on the last day of the year we are supposed to reflect on those past 365 days that just went by. there is truth to the fact that as we get older, years seem to flicker by – as is the case with many of the other sighs escaping the lips of my mother that bored the hell out of me as i was growing up.
as you might have gathered from my perpetually diminishing postings, the end of this year has been incredibly busy.
i know that it is lame to tell you repeatedly that i am busy, but i feel the need to explain why i feel short of words.
my promise for next year is to take time to read and, subsequently, think more, which, in turn will mean more writing coming your way.
right now i am, however, sitting at the garden cottage in the middle of show-covered finnish archipelago, wrapped in wool, finishing my day's work.
although today was a normal working day for me – again – i had the pleasure of frolicking in the snow with jorma-irmeli during the day. the little critter seems surprisingly happy in the cold.
ok, so whacha goin' on...
look ma, i'm runnin'!
hasta la vista.
new year's elf.
now we are finally ready to start celebrating the end of the year with some of my loved ones. soon, we will go to the sauna, light the fireplace, pop the champagne and get the table ready for a mexican street food fiesta.
i wish you a happy, prosperous start of yet another 365 days to reflect on.
i am not in the habit of doing these lists. i think this might be the first time, like ever, that i am putting together a summary of albums that i liked in one year. there were many others with excellent parts. not all of these are great throughout.
but here is my list in no particular order.
twin shadow: forget
national: high violet
magenta skycode: relief
villa nah: origin
owen pallett: heartland
marina and the diamonds: the family jewels
the hundred in the hands: the hundred in the hands
i forgot my mittens. wipe my nose, get my new boots on...
in this city of arctic conditions these days between xmas and new year offer freedom of dress to some of us unlucky enough not to have days off. this week i intend to walk to the office in my sorel boots wearing thick layers of wool and comfy leggings.
kicking through the snow without a worry in the world is such a perfect escape into childhood winters that i almost forget i am carrying my work laptop in my bag and need to sit still by the desk at the office.
waxed wool cardi by cos, leopard top by zara, leggings by pieces, boots by sorel.
just between you and me: when noone is around, i roll down the office corridors in my chair singing pirate songs...
'tis the season to be jolly, but for some reason we all seem to rush and hurry anxiously from one place to another.
this year i decided to be wise and get my presents early. i started off well ahead – in august – and got one. last weekend i realized that it was the only one i had.
and by itself it wasn't really a full gift... but that's beside the point.
as is the fact that everyone is busy and anxious about xmas because of shopping. blah blah.
because for people like myself this is the season of campaigns being rushed out: first xmas, then sales, and the reason i have not found a minute to blog, let alone shop, is my ringing phone and getting prepared for launches.
therefore, this silence that possibly and probably requires an apology.
or not.
but a girl has to eat at some point. i have avoided all traditional xmas buffets served everywhere – a bonus of working for a small company where large gatherings, which often rely on buffets, are rare.
accompanied by the delightful inke, we decided to opt for the full three-course xmas lunch at rafla.
although i am not too fond of traditional xmas fare, this little collection of flavors, summed up with a rhum and plum dessert, totally won me over.
windy helsinki is brutal for everyone in the winter. being the owner of an aging italian greyhound during finnish cold season is therefore rather stressful. the little cutie hates cold enough to find woolen blankets to dive under even in summertime, and needless to say, below zero degrees are something she loathes.
in case you did not know dogs age pretty much similarly to human beings, and now that she's almost 12, her skin sags and hangs loose on her withered old body. hence, providing warmth is increasingly important. moreover, these record-breaking winters are not exactly helpful.
jorma-irmeli defies the cold with a fleece suit from limbo. they make great gear for little skinny ones with longer legs – much needed because most dog clothing fits chihuahuas and other more robust breeds. they also offer the option of ordering made-to-measure items for any pooch in need of clothing.
when it gets really cold, we add another cotton suit underneath and a padded one on top. she also sports a beanie protecting her ears and neck knitted by my sweetie. (actually, it is a woolen sock without the toe part...) on her feet shielding from cold and salt are fleece booties which are surprisingly water resistant.
clothing her is such an effort that i actually feel for mothers with little kids. although i've been told that human babies learn to clothe themselves at some point...
last thursday i had a very special dj-gig at jenny woo. i was invited to play at drag attack where dj guests are always dressed up. in drag.
since my personal style varies from fairly clear boy looks to over-the-top feminine frills and i do not have idols that i'd like to play, i was unsure which way to go.
after a busy week and another pro bono gig the night before, i decided to go for the simplest solution. remember my makia gear? well, it kinda started from there...
my drag role was "the punavuori hipster boy" whose life revolves around graphic design, dj'ing music at little indie clubs, taking photos and riding a fixed gear bike around town. however, my colleagues for the night – anna c, spelpojke and miia magia – took different approaches.
the result is here.
the queen gets the party going, spelpojke cheers on.
super mario and queen elisabeth.
hercule chaplin a.k.a. miia magia.
makia, could i model for your next menswear catalogue?
i guess i pulled my role off pretty well: when i tried to enter the bathroom, a bunch of girls pushed me out telling me it was the ladiesroom. they actually shoved me. another walked by while i was playing, stopped to stare and finally approached me with "you are a girl, no? why do you want to look like a boy?" the tone was accusative.
at first i found it hilarious, but then i remembered friends who have dealt with not fulfilling the expected gender roles and their stories of abuse, mockery and exclusion. what to me is all fun and games – something i play to my advantage because truthfully even my most androgynous looks are definitely tilting towards the feminine – is not too far from the reality of some who fail to fit into our heteronormative expectations...
it was quite an eye-opener because although i have lived my life surrounded by people who fail to fit into proper boxes and do not usually take a second look when something is "off" by accepted standards, i have heard and been present when confusion about gender pushes people to react. nevertheless, i have never personally witnessed the troubling sentiments ambivalence creates.
one of the highlights of big cities are their various markets. my passion are ones with young aspiring designers – in london there's been camden, parts of portobello and spitalfields, but all seem lacking these days and i haven't been able to find a location to replace them. i actually decided this year was the last one i venture to spitalfields because it has lost the last bits of its interesting charm.
not that there was any in the past five years or so anyways.
old habits die hard.
sigh.
since antiques are not a thing this minimalist cherishes, my choice are food markets. and there isn't one to surpass the borough market south of london bridge. surrounded by restaurants, cafes and small specialty stores, the market still serves local foodies in search of the best bits from local producers in addition to selections from all over europe.
at this point i'll just let the pics speak for themselves.
cabot chocolatiere.
getting some mulled wine.
glorious juice stand. was too freezing for any of their offerings, though.
delicacies.
got myself some pebrots de padron from brindisa shop. sweetie admired the ham and chilis.
cheese... i love cheese.
brindisa chorizo rolls are simple: chorizo, peppers, rocket, bun. the line to the little booth is long all day.
the problem this particular market – and presumably also spitalfields and camden before it – suffers from, are the tourists. for markets that sell creative little pieces of clothing or accessories, tourists are beneficial to a certain degree. but at some point they overwhelm the buying crowd because their main interest is enjoying the vibe of the market. slowly but surely the small retailers are replaced by insignificant market crap which is cheaper and more likely to sell, the little food carts shoved into a corner from under bigger chains and after a while the market is a tourist attraction with very little to offer.
for food markets the results of increasing popularity are devastating: tourists want to nibble and bite into everything, but they hardly ever buy a single piece of cheese or jar of olives. a big pack of foreigners with cameras capturing the ambiance blocks locals who feel frustrated and leave without following through with their purchase.
caught in action.
unfortunately, in this issue i cannot disavow myself from the merry little crowd of people who just come to the market to inhale it. when it comes to groceries, i am definitely a tourist just visiting no matter how much i'd love to see myself behaving like the locals.
needless to say, i hate being part of the problem. i loathe myself for trying to snatch yet another little piece of cheese and not paying the vendor the courtesy of even pretending an interest to buy. every ooh and exclamation that leaves my lips feels like a curse that's suffocating the exact thing it is trying to elevate.
many vendors are already deserting the market and opening little stores along the side streets and alleys close to the actual market space. they want to serve their regular customers who find tourists a nuisance.
i want to recommend the food market although i probably should not. if i lived in london, i'd go every weekend to buy my groceries. it is such an overwhelming experience both visually and aromatically that the three hours that passed just walking around went hardly noticed.
vanilla custard danish. like creme brulée in fluffy pastry. yummy.
go visit, but please, buy plenty to support the people who make the market the amazing place it is.
very late this october a surprising (to me, that is) group in finland decided to take action. they were not people who were unrelated to the topic at hand nor people who had not taken action before – there were think-tankers, digital marketing professionals, celebrities, corporate leaders, politicians, etc – but many of the members of the group had hardly taken a personal is political stance previously.
in a couple of days they put together a video that premiered at the TEDx helsinki conference on one of the first days of november.
i had read about my friends' facebook statuses that "great things were on the way", but nothing prepared me for the actual viral. i cried, and i wasn't the only one.
(if you cannot see the english subtitles, click on cc.)
the past year in finland has felt abrasive. last summer the pride march was attacked. people interviewed on tv, columnists and bloggers have taken their liberties seriously and uttered hurtful words using both their impressions about religion and their right to free speech as excuses. yesterday a "style consultant" asked the gay couples who dared to dance at the president's independence day reception to "show some respect" and refrain from dancing.
just like everywhere around the world, gay kids are more likely to take their own lives than straight ones – the bullying and marginalization is a reality as much here as it is in where the "it gets better" campaign was started, the us.
curiously all of these people claim to know plenty of lgbti-people and that they have close friends from sexual minorities. i am sure they find nothing religiously, stylistically or veraciously problematic about hurting (intentionally?) their other friends, either.
some even ask why gays are above criticism... although none of them can give any other "critical" argument but that they're grossed out about gays (that is, imagining sex between gay men, let's be honest here) and seeing gay people being treated just like others feels like an insult on normality (i.e. forces them to imagine sex between men).
the video above was shown at schools and on all national tv stations and it created such a wave of applause that the force behind it quickly gathered people to write their stories. today, they are launched as a book. it will be available in bookstores nationwide and online (for example here).
all the proceeds go to the youth help line funded by the mannerheim league for child welfare – about which i have distressed views because of their psychiatrist's inexplicable views about gay parenting. nonetheless, the helpline is the only viable one nationally and their work is without hesitation thoroughly admirable.
the book launch is tonight at jenny woo from 7.30pm onwards. there will be a couple of short speeches, some live music, excerpts read from the book and djs, myself included.
the question above was the message in my friend's answering machine in the early nineties. not her cellphone, but a regular, when-i-am-out-the-door kind of an answering machine. the hastily uttered sentence was followed by a beep, and usually a fairly confused silence and a message from someone questioning their own sanity. in my teens i thought is was hilarious.
hilarious enough to remember it every time i see mittens.
i get to snicker a lot, because i am a mittens kinda girl. i own knitted gloves and have even taken a few adventurous leaps towards leather ones – supposedly more feminine and womanly. but since i am not too often playing a lady, i have managed to fight the cold with infantile handwear.
my newest acquisition is from lustwear. paint dipped and simple, they are probably as grownup as mittens can get.
i took some time this morning to read the piles of newspapers we have accumulated next to the sofa. i have not had a chance to read the paper for almost a fortnight and i looked forward to spreading the large sheets on the coffee table. a beautiful snowfall, a steaming cup of coffee and, finally, a less congested head capable of understanding written material – it started as the perfect morning.
profoundly fitting for the day of finnish independence were the already old news of the finished work of the country brand committee. i had browsed through the book mission for finland! – how finland will solve the world's most wicked problems and clicked their flash filled website. i found the work thoroughly finnish and optimistic – a paradox, as i was to find out this morning.
i had read some reactions to the publication from online journals, but while they were carefully positive or only slightly snickering, i was not prepared for the loathing that hit me in the face from the newspapers' opinions and editorials.
my problem with the entire project was that i do not recognize the sort of nationalistic sentiments in myself that seem prerequisite for partaking in something like this. for me, feeling proud about being a finn seems alien. it is my cultural heritage, heterogeneous as such, but my process of an identity is too multifaceted to support such statements as national pride in all honesty. still i can grasp the objective at hand. or so i thought.
the thing is, it seems many finns found the project with the objective of defining features of finnish society that could be our strengths lacking because the end result wasn't a state of the nation report. the most common source of whining was that the problems we face – longtime unemployment, terrible mental health care, youth marginalization – were not discussed. that the perspective was not that of an average or disadvantaged member of society.
i am sorry but at what point did a listing of strengths need to include the problems? the country branding report was not meant to tell the world (or ourselves) what was wrong with finland, but what was great and unique about it and its people.
moreover, anyone with culturally sensitive reading glasses can infer from many of the tasks where our problems lay: lack of communication, lack of personal social support (in lieu of institutional support) and lack of intergenerational connections. there are suggestions for improvement and change but their focus is on the positive, not the negative.
and that's where the report fails to reach (some) finns.
my trips to london are quite different from the average traveler: i go (almost) yearly, spend most of my time on the cosy sofa at my sister's place catching up and, needless to say, spend a fairly limited time visiting sights and such. i've seen them all before and central london offers very little i find worth dealing with the tourists for.
yes, i am one of those arrogant snobs who after some time of living in london myself and nowadays as a regular visitor distinguish myself from other tourists whether the basis is logically sound or not. sorry.
one destination i do not skip, though, is food for thought. the small basement in covent garden serves vegetarian meals that are never fussy but always fresh and invigorating. i became a regular when i worked in london in the late 90's and cannot visit the city without eating a plate of their quiche and mixed salad and finishing the meal with a fruit scrunch.
the only minus is the tiny space that is often crammed and stuffy resulting in annoyance: people push and shove accidentally (and intentionally) and trying to get to the bathroom is like threading a warpath. the restaurant itself is one of those hippie-like, long wooden benches and amateurish paintings on the walls establishments that one of my readers, birger jaarli, so vividly and accurately described in the comments here. and my hippie loathing has prolly been obvious before.
the scrunch. best shared.
but because i love the food, i am willing to let the hippie vibes pass.
if you're after a delicious, cheap and unpretentious vegetarian lunch, i highly recommend the place.
i am not too fond of sweets, but whenever i travel i get cravings for cakes, pastries and puddings. it may be that bakeries around the world differ from our local kind by their extravagance; a window filled with a colorful selection of baked, iced, topped, berried, creamed and whatnot goods is sure to lure in at least to marvel everything.
the pastry du jour in london seemed to be the cupcake. there were little stores and booths everywhere we went: colorful windows filled with trays of little sugary bundles wrapped in paper. imaginative toppings ranging from classic to cute to raunchy offered anything and everything you might want for your party or just for the hell of it.
we left on our trip slightly feverish, but have managed to make it outside every day. enjoying a hot cup of tea has truly been a relevant part of our london experience although i have been known to mock my sis for her habit of putting the kettle on at every opportunity.
even slightly sick, we've been able to spend quality time with my elder sister and met up with stella and her entourage at random bars around town. finally tonight is the show this trip was planned around – the national.
but we live in hazardous times: this morning we woke up to a snow-covered city. i could not sleep after my sister left for work: driving without snow tires is not exactly my idea of a safe journey. also a cabin crew strike is affecting our return tomorrow, so i might just stay as your correspondent from a very wintery london.
it is not surprising that after a few years of bacon playing the role of the obligatory side dish from burgers to ice cream, new yorkers are embracing a new food trend: veggie love.
don't get me wrong, the rather recently found fondness for artisan butchers and locavore preferences for organic meat from distinguishable farms is all but disappearing from trendy restaurants – far from it. also finally, the interest in the background of one's protein is showing some signs of venturing towards finland, as well. perhaps we'll get proper artisan burgers served next summer somewhere...
as a (pesco-)vegetarian, i greet the growing appreciation of vegetables with joy. vegivores – as dubbed by a new york magazine article – are not a group that avoids meat or is against meat consumption, but they appreciate vegetables as the main, most powerful element of a meal. combined with the ever increasing trendiness of supporting seasonal and local produce, it is a healthy development towards more sustainable eating.
for finns, who also tend to overemphasize the role of the slab of meat on their plate, this direction seems more than recommendable. unfortunately, the discussion here seems to focus on the impossibility of feeding people with organic food which conveniently ignores the fact that sustainable eating means a thorough change in the content of our plates, especially a reduction of animal protein and a reintroduction of local veggies.
new yorkers base the increased interest in vegetables on the popularity of farmers' markets: after being able to fondle produce that's been picked ripe and with more variety, the ability to explore flavors has taken a leap forward. i cannot but agree with the fact that the more one partakes in growing one's own food, the more important it becomes: urban gardens are a reality – albeit a privileged one – also here in finland for those who do not have a countryside garden at their disposal.
because food should not be boring and bland and although meat is easier to prepare properly, i feel ecstatic to hear that more chefs are taking the challenge of the veggie seriously and want to prepare great food where the clichés of foie gras or tenderloin play only the role they should be appointed: boring and self-evident. i am not claiming they're not tasty (not that i'd know) but just saying that there's more to food than a juicy steak or a bite of extravagance based on animal torture.
the introduction of fine-dining menus comprised of veggie courses warms my heart, and also i cannot help but feel a little nudge of self-gratification going towards those finnish chefs who keep on ignoring vegetarians by claiming that proper food contains animal protein. b***slap.
when they grow out of hand and turn inedible, zucchinis make great accessories for portraits, too.
even if it was a fad, i want to appreciate it to the fullest. another trend will emerge, but based on these recent developments, i hope the direction stays towards more sustainable and less cruel.
do you consider a meal without meat less festive or worthy of fine-dining prices?
i have a special relationship with magenta skycode which without a doubt distorts my perspective when evaluating the band. from listening to the work of jori for years, hearing the first demos of IIIII at a random party to the full, final release – which i still consider one of the best debut albums of the decade – i had great expectations for his second album.
not disappointed.
the album is more accessible than his debut, and his internal artistic strength is more graspable from his singing even if the man himself is rather shy in person. simply put, the talent is inescapable.
the song below is not my favorite from the album, but the video is too cute to pass. it is a collection of clips from the early days of jori's new cat, lurppa; a story of her arrival to the new home and meeting the royalty, guru.
i am quite certain you know the kind of week i am talking about.
when everything around turns to chaos and you find yourself alone with the single task of controlling it.
when after fifteen-hour days you're barely able to utter a word.
when work overwhelms and things get hectic enough for you to seek refuge in the broom closet, the only wardrobe associated thing i have in my head is comfort. power dressing works through most stressful situations, but when the content of most of your day is disorder management, soft and soothing is what i want.
a boyfriend shirt and stretchy, loose jeans work wonders when meeting clients happens only via the phone. moreover, when even a tad of starch feels rough enough to crumble whatever powers you have at your disposal, going for the softest flannel in airy blue and white can cushion you against the world.
one of my favorite albums of late is twin shadow's forget. the work of a twenty-something brooklynite, george lewis jr, is a collection of massively haunting electro ballads that echo such a variety of influence that it's sometimes disturbing (in the below video he sounds too much like morrissey at times...). nevertheless, he also creates such originality in his sound that you cannot help but love his sentimental mashup of an output.
recorded by himself in random hotel rooms and produced by grizzly bear, the album is a great listen throughout.
below the video for "slow" (it seems safe for work, at least to me...) is playing homage to early 90's ck jeans ads that were banned because of their sexual insinuations. quite amazing...
my friend opened a boutique in turku exactly one week ago. that is, the official opening was last wednesday, but i visited already the friday before.
his and his friend's franchise greendress turku follows the same concept of ethical dressing as the original greendress – vintage, eco-friendly fashion, last season designer gems – albeit theirs does not include a juice bar that has been an amazing addition to the location in helsinki.
what they do have are rare gems for men and individual pieces from local designers that you'll find nowhere else. jaakko's passion for menswear shows in the store and in the selection of designers – tom rebl and andrew mackenzie, to name a couple.
the space itself holds a very dear place in my heart: i spent many a day during high school in the exact same spot, gossiping away with a dear old friend who had her store there for years in the 90's. moreover, i also remember meeting jaakko there several times during those golden years of adolescence.
thus, it felt like home sitting in the corner, chatting.
the imagery of war and upheaval feels so banal these days that newscasts hardly reach me with their clips. distancing oneself from political turmoil has become such a survival tendency that it's sometimes shocking to one's core to realize how elusive human struggles can be even in an age where global messages move at the speed of light.
projects like diesel's new voices in collaboration with dazed digital offer glimpses that remind us of persons carrying on with their lives in areas of which we are usually offered a flattened view of disintegration. to watch skateistan is to enter a microlevel of survival in a hostile environment that no-one wants to preserve.
hey! i am here to disenchant you from thinking i was swallowed by the great cold surrounding us or swooshed away with the snow.
i have been busy at work but also volunteering lately. needless to say, my weekends have been sacrosanct and dedicated to family and friends. but no, i haven't forgotten about you, just bear with me.
i pretty much gave up dj'ing at bars some time ago: the pay sucks in comparison to the extent the lengthy nights disturb daytime work. thus, i've been throwing random gigs at private parties, openings, fashion shows and at special events like the jc + ida sjöstedt launch.
