Happy holidays! Merry Xmas! Hyvää Joulua!

(Illustrations by Kehvola Design)

Kehvola Design design printed and handmade paper goods. Small company is founded by Finnish illustrator Timo Mänttäri and designer Veera Kehvola. Their own working studio is also a shop (Address: Vallilankatu 21, Helsinki).

More info: kehvola.blogspot.fi

Hotel Tegel invites to Fiskars Village

Brand new Hotel Tegel is situated about 1 hour drive from Helsinki. Hotel is in the middle of old Fiskars Village. 13 brand new rooms in an old building next to river are waiting visitors to Fiskars Village. Today there are over 100 artisans, designers and artists working or living in Fiskars Village.
The company Fiskars was founded in 1649 in Fiskars Village and has since become an international corporation. This year Fiskars is celebrating it's 365th anniversary.

More info: www.tegel.fi

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

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

Sarpaneva Korona Moonshine

Sarpaneva Watches manufactures mechanical timepieces of outstanding quality, created in the spirit of the traditional watchmaker's art.

Perfectionism, enthusiasm and an infinite passion for watchmaking. Do I need to say more? These products reflect well the Finnish way of thinking. If you do something, do it better than well.

More info:
www.sarpanevawatches.com

Come to Finland

Come to Finland is all about Finnish travel posters and travel history.

It all started with an idea, ten years ago, outside an Antiquarian Book-shop in Helsinki. Today it is a succesful cultural and commercial project.

More info: www.cometofinland.fi

Pixelache09: Festival of electronic art and subcultures

With the 8th edition of Pixelache Helsinki, the festival is returning back to its roots. Instead of focusing on one main theme, they’ve allowed the programme to develop gradually around a selection of diverse topics. This reflects the nature of the festival: it’s built from bottom-up, with the voluntary efforts of the Pixelache community.

They are expecting around 100 international guests to join this annual gathering of artists, designers, engineers, researchers, architects, hackers and activists.

Pixelache09
Festival of electronic art and subcultures
Helsinki, Finland
2-5 April

More info:
http://2009.pixelache.ac/

Fisker Karma

Fisker Automotive debuted in Europe three weeks ago the world’s first luxury plug-in hybrid vehicles during the Geneva Motor Show. The 2L/100km Fisker Karma saloon will start at 78780EUR, excluding VAT, and be available through a network of 40 retailers across Europe beginning early 2010.

The Fisker Karma proves environmentally friendly cars do not have to sacrifice performance, style or function. New technology, materials and applications can be found throughout the car’s purposeful interior. For example, the Karma will be the first car to feature a haptic touch-screen interface and offer an animal-free interior.

The Karma is an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV). It can reach 100km/h (62mph) in about six seconds and achieve a top speed of 201km/h (125mph), yet has the potential to use as little as 40 liters (10 gal) of petrol per year.

Fisker Karma vehicles will be manufactured in Finland. Valmet Automotive will be the engineering and manufacturing supplier for Fisker Automotive. Valmet Automotive is a provider of automotive engineering and manufacturing services of premium cars. Today Valmet Automotive manufactures Porsche Boxster and Porsche Cayman for Porsche AG.

Amer Sports: Eco products

Amer Sports, the world’s leading sports equipment company, has created innovative eco products:

Atomic‘s Renu is the world‘s first regenerative ski boot. Made from biopolymers, cotton and bamboo fibre, it reduces the product‘s ecological footprint while still delivering the same performance as a conventional ski boot. The entire boot comprises of 80% renewable raw materials which can be recycled. The Renu is able to achieve all of its environmental goals without compromising on either comfort or performance, and it is also 13% lighter than comparable ski boots.

The Wilson Staff Eco-Carry Bag is the first golf bag on the market made from 100% recycled polyester fabric. The eco-friendly lightweight carry bag utilizes GreenPlus® fabric, which reduces the release of carbon dioxide by 70% as compared to normal polyester production. One Wilson Staff Eco-Carry golf bag is made from the equivalent of 12 plastic gallon bottles.

The Salomon SickStick snowboard, winner of the 2008 Volvo SportsDesign Eco-design award, is another example of matching environmental goals with product performance. The SickStick was awarded for its new patented bamboo sandwich construction process, driven by the goal to improve the performance of Salomon products while significantly reducing the ecological impacts of snowboard production. The SickStick contains fast growing, CO2-absorbing bamboo – an ultra renewable material. In each board, 400 grams of bamboo replace 300 grams of plastic, 100 grams of resin and 200 grams of fiberglass. The SickStick comes in a cotton-bamboo knit bag instead of a PVC sleeve, while the hangtags are printed on recycled paper instead of coated stickers.

Amer Sports was found in 1950 in Finland. It has been listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd since 1977.

More info: www.amersports.com

A book about Helsinki vol.2 compiled by Bulgaria Mag

Bulgaria Magazine has done it again:

"The damn best city guide you can ever find about our beloved city"
-Mashmarket crew

"If you really wanna know something about Helsinki, forget Lonely Planet and cop this book here..."
-Top Billin' crew

Get the book here.

Levi Spirit - the arctic luxury

The arctic definition of luxury: Levi Spirit area. Levi Spirit area will comprise a total of 46 villas designed by architect Kari Lappalainen.

Levi Spirit Villas are crafted with remarkable skill and attention to every detail, with the special know-how required for building in the Arctic setting. The functional arrangement of the interior, high-quality materials, and state-of-the-art technology creates a truly unique and comfortable living experience in the Arctic.

Fennofolk – New Nordic Oddity 11.6.-28.9.2008

Design Museum's main exhibition in the summer of 2008 will be Fennofolk – New Nordic Oddity, an analysis of Finnish culture from a new perspective. The exhibition and its catalogue will offer a broad overview of the fields of Finnish design and culture, dissolving boundaries and assembling the designers of today's young generation under a single theme. Over 100 of Finnish artists, creative persons, communities and organizations have been invited to participate.

Renewed Korjaamo is open!

Renewed Korjaamo Culture Factory is open; new stage for concerts & theater, 2 new gallery spaces, new cafe (open from 4th of July), even bigger terrace, Korjaamo shop and plus old spaces (bar, etc.). Korjaamo shop offers a good selection of translated Finnish literature, design gifts and bunch of Finnish alternative tunes. Shop reminds me of Kiasma and EMMA shops.

Showroom Finland

Showroom Finland is a Helsinki based company marketing Scandinavian design products.

More:
http://www.showroomfinland.fi/

Address:
Pohjoisranta 2 E, Helsinki

Kasino A4 magazine

Kasino A4 is a magazine. And it is that in the true sense of the word, it does what every excellent magazine should do: fuses quality photography, insightful writing and strict graphic design into one inspiring package. Kasino A4 is distributed in 18 countries.

Pingstate - Art of a Visual Community, Book 1

Pingstate - Art of a Visual Community, Book 1 is a collection. It presents 42 rising stars who work with pictures on both sides of the line that moved an inch. These healthy, playing adults are involved in developing a visual language for 21st century Finland and they made this book free of harassment by parents, cops or clients. It was born as a collective effort and on its own terms, because it wanted to.

Pinsgstate.nu is a web community, the members of which work in visual culture, often in a commercial context.

Helsinki10 Design Christmas Market

Great christmas present ideas and hot hot Glögi!
Over 40 Finnish designers have created wonderful and exclusive ideas for christmas presents.

Helsinki10 Design Christmas Market
Eerikinkatu 3.
December 2nd - 23rd.
Mon-Fri 11-20, Sat 11-18, Sun 12-18.

Original Jaffa posters from the late 1950's

Last year Hartwall company maximized the brand awareness of the legendary Finnish Jaffa lemonade by spreading out the Jaffa posters from the late 1950's. Now it's possible to order these posters designed by Finnish graphic designer Erik Bruun.

More info: www.bruundesign.com