Wasalandia opened its doors in 1988 just outside of Vaasa in Finland and attracted close to 400.000 visitors in at its height. Recessions, less traffic from Sweden and competion from another amusement park finally made it shut down in 2015. It featured rides such as Koskenlasku (Wasafalls), Merirosvolaiva (Pirat) and a carting track. There were miniscooters, a ferris wheel and the … Continue reading Wasalandia 1988-2015 – now abandoned
Sculpted wood by Tapio Wirkkala
“Mr. #Wirkkala… creates wooden blocks by gluing together layer on layer of wood, carefully balancing dark and light streaks. From these blocks he scoops rounded, swirling shapes that can be regarded simply as decorative objects or put to more functional use to hold nuts, cookies or a fruit arrangement.” - @nytimes, 1952. The artist and … Continue reading Sculpted wood by Tapio Wirkkala
The Eames splint
After meeting in Michigan at the @cranbrook_art Academy of Arts in 1940, Charles and Ray #Eames moved to Los Angeles not knowing a soul besides one another and Charles reluctantly took a job as a carpenter and set designer at MGM Studios. Soon after America’s entrance into WWII in 1941, an old friend of Charles’s, … Continue reading The Eames splint
Elissa Aalto – The forgotten SOS Lapsikylä
Elissa Aalto (b. Elsa Kaisa Mäkiniemi) (1922-1994) graduated in architecture from the @aaltouniversity or Helsinki University of Technology as it was called in 1949, and the same year she joined the office of #AlvarAalto, whom she later married in 1952. At the time of their marriage Aalto was involved in the construction of the @saynatsalotownhall, … Continue reading Elissa Aalto – The forgotten SOS Lapsikylä
Heikintori – Second Hand Mecca
Heikintori is the oldest shopping mall in Finland, constructed in 1968 with plans by renowned architect #AarneErvi. When it opened it was marketed with the words"A visit to #Heikintori is an experience. Make it an adventure and special event in one go". The mall is far from its former self these days and completely unable … Continue reading Heikintori – Second Hand Mecca
The Säynätsalo Town Hall
The Säynätsalo Town Hall is a multifunction building complex, consisting of two main buildings organised around a centralised courtyard designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto for the municipality of Säynätsalo. Aalto received the commission after a design contest in 1949, and the building was completed in 1951. It's now considered one of Aalto's most important … Continue reading The Säynätsalo Town Hall
Studio Pietinen Photography
Aarne Pietinen founded his photo studio in 1933 after having practiced the craft for over a decade and running many other kinds of businesses. (Sidenote - his father, the industrialist Matti Pietinen, was executed at the city jail in Viipuri during the Finnish civil war and can be seen in the infamous photo of the … Continue reading Studio Pietinen Photography
Eino Mattila – Finest Finnish artisan
Eino Mattila (1912-1971) was a moldmaker for Riihimäen Lasi but is better known for his later woodwork by his own design. On the side of his work at the glass factory, he worked with the designer Nanny Still on wooden household items using teak and rosewood with her design. In the late 1950s he started his own small … Continue reading Eino Mattila – Finest Finnish artisan
The church needs to pivot
We spent this year's Good Friday morning with friends at a local café followed by a visit to the gym while my wife went shopping at the mall. I don't remember when society suddenly decided that commerce trumps tradition, but it is a sign of the times and the church is in trouble - the … Continue reading The church needs to pivot
Teak figures by Richard Müller and Bo Långhjelm
It was a few years ago I happened upon a kangaroo, made out of teak and leather parts in a thrift shop in Tammisaari, Finland. Seeing I have written about virtually all teak manufacturers in both Finland and Sweden, I was puzzled that I had stumbled upon something new. The figure was marked but I … Continue reading Teak figures by Richard Müller and Bo Långhjelm