helsinki design district

Despite being the home of Marimekko, Iittala, Artek and more, Helsinki seemed to have a sizeable population wearing white socks and sandals, quite often in combination. Luckily, the Design District and its black-clad inhabitants came to the rescue.

Consisting of a grid of about 20 streets, the district is filled with little shops selling clothes, home items and art with fun, interesting and original designs. My loot? Porcelain spoons to match a pair of espresso cups we have, a happy find as I had not previously known they existed… and a roll of black toilet paper. It just won’t do to have your outfit and your loo roll clash, you know.

iittala factory outlet

Who is kiasu enough to seek out the Iittala Factory Outlet while in Helsinki? Me! Anyone else who fancies some Finnish design in their home for (slightly) reduced prices can hop on Tram 6 or 8 to the north end of the line to visit the Arabia/Iittala Factory Outlet.

While not as large (or as cheap) as you might imagine, by shopping carefully and choosing between end of line items and seconds, there are some good bardgains to be had. Now, a coffee cup with an orange sleeve lives on both my and Mr. Snow’s desks at work, and three special people each have a Savoy candle holder coming their way soon.

About the iconic wavy shape, the website says, ‘Alvar Aalto created the Aalto vase in various shapes, sizes and colors for Iittala and the World Fair in Paris in 1937. Supposedly, it is based on sketches made with the intriguing pseudonym “The Eskimo Woman’s Leather Breeches”, but Alvar Aalto was the son of a cartographer – perhaps the shapes are derived from the Finnish landscape and lakes.’ So now you know.

alvar aalto house

Last weekend we spent 3 days visiting Mr. Professor, Mrs. Professor and the very cute Baby Professor. While looking up directions to their home, I realized they live just several minutes walk both from the house and studio of Finnish design godfather Alvar Aalto. We walked past the former on one of our evening strolls, but the gods (and opening hours) conspired against a visit.

I had learnt a lot about him and became a fan after visiting this exhibition in London last year. The buildings he drew clearly belong to a particular era, but comparnig these to what was more usually being built at the time emphasizes his vision. Most impressive to me was the hospital in Paimio, where he designed not just the structure and sunning balconies, but also many details down to patient beds, ergonomic door handles, cupboards and even anti-splash sinks.

All was not lost as we did trundle past his Finlandia Hall several times on the tram to and from town. As for visiting his house proper, well, we’ll just have to force ourselves to come back!