Exploring the Design Museum and District

Friday September 26 was a mainly sunny day with a high of 15C.   Our destination was the Design Museum about a 30 minute walk from the apartment.

Crossing the water near our apartment

Our first stop was Okra, a beautiful small Finnish Craft and Design shop on the street beside Senate Square. 

Ceramics, jewellery, textiles

There were some beautiful hand-woven scarves by Elina Leoni, one of the owners of the co-operative shop.

Many scarves

Photo and one of Elina Leoni's scarves

I purchased a beautiful scarf with blue tones for Allan's birthday (coming up on September 28).  I forgot to take a photo of him trying it on, but it will feature in a later post.

We then continued our walk.  Lovely turrets, architecture and a view of the water en route.

Helsinki architecture is spectacular

We arrived at the Design Museum (formerly the Museum of Applied Arts) which was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest in the world.  The building was originally designed to house the first Finnish co-educational school founded in 1883.  It was designed in the Gothic Revival style and was completed in 1895.  The building was renovated in 1977-78 following which the Museum of Applied Arts moved in.  The building was renovated again in 1992.  The name of the museum was changed to the Design Museum in 2002.  

Design museum

Unfortunately, two temporary exhibitions were in the process of being installed, so only the permanent exhibit on the main floor was open to the public.  There was a reduced charge and the exhibit was well worth seeing.  It features an outstanding collection of Finnish design, showcasing iconic pieces.

The first display features some dresses designed by Annika Rimala (1936-2014) for Marimekko.  Rimala had trained as a graphic designer.  She was the manager of Marimekko's children's wear store when Armi Ratia, the founder of Marimekko, offered her a job as a designer.  She designed many of Marimekko's iconic patterns.

Designed by Annika Rimala for Marimekko

There was a section about the origins of the "Angry Birds" game, which was created in Finland in 2009.

Shapes and silhouettes of the characters in the game

Animation of the angry birds

Evolution of the design

Allan in a Finnish chair prototype created by students

There was a display of the iconic Fiskars' orange-handled scissors designed by Olof Bäckström (1922-1998).  In 1960, Bäckström was asked to design "an ordinary pair of scissors with plastic handles".  He started with wooden prototypes.  The result was the Fiskars O series that revolutionized the global scissors market with their ergonomic design.  The orange colour came about by chance as in the prototype production stage, a machinist at Fiskars used surplus material from a previous product. Its colour was orange.  There was a 1977 letter from the Curator of Design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York adding the Fiskars' scissors into its Design Collection.

At the Milan Triennial

The development of the iconic scissors with the orange plastic handle

Display of the iconic glass vases designed by Alvar Aalto in 1936.

Paavo Tynell (1890-1973), Lamp, 1950

There were a number of pieces designed by Vuokko and Antti Nurmesniemi.  Vuokko Nurmesniemi (b.1930) established her professional name at Marimekko from 1953-1960, going on to establish her own Vuokko company in 1964.  Her husband Antti Nurmesniemi (1927-2003) was also one of Finland's most significant designers.

Coffee pots, sauna stool and photo of the couple

Jewellery designer Björn Weckstöm (b. 1935):  Planetary Valleys from the Space Silver collection was worn by Princess Leia in 1977 Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope.

 

Rut Bryk (1916-1999), was a leading figure in reforming modern ceramic art in Finland.  The ceramic relief with the bird motif was awarded the Diploma of Honor at the 1954 Milan Triennial.

Rut Bryk's bird  relief

There was a section on Finnish designers who were couples and collaborators.  Kai Franck (1911-1989) was one of Finland's most highly regarded designers, who worked at the Nuutagärvi glassworks from 1950 to 1973.  Designer Saara Hopea (1925 to 1984) worked there from 1952-1959.  They collaborated in making beautiful coloured glass.  In 1959, Hopea took over her family's jewellery company in Porvoo.  Franck continued as artistic director of the glassworks until 1973.

Collaborators creating mass-produced coloured glass

Alvar and Aino Aalto are considered to be the most important couple who have had a major role in the story of Finnish design.  Of the works of architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1989-1976), the E60 stool, the campus of the Helsinki University of Technology (present-day Aalto University) and Finlandia Hall in Helsinki are all icons of Finnish design.  His wife, architect-designer Aino Aalto (1894-1949) was also a multitalented person with a company of glass, textiles and furniture design. They collaborated on many projects.

Gunnel Nyman (1909-1948) broke down the barriers of gender in the male world of design.  Her iconic works are sculptural, and organic.  She regarded form as the most important component of glass art.  She was awarded a posthumous gold medal at the 1951 Milan Triennial.

 

Gunnel Nyman- glass works

The famous Marimekko- still going strong-- Armi Raita (1912-1979), the founder of Marimekko, was a visionary who defined her company's philosophy as lifestyle in the 1950s.

Eero Aarnio-- the Man who invented a Ball-shaped Chair

There were two rooms outlining the history of Finnish architecture from the 1900s to the present day.  During the 20th century, Finland underwent major upheavals as it transformed from an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire into an independent republic.  Each decade had sections entitled Society, Housing, The Style, and The City with numerous photos of architecture from the decade. Very comprehensive survey.

Example of 1930 poster.

Room display of some of the history of Finnish architecture

After the exhibit, we checked out the Design Store in the Museum.  One cannot escape the Moomins.  They are everywhere.  The white trolls have left a significant mark on Finnish culture and history.  The Swedish-speaking Finnish author and illustrator behind the Moomins, Tove Jansson (1914-2001), incorporated values in her works such as inclusion, acceptance and community that are important pillars of Nordic societies.  The Moomins turn 80 in 2025!

A giant Moomin in the gift shop.

Picture of winning bid of the competition for the New Museum of Architecture and Design, which will be located in Helsinki's South Harbour.  It is scheduled to be completed in 2030.

After chatting to Museum staff, we decided to walk down a nearby pedestrian street and grab some late lunch before heading to another street with small shops located in the Design District. 

Very pretty pedestrian street with many restaurants and some small shops

We decided to stop at Café Ateljee, which is a café as well as a small design shop. 

Outside of Café Ateljee

We talked to the owner, who served us lunch.  She is an artist and she sells prints, postcards and other items with her designs.

Owner at the counter

Allan had a beautiful bowl of broccoli and cauliflower soup.  I had a non-lactose mozzarella, tomato and pesto sandwich.   As is the custom in Stockholm, there are lit candles on the tables.  Very relaxing.

Design part of the store

We headed up a wonderful street filled with small independent clothing and design shops.  There was one shop that only had a small selection of unisex black clothes.  Lots of shops with cards, sauna items, and vintage clothes.   We walked up to Bulevardi, a large street lined with leafy trees and stopped at Café Ekberg, Finland's oldest café dating back to 1852.  

There is an older half on the left and a more modern section on the right

The newer side included a take out bakery with lots of treats.  We decided to get a coffee and a cinnamon bun and sit outside.

Inside the newer bakery

Lovely terrace

After our coffee and treat we popped into the private Helsinki Contemporary gallery, which has operated since 2011.  Helsinki Contemporary puts on eleven exhibits a year and collaborates with some 24 Nordic artists, with a focus on those from Finland.

The current exhibit featured new works by Rauha Mäkilä (b. 1980) entitled Syksy (Autumn) 2025, united by a common theme: exploring memories through painting.  Mäkilä is a Helsinki-based visual artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2007.  Her works have been shown in Finland and internationally.  

Tiistai (on the left) and Torstai (on the right) 2025

Välipalahetki 2024

Allan wanted to check out a coffee roaster and café about a 15 minute walk away.  Some locals pointed us in the right direction, which was through a lovely park.  The amount of green space in the city is spectacular and all the parks are very well kept.

Walking through the park

Kaffa Coffee

Inside the café and roastery

The Kaffa Handshake

We ordered a dark roast.  I had an espresso and Allan had a cortado.  The coffee was a bit stronger than even we like it.  We decided not to buy any beans.  It was only about a 10 minute walk back to the Design Museum.  We then made our way back to the apartment.

I wanted to add a picture of a typical street sign showing both the Finnish and Swedish names.  This street has a similar name with different endings.  Other streets have more disparate names.  I have figured out that "Katu" means street in Finnish and "Gatan" is the Swedish word. 

Finnish on top-- ends in "Katu", Swedish ends in "Gatan"

On our way back to the apartment we noticed a number of turtles heading up a path to a larger interior building.  There were some posters in the entrance outlining the history of the building.  The Unionsgatan 45 Housing Association was founded in 1918.  The structure was built in three stages between 1923-1927.  

Today about 300 people live in the apartment complex.

Turtles everywhere

I walked up the interior path and took a picture of the inner part of the building

As I walked back to Unionsgatan, we saw two people coming from the main interior building and entering another entrance in their bathrobes--- clearly going for a sauna.

Sun setting on the water 

There was lovely light on our apartment building and the Market Hall across the street.  We are so lucky to have this high-quality food market so close.

Our apartment building on the left and the Market Hall on the right

Allan made a delicious omelette with fresh mushrooms (in season now), potatoes and zucchini.  Another full day exploring design in Helsinki.  There is a map of over 200 shops, galleries and museums which are listed as part of the Design District, which is spread across a number of neighbourhoods.  We only touched the surface.