Wired names Helsinki as one of Europe’s hottest startup capitals

Helsinki has been named as one of the hottest startup capitals in Europe by Wired magazine, in its November 2013 issue.

Wired magazine also lists online banking company Holvi, mobile phone and software company Jolla and bookmarking company Kippt amongst the 100 companies causing the greatest buzz. In total, the magazine lists 10 Finnish startups from gaming companies to location services.

Finnish startup Supercell is an amazing example as the value of Supercell grew from zero to $3 Billion in 3 years.

Read more about hottest Finnish startups at the moment.

Source: Goodnewsfromfinland.com

Sin Cos Tan - Limbo

Sin Cos Tan is a duo comprised of producer Jori Hulkkonen and the singer from Villa Nah, Juho Paalosmaa. New album Afterlife has been released only 10 months after the debut. The first single from the second album is Limbo.

The debut album of Solina Records artists got three nominations in Emma-awards, the Finnish equivalent of Grammy Awards. The debut album of Sin Cos Tan have been nominated for Critics Choice of Album of The Year.

Kinetic Stories: The Interactive Storybook Series

Finnish digital app Kinetic Stories, a children’s book series have been recognised in an international e-content competition. The award is granted by the World Summit Award (WSA).

Kinetic Stories is an interactive book series based on motion tracking and speech recognition that is aimed at kids.

More info:
www.kineticstories.com

Wood City is an urban quarter rising in Helsinki

 (Image by SRV)

Wood City is an eight-storey wooden urban quarter rising in the Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki. It will be the largest wooden quarter of its type in Finland, throbbing with residential, working and hotel life around its courtyard. On completion, Wood City will be a masterpiece of the latest wooden construction that will raise expertise in this field in Finland to international level.

More info: www.woodcity.fi

Showroom Helsinki opens a new gallery - Telakkaranta

(Photo by Showroom Helsinki)

After five successful years Showroom Helsinki is proud to announce that it soon will be opening it's second gallery in Helsinki, Finland. The over 500m2 gallery is located at the former dock area Telakkaranta, in the western harbour district in Hietalahti. The grand opening of the new premises will be held in August with a group exhibition showcasing Jani Leinonen, Aurora Reinhard, Jiri Geller and Mari Keto.

Jani Leinonen, Aurora Reinhard, Jiri Geller & Mari Keto
Group exhibition
August - September 2013 

Showroom Helsinki - Telakkaranta
Telakkakatu 6
00150 Helsinki
Finland

Happy End?

Happy End? is by far the best summer exhibition at the Helsinki Art Museum for many years.

On the museum’s lower floor, nine Finnish and international artists explore the depths of the human psyche and the chasms between luxury and everyday life. The highlights gallery of the exhibition consists definitely of Jani Leinonen’s works from the series of Assanisation. Also Duncan Butt Juvonen's installation which utters 7000 apologies from the wallpaper and Kim Simonsson’s sculptures installations are impressive.

The upper floor of the museum is taken over by AES+F (Tatiana Arzamasova, Lev Evzovich, Evgeny Svyatsky + Vladimir Fridkes), a Russian art collective who have garnered acclaim across the world with their photographs, videos and artworks that merge mythology with harsh contemporary reality.

Happy End?
19 Jun – 25 Aug 2013 Helsinki Art Museum Tennis Palace

Culinary arts continue to boom in Helsinki

Despite the recession the restaurant scene in Helsinki area continues to offer new places of culinary arts. Try these newcomers for something special: Spis, Ask, Pure bistro, Glogatan 4, Pastis, Trattoria Sogno, Muru or Patrona.

And do not forget to have the late night drinks at Liberty or Death and Fafa´s late night pitas for finalizing the perfect experience of Helsinki culinary arts :-)

Starting at the end of August 2013, the current premises of Michelin starred restaurant OLO (Olo will move to Pohjoisesplanadi 5) will house a new restaurant, EMO, where, in addition to the actual restaurant, the all-new Gastrobaari will also be located. According to owners of Olo the restaurant EMO will bring Helsinki an interesting combination of Finnish traditions and high-quality European ingredients. The adjacent Gastrobaari will be a place for guests to come and enjoy good wines along with delicious small dishes.

Zebra and Snake - Sweetest treasure

Zebra and Snake’s debut album "Healing Music" which was released in 2012 by British 100% Records. Check out the "Money in Heaven" (Official video) on Youtube also.

Hottest Finnish startups at the moment

It seems the latest efforts to Finnish startups are starting to show up it's results. Thanks to organizations like Startup sauna, Tekes, ArcticStartup and Aalto Start-up Center, events like Helsinki Startup Weekend are getting more and more popular. Also more funding and investments are pouring to Finland at the moment, for example game industry is growing very fast. The total value of the Finnish game industry is estimated to reach EUR 600–800 million this year (compared to EUR 105 million in 2011).

Check out the hottest startups in Finland at the moment:

Business Insider: "These 12 startups prove Angry Birds isn't the only hot tech product to come out of Finland."

Red Herring Europe: 12 Finnish companies tops to Top100 list in 2013.

And talking about the Angry Birds. Their latest achivement is the Angry Birds Toons channel: The animated series following the adventures of the birds and the pigs debuted in March 2013, has been a huge hit. By the end of June 2013, the Toons channel has gathered over 400 million views across their games, and has been a big hit with their TV partners across the world.

Bicycle film festival Helsinki 2013

Bicycle Film Festival - BFF Helsinki 2013 is on August 30 – 31! Program coming in July.
In Finnish the preliminary program is available already.

The uprising of the bicycle culture has created funny things around the bicycling in Finland. Or what do you think of these? A pianist on wheels (see the video) or library bikes in Helsinki.

Helsinki Music Centre - Prelude

Finnish documentary "Helsinki Music Centre - Prelude" won the Grand Prize at the Montreal International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) this year. The documentary follows the construction of the Helsinki Music Centre.

Finnish company to design the Titanic II

Deltamarin, a Finnish company specialised in ship design, has been commissioned to design the new Titanic. The order was placed by Blue Star Line Pty Ltd. Blue Star Line has undertaken the task of building Titanic II, a replica of the original RMS Titanic, which is scheduled to sail from Southampton to New York on her maiden passenger voyage in 2016.

Titanic II project was announced by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer in April 2012, as the flagship of his cruise company Blue Star Line.

Unmonday 4.3L - wireless Airplay speaker

The Unmonday is a portable speaker that delivers superlative sound for the truly mobile-minded audiophile.

Read more: www.unmonday.com

The Finnish nature center Haltia opens in Nuuksio National Park

The new Finnish nature centre Haltia has opened its doors to the public in Nuuksio National Park in Espoo. 

The new centre in Helsinki Metropolitan area is expected to attract 150,000–200,000 visitors a year. According to centre, the use of latest technology allows the centre to showcase “magnificent landscapes and the wonders of nature.”

Haltia is open every day and has also a restaurant which serves local organic food. According to the centre, tourists can combine visit to Haltia with a hike in the Natural Park, and outdoor gear is available for hire. Buses to Haltia run from Helsinki city centre.

New outdoor sea pool complex and observation wheel coming to Helsinki

Katajanokka in the centre of Finnish capital Helsinki will be hosting a new outdoor sea pool complex Allas – Helsinki Pool. The new complex will offer swimming and saunas all year around as well as all kinds of activities. The facilities are planned to be open in the spring 2014.

The City of Helsinki has granted a building permit to an observation wheel to be placed on the Katajanokka waterfront in Helsinki’s South Harbour also. The permit allows the wheel to remain and operate at the waterfront to the end of October 2016.

Qatar interested in floating hotels from Finland

According to constructionweekonline.com floating hotels developed in Finland could help meet Qatar’s huge demand for accommodation for the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar is interested in the concept proposed by Finnish architecture firm Sigge Architects. Sigge has developed its floating hotel concept in conjunction with Finland’s Almaco Group, which specialises in marine construction.

More info:
www.sigge.fi
www.almaco.cc

Korto - De La Officina

The original and organic sound of Helsinki-based band Korto is created with combining analog synths, drum-machines and samplers to soulful vocals in english and spanish. Korto's debut album will be released in April by Tuli Records.

Live on stage:
Apr 20: Funky elephant festival, Helsinki

Dalindeo - Kallio

Ota linja 8! / Take the Line 8! is the first track from Dalindèo's new "Kallio"-album. In order to get to the Kallio-district in Helsinki you have to take the tram line 8.

Dalindèo's third full-length album pays homage to the rugged and lively neighborhood of Kallio in Helsinki. The band’s leading man Valtteri Pöyhönen seeks inspiration close to home and turns the decadent ambiance of his neighborhood into Dalindèo’s recognizable jazz sound: danceable rhythms, characteristic melodies and the craftsmanship of the ensemble’s top-notch musicians.

Live on stage:
Apr 20: Funky Elephant festival, Helsinki, Finland
May 18: Big Shake at Bar Loose, Helsinki, Finland

www.dalindeo.com

Dream job in Finland: Hotel Finn looking for a professional sleeper

Hotel Finn in the heart of Helsinki is offering a dream job in Finland. The hotel is seeking a “professional sleeper” for 35 days to test their rooms and write all about it. According to Associated Press, the hotel manager Tio Tikka came up with the idea to promote the hotel after lengthy renovations.

The Time magazine writes that similar kind of campaigns are becoming more popular amongst tourism and leisure operators.

More info:
www.hotellifinn.fi

Techcrunch: Gaming startup Supercell is closing a round above $100M at valuation around $800M

Supercell, the Clash of Clans and Hay Day developer, is in the middle of raising more than $100 million in a funding round, according to TechCrunch. The Company also boasts a valuation of $800 million. Clash of Clans and Hay Day generate around a combined $1.3 million per day.

Details of the deal suggest that Supercell has sold between 15 and 20 percent of the company for between $120 million and $160 million. Institutional Venture Partners, Atomico and Index Ventures are the new investors.

Supercell is a mobile gaming company from the city of Helsinki, Finland. Rovio, the Angry Birds developer, is located in the Helsinki metropolitan area as well.

Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators - Tortured Soul

Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators released their sophomore effort, "Tortured Soul" on Helsinki-based Timmion Records in early 2013. The album was first released in Finland & France, followed next month by the rest of the Europe. “Tortured Soul” is Ms. Willis’ fourth album, her second with The Soul Investigators. The band’s signature sound is clearly audible, but the new album also introduces a harder Rhythm & Blues edge.

Live on stage:
Tavastia-klubi, Helsinki
Fri 12.04.2013
20:00-02:00
Tickets at the door 17 €, if any left

Drawing in the Flesh

Drawing in the Flesh goes deep into Finnish art of drawing from the perspectives of contemporary art and art history.

The exhibition consists of drawings made with different techniques by 16 contemporary artists. The artists of the exhibition are Markku Hakuri, Petri Hytönen & team, Mikko Ijäs, Mika Karhu, Elina Merenmies, Teemu Mäki & collective, Jarmo Mäkilä, Stiina Saaristo, Juha Sääski, Anna Tahkola, Anne Törmä & Kari Vehosalo, Anssi Törrönen, Laura Ukkonen, Jan Kenneth Weckman, and Henry Wuorila-Stenberg.

In addition, on exhibit are animations by students of Lahti University of Applied Sciences' Institute of Design and Fine Arts and by students of Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

The exhibition outlines the history of drawing with the help of, among other things, Finnish 19th-century artists' drafts, caricatures, and hand-drawn maps. The Drawing in the Flesh exhibition is complemented by mini exhibitions of drawings with different themes, taken from Vantaa Art Museum's collections.

More info:
Vantaa Art Museum
Myyrmäkitalo
Paalutori 3
01600 Vantaa
Finland
www.vantaa.fi/taidemuseo 
Tickets: Free admission