bold fabrics and bright, simple design strongly influenced late 20th-century taste. Many of the early Marimekko designs, including Isola's Unikko, remain in production in the 2010s". (Wikipedia)

Sydform 13 - Contemporary furniture by young Swedish designers on display in Helsingborg

Today I visited the Dunkers cultural centre in Helsingborg in order to see Sydform 13, an exhibition of furniture by young southern Swedish designers.

The most eye catching pieces were a sofa and a chair by Ellinor Ericsson. The designer says that they represent a mix between Nordic design and rococo.

 

PS

I added an image of a pair of "electric shoes", also shown in the exhibition:

 

 

A Walk Down Memory Lane (5): A visit to Marimekko founder Armi Ratia´s country retreat

Armi Ratia and her son Risto-Matti at Bökars.

I am not quite certain if my visit to Armi Ratia´s country retreat Bökars in Southeastern Finland took place in 1974, or the year after. However, at the time her company Marimekko was at the peak of its international success, and Ratia (1912 - 1979) was quite a well known personality in the international media. 

The young man in the picture is Ratia´s son Risto-Matti, the designer.

At the time of my visit, there were still a lot of partying going on in Bökars, although the most famous parties took place in the late 1950s:

In the late 1950s Armi Ratia, her product designers and their 'court' held legendary parties lasting days at the Bökars summer villa; there was food and drink in profusion, people had fun, and new ideas were born at an ever wilder tempo. The cream of the Finnish art world participated. Foreign visitors whom Ratia invited to these parties had an unforgettable experience of Finland.

If you are not familiar with who Armi Ratia was, here is a brief summary:

Armi Ratia established Marimekko Ltd, which made industrial use of artistic product design. The modern style of clothing which it marketed found especial favour with leftist intellectuals - but also with such international celebrities as Jacqueline Kennedy. As the founder and managing director of Marimekko, Ratia turned a relatively small firm in the textile industry into a national and international success story which later entrepreneurs have attempted to imitate.

Le Corbusier´s kitchen in Sweden

Yesterday, I had a chance to revisit the Röhsska Museum, Sweden´s renowned design museum in Gothenburg (Göteborg). Among the many objects you can see there, one of the most interesting is Le Corbusier´s kitchen from the famous Marseille 
Unité d´habitation building (1947- 1952). 

Le Corbusier´s kitchen at the Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg

With the Unité Le Corbusier introduced the world to raw concrete, which - regrettably - later led to the "beton brutalism" style, so prevalent all over the world. No doubt Le Corbusier - and Charlotte Perriand, who actually designed the kitchen - wanted to create better homes for ordinary people during the the housing crisis in France in the 
1920´s and after the World War II.  But, at least in hindsight, their idea about the home as a machine to live in is not very appealing. 

Unité d´habitation in Marseilles (image by wiki)