Post 19. Finnish Santa Claus

Ciao tutti,

So this is the last post for my blog during our course. As also the Christmas is getting closer and closer I want to introduce to you one of the most known persons of Finland - SANTA CLAUS. I am sure everyone of you knows who he is and what he does. The man behind the modern Santa is believed to be bishop Saint Nicholaus, who died on the 6th of December in 345 or 352. His hometown was Anatolia in Turkey and he was a well-known philantrophist. He also was a tutelary of sailors and merchants. After he died, his reputation spread to the Mediterranean sea and to the Atlantic area.

Usually Santa Claus is pictured as kind, red hat, big belly, old man, who has a white massive beard. Santa's origin is nowadays naturally in Korvatunturi at Arctic circle in Finland!!! From there Santa delivers presents to all good kids in the world every Christmas.

The designer of the moderns Santa Claus is an American artist Haddon Sundblom, who had strong Scandinavian roots as well - his dad was Finnish and mom Swedish. The picture of Santa was designed for the Coca-Cola company in the 1930s.

Buon Natale, hou hou hou! And remember to behave good, because the Santa is watching!

Post 18. Young finnish designer in 2008.

The young finnish designer-prize was given to two designers in year 2008: Nathalie Lahdenmäki (born 1974) and Naoto Niidome (born 1974). Both of these young designers have been studying in the University of Art and Design in Helsinki: Nathalie studied in glass- and ceramics section and Naoto in furniture deisgn section.

In addition to this, Niidome has studied clothing design. This veratile designer has worked so far within furniture design, clothing design, graphic design and unique items. In his work he has combined ideas and materials in a fresh way, for example "dressing up" furnitures instead of sheathing them.

Nathalie Lahdemäki uses ceramics and glass as her materials. Lahdenmaki's sophisticated and sensitive way of working has created from old materials new unique items. Nathalie also teaches product design in the University of Art and design.

The jury justificated their desicion about the winners by declaring that these designers are very promising for the future as well. Their eork is done with careful touch without going to the extremes. The result is original and suprising design. Their products are not shouting but they have something deeply spiritual in them. Both of the deisgners have also worked for famous Finnish companies as Iittala and Marimekka. Also both of these deisgners are half Fnnish: Lahdenmaki half french and Niidome half japanese. They represent in their production traditional finnish design - clear and pre lines

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This picture on the right represents Niidome's production for Marimekko. In the picture above you can see Lahdenmäki's work for finnish comapny Iittala.

Post 17. Young finnish designer-prize

Ciao,

since I have now written about finnish design overall, starting from its foundations leading to the future of finnish design, I would like to introduce to you a prize which is given to a talented young designer/designers yearly, Vuoden nuori muotoilija (the young finnish designer-prize).

The prize is given to a designer, who has shown exceptional, original and high-class expertise in the field of arts and crafts, applied arts, industrial design, grafic design or interior architecture. The purpose of this prize is to inspire young designers to rigorous and original working.

The prize can be given to a person, people or a group, which has/have shown new creative point of view and expertise in the field of design. The amount if the prize is 5 000 euros and it also includes an exhibition in the premises of Design Forum Finland, which is the organization behind this prize. The prize was first introduced in year 2000 and it has been handed out since then almost yearly.

The winners of the prize starting from the year 2000 have been designers Harri Koskinen and Ilkka Suppanen (2000), interioir architect Karola Sahi and architect Eeva Lithovius (2001), designer and carpenter Tuuli Autio and silversmith Pyry Tamminen (2002), graphic designers Antti Hinkula and Teemu Suviala (2005), industrial designer Jukka Korpihete and furniture designer Mikko Paakkanen (2006) and shoe designer Julia Lundsten and designer Janne Kyttänen (2007). I am sure these names are still to be heard of!!!

In my next post I will introduce to you the winners of the year 2008. In the picture above, there is a K-chair designed by the first Vuoden nuori muotoilija-prize winner. Harri Koskinen The chair is available in different colors and sizes. The chair is designed for the company Woodnotes. At the international furniture fair (IMM) in January 2004, k chair was granted an interioir innovation award.

Post 16. The future

The continuity of Finnish design’s success lies is in education and young designers. Since the late 1980s, young designers have brought a breath of fresh air to the sector. Experiments with materials, new kinds of housing concepts and a new way of life have been given new forms in implementation.

Prizes and competitions are used to support improvements in the field of design and to raise the profile of high-quality products. The Fennia Prize competition is the biggest international design competition held in Finland. The first prize is 25,000 euros and it is held every two years. In the past ten years, the competition has established its place and brought out a number of success stories from widely differing fields of manufacturing. Another important prize is the annual Kaj Franck Design Prize, which is presented to a distinguished designer for his or her life’s work.

Design is important both culturally and in economic terms. Its cultural significance is in creating a national and individual identity. Design is also a part of the memory and history. The cheerful 1960s fabrics of Marimekko were a part of many Finns’ youth and their parents’ generation have cherished memories of meals on Kilta tableware. For the young people of today, Nokia’s mobile phones are everyday tools. In a broader perspective, Finland is known around the world for a handful of things: Alvar Aalto, Jean Sibelius, Finnish design, and nowadays also Nokia and other technological firms.

In global competition, images, stories, myths and reputations have their place. They all contribute to a strong image of capability and long tradition. They also reflect originality and uniqueness; qualities with which exports of Finnish products are boosted. The economic importance of design is comprised of the strength of its cultural importance. In the final analysis, cultural strength springs from perceptive design – and is therefore in the hands of the skilful designer. Products today are usually backed by a team of highly skilled professionals, experts in their own specialisations – it is precisely their vision and skills that will create the successful designs of tomorrow.

Success embraces trust. Thus trust can be built only through reality and attainments. The products and attainments of Finnish industry foster international trust, which is the core of companies’ success. Finnish design is one part of this concatenation of expertise, trust and success. But strangely – because of its already strong myth!

Picture above: EgO cup (1998) Designed by Stefan Lindfors for Arabia

Source for the story of Finnish design: http://virtual.finland.fi