Port of Call LAST UPDATE July 18, 2009
site design imagesparkle.com
June 8, 2009 Helsinki, Finland – Sustainable Living Through Finnish Design
image
Finnish design is world-renowned for its simplicity and ‘Timeless Design’, yet there is a new vanguard of Finnish designers in Helsinki embracing sustainable design and production. This shop is situated in Helsinki’s design district, a neighbourhood comprised of like-minded ecologically aware artists and designers.
Long before the concepts of climate change, carbon-free trading and ecological sustainability had entered into everyday parlance, a movement was born in Finland that pronounced the virtues of non-wastefulness and that championed the borders of fashion and style to be timeless.

Finnish design as a movement traces its roots back to the late 19th century when industrial arts and crafts were promoted to boost industry in order to drive the economy. This resulted in a high number of artisans working within the manufacturing industry when the national romantic movement began at the turn of the century, enveloping the fine arts, architecture and industry. This instilment of artistic sense within the manufacturing industry resulted in a different ethos in that industry in Finland compared to other countries, where industrial production wasn’t necessarily congruous to everyday life. The concept of Finnish design tries to unite these two opposing factors, everyday household living, and industrial production, in a harmonious balance where the affect of the latter on the former is kept to a minimum.

In order to learn more about the legacy, impact and contemporary state of this concept of sustainable design, Peace Boat participants visited a variety of design related locations around the city of Helsinki.
site design imagesparkle.com
image
Iittala representaive Kristiina Kobayashi explains her company’s philosophies of functionality, essentiality and emotion to Peace Boat participants inside IIttala Group’s Arabia factory. All Iittala products are created to be ‘long-lasting, relevant and usable everyday.’
One of the oldest and best-known household brand names in Finland is Arabia, established in 1873 and now run and operated by the parent company Iittala Group. The group owns a wide array of other household Scandinavian brands and operates over 70 stores around the world where they focus on their eponymous label. Peace Boat participants were given the opportunity to visit the Arabia factory and learn about the Iittala Group’s philosophy of ‘Against Throwawayism’ from their spokeswoman Kristiina Kobayashi.

IIttala group goes against the trend of creating pop icons or following current trends and instead employ design techniques that are intended for lasting everyday design, appealing to the words of important Finnish designer Kaj Franck who stated that ‘objects should always be appropriate, durable and functional.’ IIttala believes that this view promotes a special kind of aesthetic in the creation of its product, which is relayed onto the consumer. Ms Kobayashi explained how the owner of such products will realise a certain appeasement of the senses by using these products in everyday life due to the fact that they were designed as objects of high quality and durability, designed to last generations. This concept of durability is almost directly opposed to mass production and the resultant reality of mass land fill and waste.
image

Alvar Aalto’s three-legged stool was designed in 1933. It is however, still in production today and is still a best selling item for Artekk, a proven classic of the timeless design concept.
In downtown Helsinki, at the Artekk Gallery Shop, Ms Anni Ailinpieti gave participants an overview into the history, philosophy and current work of Artekk, perhaps the best known brand name in Finnish design circles. Artekk was co-created in 1935 by well renowned Finnish designer, Alvar Aalto, his brother, and two other young and innovative designers. A portmanteau of art and technology, Artekk believed in blurring the lines between art and industry and wanted to instil a difference in the design industry. Alvar Aalto had been designing innovative furniture and new kinds of glassware since the 1930s, and attracted global attention early on with what would later become ubiquitous around the world, his 1933 three-legged stool design.

Today Artekk still holds these same core ideals, as well as focusing on the sustainability, functionality and longevity of the products it designs. Artekk invests much research into the pursuit of new and more sustainable types of materials for production, including wood-plastic composites and the use of fast replenishing materials like bamboo. The company believes that if it maintains ecologically ethical designs then the aesthetics of the product will in turn be enhanced naturally, a process that Artekk is constantly endeavouring to improve.
image

Panelists Jenni Moberg, Anna Etula and Teemu Suviala, pictured left to right with Peace Boat staff member Ueno Rei, share their opinions during question time about sustainability and design in contemporary Finland with Peace Boat participants.
More aware of the context and history of the Finnish design movement, participants moved on to the exquisitely self-designed ex-studio of Alvar Aalto, where a panel of young Finns involved in the design industry were waiting to discuss design and sustainability with respect to contemporary trends and markets. Peace Boat participants listened eagerly to how sustainable concepts are implemented by the young Finns in their line of work and were eager to share and express their opinions about design and the implications of mass production. Participants enjoyed discussing and drawing comparisons between Japanese and Finnish design and ways that they have evolved over the last century. ‘Japan has a lot to learn from Finland about how to make our industries more sustainable’ observed participant Ohashi Mariko.

The panellists explained how they try to incorporate elements of Finnish design concepts on a sustainable and contemporary level. Anna Etula, founder of children’s clothing company Muru, explained how she only uses organic cotton that originates near Finland so as to cut down on emissions from transportation. All of her clothes are produced to a high quality and are designed as unisex so that they maybe utilised to their full capacity over the duration of their life.
image
In Helsinki’s Design District, there are a number of ecologically minded shops selling products made out of recycled goods. These refrigerator magnets were made using discarded computer keyboards, and can be used as either an educational tool or for entertainment.
Another panellists, Jenni Moberg, runs 0.7 Design, a company that assists Finnish designers and production companies with marketing and sales assistance. Jenni prefers to work with companies that act and behave in a sustainable and responsible fashion, such as designers who utilise recycled materials or traditional production techniques, or companies that are active within the local community. The name of her company is based on the percentage of her company’s profit that is given to projects that support the achievement of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. This percentage is the amount the UN has recommended that the nations of the world donate of their respective Gross National Income, which has been fulfilled by only five countries so far.

The city of Helsinki is littered with working examples of companies employing ecological and sustainable ethics into their work. In downtown Helsinki, the design district is filled with a multitude of outlets where many young designers and like-minded artists sell their products that are creeated using these sustainable principles.