The story of the urban clothing label Makia Clothing is reflected in their clothes. Success requires a lot of hard work, a healthy business philosophy and a relaxed work environment. It’s also cool to look good.
Text Ville Matilainen
Photos Niklas Sandström
Recently a group of Guggenheim Museum staff from New York visited Helsinki. They were wondering why the internationally renowned design city doesn’t have up-to-date and appropriate spaces for displaying design. Exactly. Maybe it’s a “shoemaker’s children have no shoes” phenomenon.
Text Aila Svenskberg
Photo Juuso Noronkoski
The Shanghai Cowboy brings life to Kaartinkaupunki. The food draws its inspiration from Mexico, but doesn’t even try to be traditional – or what do you think about Mexican-style reindeer meat?
Text Petra Vuolanen
Photos Alfonso Almendros
Helsinki will be the World Design Capital for 2012. In order to make Finland visible before the World Design Capital year, the city and Finnish design are already being displayed abroad.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Bernhard Ludewig, Perttu Saksa
The Helsinki-based Siinai may be a newcomer to the indie scene, but its music is far from the pleasantly loud traditional indie sound. That could hardly even be expected from a band that wants to create a theme album for the Olympics.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Vesa Mäkinen
Workspaces are joining forces in Helsinki. The Mushrooming network is expected to bear all kinds fruits of cooperation – or should we say mushrooms.
Text Ida Kukkapuro
Photos Veikko Kähkönen
The different programs which the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences runs speak of new technology and a better urban environment as part of Helsinki Design Week.
Text Petra Vuolanen
Column by Maryam Razavi
The overall atmosphere shows how proud Helsinkians are of their young designers. Everybody recognizes Antti Asplund’s cross, Makia’s down jackets, R/H’s eye trinket, Minna Parikka’s shoes and Tiia Vanhatapio’s dresses.
Photo Osma Harvilahti
French Films has shot to indie fame quite quickly. It’s undoubtedly the most blogged about Finnish pop band and one of the first Finnish bands to make waves outside of Finland thanks to foreign music blogs. This year the band is set to fulfill the expectations they have created.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Sanna Lehto
Public peeing is part of a bigger stream that adds up to over 13 million euros annually. Every euro spent on maintenance could be transformed into other activities. How could we turn Helsinki from a pissoar into a cozy hobby space?
Text Antti Vassinen and Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig
Urban coworking – offering temporary office space for those who need them – can be used not only for business purposes, but also to educate and combat marginalization.
Text Simo Vassinen
Photos Vesa Mäkinen
Consisting of designers and fine carpenters, the Woodism group produces wooden products made from trees felled in parks and private yards that would’ve otherwise ended up chopped or dumped.
Text Heini Lehtinen
The post-Madonna era of Jätkäsaari could well be an urban utopia that has been dreamt of since way back when. As the Low2No project takes flight, old ladies, families with children and young night crawlers grow their food together and relax at the neighborhood sauna.
Text Simo Vassinen
Images Sitra/Low2No/ARUP
A yellow building at the corner of Senate Square is uncovering after a renovation. In a year, it will be the epicenter of Helsinki’s World Design Capital year.
Text Heini Lehtinen
Photos Juuso Noronkoski
A small paper shop in Kruununhaka is offering Christmas shoppers papery dreams from all over the world.
Text Laura Friman
Photos Kaarle Hurtig
”Is food to you a fuel or an enjoyment of life? Do you eat so you can walk, or so that you can sit down in good company and let the hours melt away? Food is supposed to do us good”, says Nima Ehsani, the owner of Café Caneli.
Text Juhana Hurula
Photos Juuso Noronkoski
At We Got Beef’s Christmas bazaar, designers sell their own products, customers can try haggling and santa hats may end up on the catwalk.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Media art festival Media Façades, coming to Finland for the first time, plays with media interfaces. Among other things, the festival will bring interactive media pieces and projections to Helsinki nights.
Text Petteri Kainulainen
Images Media Façades / m-cult
Hub Helsinki organized a World Design Capital 2012 brainstorming day in Helsinki at the end of May. During Helsinki Design Week, it is exploring urban gardens and communal construction. What Hub Helsinki?
Text Heini Lehtinen
Photos Tanja Korvenmaa
The terms ‘design’ or ‘the world of design’ bring us anguish, but it’s hard to see a way out besides creating your own sphere within the terms. What is it about design that makes us sick?
Text Anni Puolakka & Jenna Sutela
Illustration Rami Niemi
Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki:
It is certainly a great honor to carry the title of the World Design Capital 2012, but we are now clearly obliged to act as a trend-setter for other cities to follow.
Being selected as the World Design Capital is not a reward for past actions but a recognition of a promising, internationally interesting design city.
Helsinki’s minimal sounds are unique, but this uniqueness sometimes leaves you yearning for more variety, volume and spontaneity. Here we take the opportunity to think about how to design a more interesting Helsinki from the sonic point of view.
Text Anni Puolakka & Jenna Sutela
Illustration Nene Tsuboi
Indie is the new mainstream, and electro is the new dance. In the early 2000s masses of artists fled to Barcelona. Now Berlin has become the unofficial second home of Finnish musicians.
Text Teemu Fiilin
Photos Johannes Ekholm
“Choosing typography and illustrations for a poster is kind of similar to piecing together drum sounds and beats and throwing in some samples.”
Text Heini Lehtinen
Light snow 
20X0 – A Journey into the Future
8. October 2011
Heureka – The Finnish Science Centre
Seven Connections – Finnish Architecture Abroad
11. January 2012
Museum of Finnish Architecture
Yellow City – Illustrated Stories from Helsinki
16. January 2012
All around the city
20. January 2012
Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art
DesignWorld – Designing the New World
27. January 2012
Design Museum
Bi-monthly magazine about Helsinki. In Finnish and in English.
