uncertainty.

greetings from london!

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.

my sister's garden ten minutes ago.

doing just that...

ta ta, sweeties! i'm off to new cross, camden, shoreditch and what not for a long weekend.

vegivores.

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?

simple pleasures.

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.

the perfect fall record.

balmy.

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.

men's shirt by built by wendy borrowed from sweetie's closet, jeans by nudie, boots by dr martens, watch by tag heuer, kisses by jorma-irmeli.

you know what i mean?

slow.

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...

green franchise.

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.

stripey top by t by alexander wang, jeans by nudie, booties by prada, jorma-irmeli trying to escape.

if you're anywhere near turku, go visit and support!

their opinions are meaningless to me. i really like skating and i won't stop.

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.

dj at work.

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.

dress worn as top by vivienne westwood anglomania, jeans by cos, heels by zara, bracelets by h&m and cos, headphones by wesc.

but tonight i shall take over siltanen with lauri soini. confusion, 8pm onwards.



come and dance yourself numb.

sleep tight.

i first encountered the photos of james mollison when i saw a copy of his book the disciples at some bookstore somewhere (sorry, the vagueness of the environment is the result of my encounters with books).

his series of photographs have kept me coming back not only because of their beauty but because his politics are apparent and obvious but also classily intertwined with the subject matter.



his latest book, where children sleep, is another collection of portraits with significance. the stunning content comes from the pairing of each child portrayed with his or her bedroom – or to put it more honestly, sleeping space. mollison has included children from around the globe, from different socio-economical backgrounds to show the variety of personal space in our world.

four-year-old kaya lives in an apartment in tokyo, japan.

what could have been a patronizing collection of presenting us with yet another set of the appalling conditions the poor of the world live in, is now a set of every imaginable angle into the habitats of children everywhere.



it is astonishing how certain spaces are familiar enough to only create a brief interest in the content of the photos while others had me peering closely to distinguish where the space for the child actually was.

seventeen-year-old, 'x' lives in a favela in rio de janeiro, brazil.

what makes the book great, in my opinion, is not that it is a work aesthetically fit for a coffee table, but that is was actually combined with children as preferred readers in mind. the texts are simple enough for a child to understand providing tools to grasp the differences in the situations their peers find themselves.

fourteen-year-old rhiannon lives in darvel, scotland.

the book fulfills two tasks in one: first, an accomplished pictorial proof for adults and, secondly, a lesson in global inequality for kids, using a subject matter they relate to and understand, other children.

night accordion.

i admit to being a bibliophile as you might have gathered from my post about mykea. although i get most of my daily intake of text online, i appreciate a rattling journal, the smooth surface of a newspaper and, most of all, the weight of a proper book in my hand.

i do not distinguish between hard and softcovers, but enjoy both equally; i love the texture and the heaviness of an artfully covered and bound piece of literature, but embrace the way soft, cheap copies collect the signature markings of their handlers. i have a habit of folding pages, i leave unfinished books contents spread out on tabletops, sometimes i scribble notes in the margins. my books are allowed to live and change, they're not collected for preservation.

just like people, even the most intricate and beautiful cover loses its shine if the contents prove to be insignificant. moreover, the deepest offense to my feelings of comradeship is when i share a book i believe a friend would like and they end up not appreciating it. it shakes my fundaments. i actually find it harder to understand than when i introduce two people i love and they end up not meshing...

i lend my favorite books to friends and never learn that they might be forever gone. when i do not get them back, i miss them dearly.



one of my treasures is a book that requires a room to read. not exactly the kind virginia woolf suggested, but close: a physical space where the beauty of the artifact can be spread out and concentrated on. because it requires a space of clarity.

it is an object of longing, and it embraces both the abstract notions of digging deep and the physical requirements a journey into human understanding of loss might take. it is the opposite, the antithesis of a virtual reading device and very much an object to move, touch and fondle.

i am talking about my copy of anne carson's nox. the book is her obituary, letter, poem, scrapbook and scholarly immersion for and into the brother she lost touch with because of his nomadic and elusive lifestyle.

as everyone who has lost a loved one knows, you are never completely familiar with someone when they live even if you're close. death opens closed boxes – whether real or imaginary – and the perspective towards a person changes drastically after death. the enigma of a person becomes more apparent when they cease to exist, and, thus, we approach those deceased differently from those who are still among us.

moving with and through the book you learn to appreciate the beauty of it, the careful study of a latin poem that while being processed like an academic work of translation, celebrates the love between siblings and the one between those living and those already gone.



a beautiful read, both content and assemblage, it is a work that proves to me that books made from pulp are far from ready to disappear.

collaboration for fall.

i first encountered the designs of ida sjöstedt via her collaboration with monki in spring 2009. her lacy details felt attractive combined with minimalistic and edgy base designs – there was an appealing contrast in the introduction of girly with utilitarian forms.

her own collections form the gear of an urban flower girl, someone who loves frills, lace and nature. as you might gather, i am not exactly her target audience, but i do find some pieces wearable.

why am i bringing her up then? she returns with a collaboration with another swedish high-street brand, jc.

a capsule collection of 5 dresses and a pair of leggings continues with the already familiar style of adding a girly accent to a basic, but edgy form. my favorite dress from the collection repeats the theme of my grey sweatshirt: lace on shoulders and a slinky simple base.

you can see the entire collection here, and it will hit the stores tomorrow. tonight i shall dj at the launch party and, perhaps, get myself a velvety dress for the season.

the collection sounds like this to me:



do you fancy the frilly look?