The past few years have seen the rise of Finnish illustrators in the world of Finnish design. The hottest names now include Sanna Annukka, whose colourful work uses Finnish folkloristic themes. You may have seen her work in products by Marimekko, Mark&Spencer’s and Vogue. The Amsterdam-based Kustaa Saksi has designed illustrations for Jennifer Lopez’s Justsweet fashion brand and Issey […]

Helsinki is known internationally as a city of design and at its heart is the Design District. Design District Helsinki is a large cluster of stores, restaurants and more, with creativity as the common factor aside from their location, spreading out from the hub of the Diana Park in Erottaja, at the south end of Mannerheimintie, […]

The earliest and still working companies in the field of the applied arts were the Arabia ceramics factory (founded in 1873), and Nuutajärvi glass factory (founded in 1794). In 1928 Riihimäen Lasi organised a glass design competition. The winning designer, Henry Ericsson already shows the clean lines of modernism. The work of the 1930s, from furniture and everyday wares to graphic design, was characterised […]