outrageous outings

dreamscape.

2012-01-20T08:46:00.000+02:00

i am absolutely in love with these videos. kinfolk are a group of artists who have combined their talent to produce work inspired by their love of small gatherings.

sure, they are a little too dreamy and perfect and at the wrong moments aggravate more than soothe. sometimes – ok sure, much of the time – life seems to consist of just managing between piles of laundry, dirty dishes, dustballs, hurry and short, snappy words to those around us.

but at most times, the serenity in these little clips draws me close and reminds me of the really important things: food, friends, and the details that make the moments we share so precious.

sit back, relax and enjoy. and if you feel the urge to write thank you notes by hand or quit your job to bake bread, do not blame me...

and there are more on their vimeo page. but remember i warned you.

have a beautiful weekend.

fragile vessel.

2012-01-19T15:44:00.001+02:00

it's been a while since i've posted music.

too many mediocre songs and meaningless albums have passed by or i've just assumed that you know about the good ones way before i have time to say anything.

yes, i assume you are a busy lot well informed and all...

even this one isn't new although porcelain raft's debut album strange weekend is just coming out next week. the dreamy, lofi pop that sounds as brumous as his videos look like are beautifully accompanied by the voice that assumes nothing resembling arrogance or pomposity, just gently adds to the haunting float that becomes a song.

he's opening for m83 at tavastia on feb 27 which is a combination bliss, if anything can be.

on relativity.

2012-01-08T18:50:00.000+02:00

my mentor had a poignant suggestion to people who insisted that everything is relative: "just try jumping off a ten storey building and see how relative things are." naturally, his little remark was as beyond the point as the original suggestion was hasty, but there was a brief reminder of some things being universal.

talking about universals gives certain people the chills – and reassures some – but the mere acceptance of the existence of universal laws explains very little of the world. the thing is, once we start making sense of what happens around us, we start putting facts together and the glue we choose has an immense effect of what kinds of conundrums come about.

to put it simply, our explanatory stories – or narratives as the good old hermeneutic inquirer would say – are construed by us with whatever material we have at our disposal and the results are selective and biased in every beautiful sense of the words.

i have a paradoxical but loving relationship to moments when little details force me to reassess the storyline i put together. a challenge to my factoids which are built for self-defence or out of pure fatigue can illuminate where i picked the wrong jar of adhesive and give me a reason to reconstruct what i consider real.

lately i have found myself pondering the nature of being busy. my most common greetings start with oughts and shoulds, and i find myself explaining my absence from everywhere including the present moment.

or, to be honest, i feel like the artist faye mullen's model who chose bricks as her point of reference:

photo from series i am an artist and i weigh by faye mullen 2010.

whatever i give feels like a brick is lifted off my shoulders but provides the exact pleasure to the recipient that can be expected after being a given a solid block of clay.

to be honest, it ain't a great feeling.

thus, i have concentrated on doing things that give me pleasure. slowly finding time to browse the tubes of glue at my disposal and rearranging the bricks and bringing forward other elements that build up who i am and what my reality consist in.

i started with my nearest and dearest and am slowly moving towards friends and this blog. i refuse to let my narrative get stuck with beginnings like should've and ought, and will soon be distributing marshmallows and fountains of down.

the ultimate goal? i checked out that my weight equals about 9 spider monkeys and i think transforming my busyness from laying bricks into little monkey-gone-crazy is more like the narrative i want to believe in. i'm still not quite at handing out bananas, but trust me, i'll get there. i will still be more busy than i have ever been in my entire life, but it's all about finding the right relativity, right?

constant.

2011-11-07T13:13:00.000+02:00

i am of the faithful sort.

people who shop by visiting random stores or even the ones they frequent without a pattern baffle me a little. don't get me wrong, i like to wander and flaneuring is oftentimes fun, but i just do not make decisions when occupied by vagrant thoughts.

i like routine where it makes sense: my mornings are simple because all my underwear is exactly the same and i do not have to start fussing over outfits when i'm just starting to wake up. having to change my facial care pattern arouses anxiousness. the thought of trying out different perfumes quite honestly scares me.

'sense' here equals, of course, 'sense to me'.

i like novelty, but for me to venture off my beaten path requires research – for example a suggestion somewhere online that there is a spot that hosts things that might interest me and looking into it. beforehand. of course.

i should not, then, feel surprised that i seem to find my wardrobe originating from the same brands since years ago. even if collections and years pass, i return to certain stores and designers regularly. i may stray occasionally and find new favorites, but the lineage my closet hides is quite easily compartmentalized.

and, yeah, it somehow manages to surprise me. this has not been an intentional process. i seem to be more focused on discrepancies than constants to realize that some things stick.

one of them is prada in shoes. i realized when my latest pair arrived that in addition to converse chuck taylors, zara and marc jacobs heels, most of my shoeboxes are adorned by one of the recognizable logos of the italian fashion house whether the main line, linea rossa or miu miu.

it's funny because have not considered myself much of a fan of prada. moreover, i do not like most of their shoes at all. i actually find the majority of them pretentious and overdone. nevertheless, it only takes the one pair, the either properly ott one or the subtle and understated specimen of the collection.

i have been looking for a flat shoe with some oopmh for a couple of years now, and although basic brogues were the sensible thing to get, they have just left me cold. hence, i was thrilled to find my newest acquisition from the linea rossa line.

the perfect combination of 90's clumsy walking shoe, dr martens, the classic brogue, the over-the-top lacquered leather and, i kid you not, girly bows. light as air.

there is so much wrong with them that they are just amazing.

any excuse to see ya.

2011-11-04T15:27:00.000+02:00

sometimes it seems that bloggers get to live a life of parties with endless champagne being poured down their throats and gift bags cluttering their shoe-crammed hallways. in some ways it is true: invitations to press days, openings, previews and such come regularly and there are bubbles and bags to be expected at most places.

i respond to invitations rarely because i am already jampacked with events through work and my social life outside the blogging world suffers as it is. but sometimes these events are the perfect catchup moment with friends who also happen to be fellow bloggers – brief encounters that provide an opportunity for an update without the fuss of officially setting up a time in everyone's heavy schedule.

meself, mikko and luna the most adorable little smiling wiener.
me wearing silk blouse by t by alexander wang and scarf by marc by marc jacobs. spider fingers and smirk by mother nature, thank you very many.
pic by stella <3.

and no, free champers never hurt anyone.

chef-d'oeuvre.

2011-11-03T09:24:00.001+02:00

when el bulli closed its doors last july, i was amongst the innumerable people who regretted the fact that we never took the proper steps to secure a seat at one of the extravaganza of servings they offered for the 24 years chef adrià was in charge of the kitchen.

as i read around twenty articles about the last meal served to a special crowd of invitees, my feelings fluctuated from grief to bitter rage. why did i not just once do something i intensely wanted instead of putting it off indefinitely?

sigh.

there are spots around the world where the talent can still be experienced – such as tickets in barcelona – , but it is a tepid consolation for missing out on the grand spectacle of the original.

sigh.

if i were talented in the kitchen, i could always try the cookbook. for voluntary and utter mortification, there probably isn't a better source, unless i wanted to venture to the most passé of things and got myself a molecular gastronomy kit: not sure if playing a chemist for the sake of a circus was arrogant or just plain stupid. it's as if i forced my family to endure a set of opera arias after two weeks of singing lessons...

sigh.

phaidon's newsletter around the same time as el bulli was closing intrigued me. they announced a new cookbook from adrià: the family meal. it was to be a collection of recipes the staff enjoyed at the restaurant.

i placed a pre-order without hesitation, but when the book finally arrived about a month ago, my expectations were surpassed intensely and manyfold.

it was as if adrià had realized that those of us who never got to enjoy the art of his kitchen could not attain consummation from attending copycats of molecular gastronomy, but needed gentle, warm comforting to ease our distress.

thus, he built a book of 31 meals worthy of the regular home kitchen, a great cookbook in the detailed instructions it provides and something that unassumingly reassures someone like me that "no, the fact that you had no idea how to cook caramel does not mean you're not worthy of enjoying the best cooking and dining experience."

the amount of pictures, the lists of essentials in both utensils and ingredients, and the basic recipes provide a solid foundation for anyone wanting to know the basics of cooking. the meal recipe ingredients divided into buy fresh / in the pantry / in the fridge and a timeline for organizing the menu come together as an experience only the best mannered company can provide: effortless and cordial.

i will enjoy one of the meals – perhaps #5: polenta and parmesan gratin, sesame sardines with carrot salad and mango with white chocolate yogurt – watching the el bulli movie with the regret a procrastinator only is capable of.

and then i'll just move on, just that much wiser.

ff6600.

2011-11-02T12:55:00.001+02:00

the warmth is gone and i am spending a few days inside trying to cope with a series of colds that have conquered me this fall. a small office with plenty of visitors and long days have attacked my immune system and left me defenseless with the viruses.

fortunately, nothing too serious that rest and plenty of liquids could not cure.

while i cocoon myself between the blankets and fall asleep watching yet another movie on apple tv, these photos from a couple of weeks ago remind me of the perfect shades of fall.

mushrooms. again. i promise these are different ones from last time.

tomatoes in four stages of ripeness.

suncherished.

pumpkins taking over the field.

perfect shades of fall.

i hope you're enjoying the ripening weather.

weekend freewheeling.

2011-10-19T14:08:00.000+03:00

a beautiful fall day in the city. a bicycle. some shopping.

last weekend i took my new bike out for a proper spin. working in a pressing schedule and spending 14 hours at my desk tapping away more often that is humanly possible, there are perks: our office bikes arrived from pelago with their little blue bells and customized to our own personal needs.

light gliding through the foliage covered streets has never felt so invigorating.

i rolled by helsinki10, one of my favorite stores in town, and got something i had my eye on since the summer. luckily the sales people also remembered my object of fancy since i was stopped at a party a couple of weeks ago with the message:

"your sweater is still in the store and it is on sale. just so you know... come and get it."

little things that make you happy.

expiration

2011-10-18T22:50:00.000+03:00

sharing life with animals comes so natural to many of us. our anthropomorphism fools us into thinking they share our complex emotional conundrums or that they love us with unconditional devotion. nevertheless, we often miss the more obvious similarities.

aging shows in our companios in a similar way to us but in acceleration. the signs are the same: greying fur and feathers, spots, warts, sagging skin, and so forth. cataract, hearing loss, aching joints and diminishing muscles. it's all there. terminal.

photographer isa leshko brings us a series of animals in their dusk. elderly and fragile, it is impossible to ignore them as beings with life experience. even when we're aware that they probably are not nearly as preoccupied with their demise and the collection of experiences they've gathered so far as we might be looking at them.

Rooster, Age Unknown

Marino, Bronze Turkey, Age 5

Handsome One, Thoroughbred Horse, Age 33

Violet, Potbellied Pig, Age 12

Phyllis, Southdown Sheep, Age 13

all photos above © isa leshko

my dear little critter is showing so many signs of aging that every single time she takes more than half a minute (which is a long time, mind you) before waking up, i prepare myself for the worst.

she cannot see anything because of cataract, her hearing is almost gone and at her last vet's checkup her muscle mass had vaporized. she still has her smell and her appetite – and boy does she like to eat – and she loves going outside for walks and runs. everything's good so far, then.

but her grey snout reminds me that there is a day when a companion will be gone.

Jorma-Irmeli, Italian Greyhound, Age almost 13

heaven.

2011-10-17T23:13:00.001+03:00

a few weeks ago i got a sneak preview of forthcoming firmament when i visited the construction site of kluuvi shopping centre. a murky, stuffy and dark labyrinth of a mall was to be redone completely, and already while under renovation it looked brighter and more fresh.

cables, concrete and tile.

heads will roll.

i haz a helmet! wearing makia. (and a safety vest.)

last thursday i got to experience it fully. it was lighter and brighter definitely, but the celestial bliss waited in the depths of the basement...

tradition meets urban.

butchers who know their business.

genelec for soothing sounds.

milky.

"the right to clean food."

eat & joy farmers' market opened a large store downstairs the entirely renovated downtown shopping mall. shelves filled with local and seasonal produce, their own cheese maturing facility, a bakery, a smokery, butchers, grain mills and a potato cellar where genelec speakers play ambient music to the pleasure of the veggies and roots – talk about some rutabaga boogie...

the first night and the weekend were filled with people just browsing and lingering, tasting and, at times, complaining about the prices... as could be expected with finns who are used to eating distantly grown food cheaply and thinking that they are being ripped off because they have a hard time understanding how relatively high prices are formed in an environment where the weather is everything but suitable for human inhabitation let alone farming and where two corporations monopolize the food industry. (whoa, was that a sentence?) constraints come in forms that bind the mind sometimes.

needless to point out, this is no whole foods. we're still up north and awkwardly situated and it just does not make sense to have a selection of tropical fruit and other whatnot on offer year round. if ever, that is.

as far as trying to take the prices down, i have to side with thinking that we should learn to pay for what we choose to eat according to the real toll it is taking on our entire (eco)system although i feel uneasy with the elitism the thought might provoke. i actually believe that a healthier food chain can and should provide us with more affordable food, but it may just change our eating patterns drastically.

and if i understood correctly from my chat with the owner of the store, they are not single-mindedly promising to cut prices with more demand, but intend to grow the portion going to the producer – supporting healthily profitable agriculture and artisan food production.

swallowing that will be hard for those who believe in simplified interpretations of economics... but yeah, such is life.

the market also serves food and today i had my first lunch. a welcome addition to the neighborhood, it seemed some sort of normalcy arrived with monday.

in regard to nourishment, this fall has promise. such promise.

true blue.

2011-10-13T14:27:00.002+03:00

last night was all about glam and glitter: elle finland organized their third annual style awards and a bubbly crowd of fashionistas gathered to mingle.

i went for the counterintuitive look for what i felt like: bright satin is not necessarily the best option when pizza seems to have dominated your life lately... nevertheless, i ended up loving the voluptuous look that is fairly unusual in my style portfolio.

my adorable companion, vesa, looked impeccable, as always.

dress by design by katri n, tights wolford, sandals miu miu, bracelets kalevala koru, h&m, some random jeweler and stuff. vesa's mask by gtie. pic courtesy of elle, click to see more guests.

the night was fun and filled with warmth; there were so many friends that quiet moments were nonexistent. as a highlight, i even stumbled into an acquaintance from 15 years ago only to find out that he was awarded accessory designer of the year for his work at nina ricci – it's amazing how old high school buddies succeed.

little, precious world.

sister act.

2011-10-12T13:55:00.000+03:00

the lovers of monochrome and minimalism often tackle with the pitfalls of dressing as in costume. waiters or officers are a common reference. additionally, the clergy is also a surprisingly frequent connotation.

it was a beautiful sunday, a sumptuous brunch and my friend, a fellow virgo, celebrated his bday. although he is over a decade my junior, we happened to wear some scarily similar nunlike outfits. by accident, of course.

both wearing ann demeulemeester shirts, acsu's bottom probably givenchy, my leggings from american apparel and shoes camilla skovgaard.

viva la sisterhood!

mi chiamo putte.

2011-10-11T10:34:00.000+03:00

ever since i moved to helsinki, i have been looking for my pizzeria.

i love pizza and have been pretty preoccupied with the fact that i did not have a regular destination. my faves in my old hometown were trattoria romana – where i actually had my own pizza put on the menu – and sergio's with their authentic short italian service. now they've even got tintå with some pretty exclusive flavors that almost compensate for the unfortunate, slow and the most inattentive service i have ever experienced.

sure there are places in helsinki to get a flatbread with stuffing that resemble the italian leftover dish that took over the world. some are better than others. some serve the purpose of gratifying my need, but there just wasn't a place i'd call home.

that is, i did not have a spot to go to when a craving for a quality interpretation of my favorite food struck like a lightning.

no more.

the restaurant visionary behind hel yes and lapin kulta solar kitchen concepts, two excellent restaurants kuurna and ateljé finne, and a fountain of ideas for years to come, antto melasniemi, put together a casual pizza joint called putte's bar and pizza.

a short menu of a handful of pizzas, salads and cocktails can be ordered from the bar and are served in a minimalist, urban environment.

a short quiet moment shows the sleek interior.

putte di mare.

funghi.

there's also a downstairs.

i killed the flower. clumsy girl.

and the most important point? yes, delicious.

neighborhood recommendation #21: grocery store.

2011-10-10T13:15:00.000+03:00

it's hard to explain the deprivation one feels when thinking about the situation with local grocery stores in helsinki. after living in nyc and london, it feels even more desperate: a mere thought towards trader joe's and whole foods, and i feel like weeping.

there are a few – anton & anton, juuren puoti, eat&joy farmers' market and even my local little store, kaartin kotikauppa – that show the example of serving the neighborhood with quality, mostly organic fare with a heart.

i love the fact that the people whom i deal with daily recognize me, as i do them, and know what i like. although i am not one of those people who start a discussion with strangers, familiar friendliness comforts me. my heavy lids get a boost in the mornings from the sunny greeting and chatter from the guy behind the counter at sis.deli, and the classical music and attentive but informal service at kaartin kotikauppa win me over every time.

it's the sort of hybrid of anonymity and familiarity that entails what urban life at its best is all about. having your own neighborhood, your routines, people you share them with and thousands of others who walk by utterly unaware of who and what you're about.

about two weeks ago a very welcome newcomer opened a few blocks away. called aitokauppa ("real store"), it is a local attempt to provide everyone with fresh locavore food and serve the neighborhood with the sort of genuine interest that is rare but, oh, so treasured.

because we are not located in a transport hub such as new york nor in an area where year-round crops are possible, eating sustainably changes drastically how we plan and shop for food. aitokauppa's shelves are filled with dry goods and seasonal fresh products – gone are the days of just browsing a cookbook for inspiration and selecting whatever suits one's mood.

i, for one, welcome the new way of planning my daily menu. inspiration that builds from living in the moment is truly food for thought.

monday doc.

2011-10-10T09:02:00.002+03:00

a great little piece of film about flow festival history and present by nokia. for english subtitles, click to youtube and press cc.

there's a short duck hat presence at around 4.30 mins from the beginning...

timeline.

2011-10-07T13:37:00.000+03:00

there's something that intuitively pleases me about holy ghost! and their simple disco vibe. it isn't challenging in any way and their style has remained pretty much the same since 2009.

and there's nothing wrong with that, i might add.

here's their latest single with a video that chronicles every band member's past in a photo montage. the song starts with a loop that takes me back somewhere i cannot identify... anyone have clue what i am referring to?

have a great weekend y'all!

northern mad max.

2011-10-07T11:06:00.000+03:00

new finnish fashion talent seems sprouting allover, and there's one that especially pleases me these days.

r/h is the label of two of my friends, hanna and emilia, and it is their impeccable eye for detail that transforms sometimes the most basic shapes into interesting, fun and wearable items.

i fell in love with their joan d'arc/femme militante/mad max top with reindeer leather shoulder pads – naturally on the outside of the top.

at a boat party for nhl magazine a couple of weeks ago. good posture is everything...

greyscale.

2011-10-04T17:01:00.002+03:00

my monochromatic style evolves in steps that makes the changes in the biological world look like a high-speed car chase.

in other words, i wear black, grey and white with the occasional crazeee input of olive green, brown or (yikes) red.

no color blocks, no colorful patters (unless you count camouflage and leopard which i wear perennially whether or not they're trendy), none of that crazy irrational color combining i used to master...

my office gear consists of an easily boring set of a collared shirt and jeans, but to keep it even slightly interesting, i try to select the best tops.

one of them hangs here.

blouse by maison martin margiela 1.

margiela hardly lets you down (although the image above might).

i love clothing that does not reveal itself on a hanger. a little mystery is always good for the soul – even the soul of a blouse.

the shirt is created from two front pieces that button down, a single side piece that hangs behind like a little cape and a back piece that folds over the cape-like side piece. sound complicated? yeah, it is.

here's what it looks like.

pants by cos. moose jorma's.

all soft and delicate folds in almost transparent and airy cotton that is cut meticulously to a structured finish.

paradoxical genius.

studs of circumstance.

2011-10-03T13:56:00.001+03:00

stretching the limits of what it means to be a photographer, the project of cosmin bumbuț brings forward intimate moments of life into which a male photographer could not otherwise have access.

he gave cameras to the inmates at tîrgșor women's penitentiary in romania and received a collection of content from life within forced borders. he then created a video (i cannot embed, but urge you to go and watch it) with the following description:

girlboys are women who, during prison detention, assume a male identity. they have “wives” who tidy up, do the laundry and wash the dishes. girlboys protect them, fulfill their emotional need and offer them sexual pleasure. they have men nicknames, cut their hair short and wear masculine clothes, clench their fists and demand respect. some of them have children at home and they do this only while they are imprisoned. other, continue their relationships after they are released. most of them are old offenders. almost all have suffered sexual abuse.

the selected set of photographs shot by the women themselves portray a world where elaborate gender systems flourish, but is in no way a stereotypical portrayal of prison life turning women into lesbian predators and victims. the longing for everyday aesthetics – frilly sheets, flowers –, privacy and close relationships is so evident, alive and yet constantly at peril.

from degetoaice 2011 © cosmin bumbuț

tori.

2011-09-30T16:09:00.000+03:00

there are little girls who love barbies and ponies, but who are anything but barbie-like and fear real live horses.

there are adolescent girls who, instead of dressing up in frilly costumes and riding to the sunset their hair flowing wild, hide in the attic reading edgar allan poe and crime scene depictions.

there are ripening girls who build their soundscapes around faerie dreams and wild yelps.

there are grown girls who find the boxes surrounding them tangible and mutilating, but fight back with redefinitions and the full strength of their mind.

wednesday night i relived 20 years of what a life as a girl like that can be.

pic courtesy of tori.

a musical timeline facebook cannot even dream to provide...

fall barlotto.

2011-09-30T15:27:00.001+03:00

the best purchase of this fall has without a doubt been our vegetable dryer.

yellowfeet + trumpets of death. gotta love the names of these delicious little fungi.

with limited freezer space, a flourishing garden and a shared love of mushroom picking, our stocks are overflowing. drying shrooms and veggies feels almost like cheating: vast piles shrink into diminutive heaps that promise a year long pleasure.

all dried out: mushrooms and leek.

since we had not dried anything previously, i had to make sure everything turned out all right. hence, i took a bag of organic barley – local, nutricious and much smaller in both carbon and water footprint than rice – and simmered it with dried leek and mushrooms until a creamy "barlotto" decorated my plate.

barley, veggie stock, leek, mushrooms, butter, salt and pepper. that's it.

simple and delicious.

35.

2011-09-22T18:26:00.000+03:00

about a fortnight ago i entered the company of people who can round their age up to the four-oh. yes, i turned 35.

needless to say, i do not feel any different nor am i in any way obsessed with age (or lying about it, as you can well see).

i guess i should believe that i have reached a point which somehow sums up my life's direction: i am definitely on the adult side of things and past certain points of no return. i guess the stress is on the "should" since i might feel all grown up, but am too much of a ditz and way too preoccupied with my happiness to consider any path unalterable.

i still have the insecurities and strengths that come together as the personality i am, and i remain quite convinced that growing older will hardly eradicate any part of my persona even if i mellow out.

dress by rodebjer, earrings by chao & eero.

nonetheless, bdays are always a good excuse to get some happiness action going and that is something i was excited about.

therefore, i threw a brunch party at shanghai cowboy on a bright saturday. beautiful food, a bit of bubbles and the company of friends is all a bday girl really needs.

glass noodle, tofu and chillies.

goat cheese, raspberries and rocket.

omelettes.

when the restaurant opened for other clients, we fetched the doggie from home and walked over to glo hotel.

i had booked a corner suite to enjoy the weekend uninterrupted by mundane matters, and continued partying with a small group of my closest ones. i fell asleep on the sofa with jorma on my lap still surrounded by happy chatter.

Lisää kuvateksti

in the morning the sun was bright and i woke up in soft sheets to the smell of room service brekkie.

perfection.

***
p.s. in case you're not following oo on facebook, go clickety click. since i am, despite my firm intentions, slightly too busy to update as often as i'd like, i post links and all sorts of stuff there in between actual blog posts.

soft darkness.

2011-09-14T11:51:00.000+03:00

last week i briefly visited the opening of ida pimenoff's exhibition at photographic gallery hippolyte.

each work is from the series and her first monograph, a shadow at the edge of every moment of the day, the title of which so readily and accurately embraces what you see. soft darkness, shadows filled with warmth.

the defense – and proof – that the edges of life as we tend to conceive it are not harsh or cold.

untitled, 2011.

the door, 2010.

two windows, 2010.

crabbie festing.

2011-09-13T17:20:00.003+03:00

warm fall weekends are the time to enjoy the company of family and friends, lanterns, a little vodka and lots of fresh crayfish.

our transportation.

stella.

a beautiful summer day.

jorma having a dip.

what little dogs dream about...

the tradition of crayfish parties is something rather novel for a vegetarian of two decades, but i've grown into dealing with the massacre, peeling and cracking the shells and enjoying my toast with a shot and some singing. i am not sure whether i should worry about my moral development or continue oblivious.

crayfish!

watch dog.

lanters watching over us.

islands receiving the fall.

this past month i had the chance to escape outside to the islands near sipoo. first with close family, second with plenty of friends.

in surroundings like these, it ain't half bad. gotta love the finnish archipelago.

gotta love life.

life in pop.

2011-09-07T12:25:00.003+03:00

well now, i usually do not do competitions. i hardly ever take part in them myself since i am not too into random free stuff and i find it rather awkward to bother someone with postal services in case i do win.

i am also butt lazy and cannot be bothered with mailing stuff myself which also prevents me from selling my surplus gear via interwebz...

it is not that i do not appreciate you, my dears. i do. other bloggers say that it's a cool way to reward readers, and sure, i agree.

but still preposterously like to think it's the content that draws people to read a blog. or merely the need to sneak into the life of someone they know – or do not.

here's the story: i gave in this time because it really is no bother to me (no mailing involved) and i think you guys might actually appreciate this. that is, i presume that you share my taste in music, even partly.

since you're quite an international lot, my dear readers, this little competition will not perk most of your lives. but the better for you locals, then.

now i feel the obligation to provide a competition to international readers. oh chucks, the slippery slope i just tapped my toe with...

but yes, to the point.

a new regular club night is launching this friday called poplife. it is the child of positively notorious club hosts that were behind the tavastian lauantaidisco and misf*ts, and they cater great music. you just have to trust my word on that.

ok, the official release says it's pop, rock, indie and tiny bit of dance music. but if that ain't the official definition of great music, you've officially got poor taste in music.

now, i've got 5 tickets for two courtesy of tiketti to the opening party. it's soon and you should polish your dancing shoes, but before that, you need to enter by leaving a comment below.

i guess this is where i come up with a funky little question you need to answer... here goes nada.

in your comment, tell me which shoes you'd wear to dance to your favorite tune. describe the shoes, name the tune, please. (finnish is more than ok if you do not want to write in english.)

and of you feel the need to say you'd dance barefoot to some hippy tune, please leave.

i will then use the random number generator and pick five lucky winners – if enough of you leave a comment. make sure you leave your email-address in the comment section – unfortunately blogger does not allow hidden email-providing as far as i'm aware. in case do not want to share your email, you can also just send it to me at stellageezer [at] gmail.com with your nick. but do leave a comment, nonetheless.

and yes, you will need to be 22 years of age to participate. and you've got till 11am on friday (finnish time) to participate.

whoah. ok. good luck!

you can like poplife on facebook here.

see ya on friday!

hope in pink.

2011-09-01T09:57:00.000+03:00

the imagery of japanese born new yorker fumi nagasaka so completely captures the visual world that i have grown into from my teen years that i sometimes find the photos and videos almost too familiar.

this is not to say that i consider her images alike the reality i live in, but rather that they embody everything i find beautiful and aesthetically pleasing in the world.her romantic colors suggest a softness that surrounds her consideration for awkward beings. beauty is not about symmetry, or when it is, there's a suggestion of frailty and impermanence.

a contributor at dazed, she created a short film with model du jour, andrej pejic, about her experience in japan when the earthquake hit and how people kept expecting good news in the midst of all the pain and suffering. and then the cherry blossom season begun...

flip through her website and blog for photos and film.

exquisite.

resourcefulness required.

2011-08-30T16:38:00.000+03:00

my habit of picking and building a devotion to daily essentials regardless of their availability in finland has provided friends and family an endless resource for presents and souvenirs from trips abroad.

it was first my habit with mac cosmetics that was eradicated when they opened a counter at stockmann's. now the store i long anticipated opened in kämp: kiehl's.

my habit was formed in 2004, i wrote about it over two years ago (and a few times after that) and there seems to be no end to my fondness of the white label bottles. although cosmetics play a very small part in my life – i am still very low-maintenance, too low at times, i have to admit – i am picky and consistent with my products... as can be seen from the pic of my shower basket below.

thus, it was always easy for friends to pick up a bottle or two from trips in case they were thinking of getting me a bday or xmas present. i also planned my shopping schedule around finding my "chemicals".

to add to the insult of destiny, i switched my daily facial care to malin+goetz in the fall of 2009 when they were recommended by a friend in nyc, and i was recently told that gaudete will be stocking the line very soon.

hence, i am partly happy and somewhat sad to say that these options are gone. the double edged sword here implies that the benefit i personally get from finland hosting a wider variety of goods is a straight deprivation of my close ones abroad.

i guess this means that i will have to start getting creative around holidays again...

mm6 does opening ceremony.

2011-08-29T18:25:00.000+03:00

one of my favorite stores in nyc, opening ceremony, has always brought to the forefront the most interesting new designers. many names that i consider household, like pamela love and alexander wang, were lifted to the public forum via the racks of oc. they know what they do, and therefore the store is always such a pleasure to visit.

however, their collaborations keep on adding up and rather than following the usual designer-going-high-street, they seem to do their lines just for the sake of creating a capsule collection that's, yes, limited, but most importantly interesting to their custormers.

obviously, not every collaboration has had me jumping for joy – for example the latest from rodarte felt just infantile when not fussy and deliberate.

but the news from maison margiela had me expecting something good, and i was not disappointed. the clever ideas behind margiela design thinking and the street wearability of oc are combined perfectly. and they created the coolest gif-animation series featuring hannelore knuts to promote it, too.

the boots and leather bag are amazing, and i would not mind the grey v-neck button down or one of the jackets...

the entire line is available online both at the mm6 store (click on the link and you can watch their video, too) and at opening ceremony.

alternative bar.

2011-08-24T15:11:00.000+03:00

not for the thirsty kind, this bar is meant for the vinyl aficionado and those who want to preserve their precious cassette tapes and vinyl records.

opening as a part of the city centre library, kirjasto 10, the vinyl bar serves as a platform for beginner dj's (or those willing to learn more) as they offer two quality turntables and a mixer in addition to a selection of records for your listening or practicing pleasure. there's also a recorder to preserve the sound on a cd, in case that's something you're after.

opening tonight, i'm proud to say i have dug from good old my vinyl collection a set of 30 minutes to play in the company of otto talvio, islaja and dj orkidea. the event starts at 7pm and you're very welcome to pop in before 9pm.

pic by mikko rasila

chief cannot let go of the feather toupee and warrior duck gone insane.

2011-08-18T20:48:00.002+03:00

it was flow. it was festival. and i was dj'ing prime time on saturday night with stella.

because it was diesel garage and style was expected, we did our best. hence, may i present: the duck hat – my only purchase from a style blogger trip to stockholm.

moreover, since we're ladies and ladies to lady things, we looked our best.

wearing rick owens top and martin margiela mm6 necklace. and a duck.

always.

the time was perfect for partying, from 8 to 10 pm, but lykke li was booked simultaneously. fortunately for us, she suffered from stomach cramps (or so we heard) and cancelled.

the party was off the hook...

this is what i call a pleasant view from the dj booth.

if you were there, i hope you enjoyed it. we did. and will do again. and again. and again.

(did i say again?)

quack.

all photos by mikko rasila.

neighborhood recommendation #20: nibbly chic.

2011-08-11T18:00:00.000+03:00

for someone like myself who enjoys great food, but is terrible with arranging their daily schedule to accommodate regular eating – not to even speak about exercise or other hobbies – the variety of nearby restaurants is a crucial part of survival. with my hectic days, the time i can allocate for cooking seems to be evaporating and frequently i notice that an entire day has passed without a single morsel of nourishment passing my lips.

for days when i've had lunch and feel slightly overwhelmed, a tapas bar is a great option for dinner. a small selection of plates provides enough variety and even better if the fare is fresh, organic and local.

ever since restaurant juuri (root) opened i have adored their little "sapas", and their boutique of a grocery store is a destination for tranquil days of cooking bliss. the fact that the restaurant is rather pricey, small and usually full, it unfortunately isn't a place where i'd just pop in for a quick little meal.

a couple of months ago a corner space in the same block just off the design museum was transformed. the basement bar that was first known as bob's which later evolved into the cleverly catchy ob's after ownership change by just scraping the unnecessary b off the windows – how genius is that, huh? – had been hosting local winos for years.

juuri took over and turned the below-street-level space into a cosy wine bar. they named it latva, as in "top of the tree", and serve the sapas familiar from and similar to their original venue.

view from below.

quality organic and biodynamic wines and local brewery products make sure you do not have to stay thirsty. moreover and not meant as critique, the pricing guarantees you enjoy just a couple, carefully selected glasses.

limited edition wines... i heard that this barolo is quite exquisite.

each sapas costs 3,90€ which feels very decent regardless of their minuscule size – the ingredients are local and they're delicious.

our selection.

parsnip chips and spruce shoot gelee.

perch wallenberg and dill sour cream.

perfect for dates or just hanging our when something a little more chic is needed. i already look forward to winter, a glass of beautiful red wine, cheese and conversations with friends.

after the rain.

2011-08-04T11:00:00.007+03:00

during the last weekend of my holiday, a hot and humid summer storm passed right above us booming and pouring down water.

afterwards it was calm and green under the ivy-covered terrace.

i armed myself against the tropical weather with a silk dress and sandals. simple, flowing and airy.

silk dress by cos, necklace by martin margiela mm6.

sandals by carin wester, dirty toes my own.

turku modern had me dancing through the entire weekend.

killer team.

2011-08-03T13:00:00.001+03:00

i was asked to dj at a friend's 40th bday party in june. although the place was not something i usually would play at, it was one of those "cannot refuse" situations and, naturally, i had to say yes.

this request was a special honor: it's always a pleasure to know that the person you're going to dj for shares a similar passion for music. moreover, the ability to surprise while also creating comfort with familiarity – and never needing to compromise – feels rare and, quite honestly, great.

champs, sweetie darling.

some acoustic entertainment gave us a much needed break.

a high was also finally having the chance to realize a plan i had with another friend. we had talked about playing together since five years ago, and this was it: we were going to kick it together.

music, maestro!

oysters. creepy.

and boy did we kick high and hard... a night of billy idol, omd, lcd soundsystem, sigue sigue sputnik, bananarama and some obscure goodies that had the bday boy dancing all night.

shake your coconuts.

all photos by robert lindström.

my next back-to-back dj-extravaganza will take place at flow festival, namely the diesel garage. if you happen to be in town, come by and dance!

cobblestones.

2011-08-02T17:40:00.000+03:00

during our holiday we kept the promise we made last year: we decided to stay nearby and share our time between the cottages and destinations close by.

one tuesday afternoon we hopped in the car and drove to porvoo, a quaint little town outside of helsinki. the wormhole of thirty minutes drops you strolling the small streets of the second oldest city in the country.

by the river and amongst wooden houses you get a faint glimpse of what life in one of finland's largest cities of c18 could have been. nonetheless, it is hard to imagine that this little town was the hotspot of fur trade and a commercial hub.

today the town is a hilly cobblestone maze but, nevertheless, highly walkable. the streets are calm and beautiful on a summer day. courtyards hide old storage buildings and secret gardens worthy of fairytales. i am sure that on dark august nights you can hear pixies buzzing amongst the rosehips and the house gnomes hold meetings under the plum trees with the occasional smashing sound as ripe fruit bounces off their slouchy caps.

there are little shops selling handicrafts and the sort of interior design, trinkets and knickknacks one expects to find adorning the shady blue and white rooms of seaside villas in the archipelago. the similarity between the stores and their goods boggles the mind. but they seem to stay in business...

porvoo hosts lovely, intimate cafes and some great restaurants, such as the escargot farming establishment, timbaali, famous for serving their own little critters.

we stopped by the little chocolate factory for some fresh artisanal bars.

our late lunch spot of choice was johans, a summer restaurant overlooking the river. their "pienet" ("little ones") we're delicious tapas-like portions of traditional scandinavian fare and my fish with barley risotto simply adorable – highly recommended.

pienet.

before leaving we enjoyed coffee and cake on the terrace of café helmi which is a late c18 house decorated accordingly.

a little sparrow showed up to share some cake with the other patrons.

if you're willing to travel locally, porvoo is a perfect day trip destination on one of these hot summer days. the most idyllic way to travel is by boat, but if a three-hour cruise feels too long or you're prone to seasickness, you can get there quickly by car.

go enjoy a little fairytale of yer own.

heavenly holiday.

2011-07-28T16:25:00.000+03:00

i've been back to work since monday. it ain't easy, let me tell ya...

luckily the office is rather quiet and most people in finland are still out on their vacations which means my mailbox is neither overflowing with urgent messages nor responses to questions i cannot even remember posing. there's an air of leisurely laggardness while we take short breaks on the couches or grab a cold drink before resuming work.

our holiday was a relaxing fortnight spent in the countryside. we started off at the garden cottage where a choked garden greeted us with significant toil. after careful weeding and watering we were able to save most of what had so suddenly bursted with energy.

the holiday brought the domestic goddess out: i baked fresh bread.

wild strawberries.

tuesday night we visited turku for a some of culinary delights.

chez dominique pop-up bistro in turku.

a chilled grüner weltliner and a shiny happy camper in t by alexander wang top.

my swing.

midweek we drove up the coast to the sea cottage we've been forced to neglect most summer. there life was all about relaxation: sauna, fishing, reading, eating and naps in the hammock.

fresh pesto made from our own basil.

jorma-irmeli enjoying the sea air.

fresh chanterelle risotto.

our own organic broccoli and potatoes with salmon.

dirty feet, bright sun and a happy little dog. hammock by marimekko, romper(y garment) by uniqlo.

i hope your summer days were (or are!) hot, humid and heavenly.

summer city java.

2011-07-20T19:25:00.000+03:00

next to my house is a handsome landmark, a cathedral of impressive proportions. it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city regardless of the season: it turns from a glistening fairy castle in mid-winter to the majestic double towers surrounded by grand trees in the summer.

although i've only been inside once, i greet the sanctuary every morning on walks i take with my dog in the park surrounding it. the grey-haired gentleman hobo, who lives on the steps of the side entrance, is often in the process of grooming himself in the mirrors of parked cars before leaving for whatever he does during the day. he ignores me.

flipflops by havaianas, bag and sunnies by alexander wang, tank top by rick owens, denim shorts by current/elliott, bracelets by cos, bless and ideapaju.

before entering the park, i usually grab a coffee from sis.deli. i often wonder whether i should get one for the hobo as well, but am not sure whether it would intrude on his privacy nor do i know if he even likes coffee. perhaps one day i'll find out.

once in the park we stroll for a while and stop to enjoy the sun on the steps. these are the mornings when i love this city most. the fact that everything is around the corner. the lushness of summer. the simple things like great coffee.

transient seclusion.

2011-07-15T13:19:00.000+03:00

creeping loneliness in the middle of a bustling city. the need to reach out to someone familiar. to smile about the little things that can fit into 160 characters – or usually less.

knowing that in this bubble i just created for myself is a longing for a little beep and a response "i am there with you." no vocalization required, no need to involve others around.

how genius technology can be.

these photos of random people on the street texting by joseph o. holmes highlight how the simple act of typing a short message can create a small space of intimacy. although terms like 'intimacy' often build up expectations, the unpretentiousness of holmes' pictures reveals that expressions of proximity rarely need dramatic measures.

be the message itself mundane, hostile or an expression of love, the result is a connecting capsule between people muddling everything else around.

my idea of perfection.

2011-07-13T16:52:00.000+03:00

a fortnight of digging and weeding, lingering and lounging.

on days like the one today, there's only the need to pop out to water the garden and the greenhouse. white clouds line the skies and the breeze is chilly. thus, a quick climb upstairs to my sanctuary of summer perfection:

... a bed fit for a princess. my romantic side only becomes evident in the countryside; flowers and ornaments are an indulgence i'd never succumb to in the city.

... a pile of magazines and books ignored intentionally for what feels like a decade. oh, the bliss of reading without disruption.

... my little companion always by my side.

pants by stine goya for weekday.

up here it feels the hours of the day are enough.

where's your sanctuary?

neighborhood recommendation #19: bar and street food.

2011-07-07T10:46:00.000+03:00

YES, YES, YES!

(caps are back for the second time in this blog's history...)

i have felt stranded in my own neighborhood for a long time. since erottaja bar vanished, there hasn't been a viable option anywhere and i've settled for places barely anything more than mediocre.

two of my friends revealed a few months ago that they were looking into a space close by and i just kept my fingers crossed for the final product to emerge from the mass of bureaucracy.

there was a lot to do with the mediterranean restaurant that was located on a stranded street, but their vision of going rough and rugged created a little berlin in the heart of helsinki.

el diablo.

all of the above photos were snapped during the building, hence the sawdust, hanging wires and stuff.

a couple of weeks ago shanghai cowboy opened its doors officially for the first time for dinner and cocktails. finally this week they were ready to serve lunch.

their food is a chimera of mexican new york focusing on simple street food style. the guys behind it all also run the kitchen of siltanen, so those of you familiar with it, know the basics of what you're in for.

as a bonus, my sweetie assisted with their bar menu – and promised to be spotted behind the bar sporadically as a personal trip down the memory lane. expect delicious, fresh ingredients on both lists and a very low-key atmosphere, great music and and a happy crowd.

the place is rather small, but they serve food until midnight and bar stays open till late.

one of the quesadilla options with homemade salsa and guacamole. yummy.

join their facebook group for updates and more info go, enjoy and say hi, if you see me!

nature comes alive.

2011-07-06T17:44:00.001+03:00

about a month ago i was in berlin for a week. almost purely on business, i enjoyed the atmosphere at tempelhof airport.

after my sweetie joined me for the weekend, we slowly inhaled the urban landscape, the trippy decor of our psychedelic hotel nhow and devoured the amazing food available everywhere in the city.

although i'll return to the highlights of the trip later, i wanted to tell you about a little gem of a restaurant we enjoyed our saturday dinner at.

little otik is located rather deep in kreuzberg. the place is a casual locavore haven with a daily changing list of seasonal, organic and, needless to say, local ingredients.

our dinner tasted fresh and felt lavish, and we were recommended an excellent grüner veltliner to accompany it.

the owners are a couple from the states and the service – i'm guessing since none of us spoke german – mostly in english. the place stemmed from a monthly pop-up restaurant of a sort the guys organized at their apartment for strangers. because of the success, they decided to invest in their own place.

the interior was created using recycled elements and scavenged items from the streets. the result is a rustic, minimalistic space with welcoming warmth.

and the strange name? little otik is a film based on a czech folk tale about a childless couple who take a root of a tree resembling a baby as their child. the wooden creature gains life from their love, but shows unfortunate appetite, carnivorous and insatiable, which leads to neighbors being led to the basement for a murderous feast.

now doesn't that sound appetizing?

now, why does the light seem rather eerie now...

ethereal.

2011-07-05T10:44:00.000+03:00

my companion of over 12 years is a delicate being who leaves no-one cold. she resembles almost everything else than a dog and arouses feelings of sensitivity and nurturing in almost everyone she meets.

when she encounters a talented photographer the results are otherworldly.

all photos by our office assistant, maarit.

whoah.

2011-07-04T15:57:00.000+03:00

yes, i've been silent again. and i might be for another week because i have not slept nor have i been able to focus on anything else than work.. and an event of love.

last fall i was faced with a question that demanded a clear answer. i had been wondering aloud why pride week in helsinki was so, ahem, unprofessional and a few weeks later received a call where i was bluntly asked: "well, you said you can do it better, here's your chance. are you in?"

and i was. my responsibilities spanned from negotiating sponsors to organizing a few of events out of the over 80 that we had to booking the main artist for the park. somewhere in between i managed the technical production of the website. needless to say, there were numerous other little tasks that somehow appeared because, as volunteer work seems to go, there's always more you can do and if you don't, no-one will.

all this happened in addition to my regular work schedule as it was with everyone else involved; the entire week was put together by a group of volunteers. i cannot say it was easy and the energy that went into details and keeping things under control, was draining.

nonetheless, it has been a rewarding trip.

we made it through and the event week was a blazing success: the overall attendance went up from 19 000 to 30 000, and there were 7000 people in the parade – an all time high.

gathering at the senate square.

singer martina aitolehti with her gorgeous hairdo by mv and the park party hostess, miss jutta pinkkinen.

view from backstage during pmmp gig.

paula from pmmp.

longchamp awarding the cutest girl couple in the park with their limited edition le pliage bag.

drag race in kallio.

a very lonely truck stop late at night on sunday.

now i shall devote a few days to rest and then, hopefully, i'll have some time for this blog. cheerio!

neighborhood recommendation #18: frozen yogurt.

2011-06-14T18:19:00.001+03:00

in the middle of winter one hardly looks around to see what is going on in the neighborhood. the most beautiful pedestrian street in the world [sic!] had turned around quite a bit which was something i noticed on one of the first sunny spring days.

one of the most interesting newcomers was kippo. a small hole-in-the-wall frozen yogurt store with immaculate interior design and a grumpy owner behind the sales desk.

sleek wood.

mango and yogurt.

i asked him who was behind the concept and got a brief remark "my brother and i", and although i really wanted to give him a little nudge on the shoulder saying "come on, lighten up...", it somehow added to the charm of the place. an unlikely pair.

and the frozen yogurt? good, the toppings numerous and the experience very much ok.

go, support. maybe he'll smile next time.

yummy.

transformation.

2011-06-12T20:42:00.000+03:00

i have been caught in a whirlwind of days that turn into weeks and ultimately months. a strange permutation of my surroundings went almost unnoticed but as i took a look at these shots, there is a continuum that reminds me that, yes, i was there.

i was here.

april 17. there is still snow.

april 24. almost like fall.

may 7. plowing.

may 28. cherry blossoms blooming.

june 10. green. lilacs. green.

to this shelter we have retreated from the endless days filled with email, phone calls, micromanaging and insurmountable schedules. there are pigeons in love humming between the leaves, a nocturnal owl announcing her presence and the buzzing of bumblebees. not much else.

so many shades of tranquility.

greetings from by the river.

2011-05-06T19:34:00.001+03:00

i have been silent and i have a selection of good reasons for it.

after working on average over 10 hours a day, the moments i have had to cherish for family and friends have been a precious few. in the meanwhile my dad turned 70, my best friend 35 and at some point we really needed to stick some seeds in some fertile soil.

but i am alive, have not forgotten about you, and am trying to sort my brain to write about something even vaguely interesting.

at the moment i am sitting by the river aura, in my old hometown, turku. i found a beautiful little wine bar that was opened only recently.

called e. ekblom, the name originates from the building's original owner, clocksmith elias ekblom. their restaurant upstairs is called "neuvola" (i.e. prenatal or child care unit) after the original use of the space, and continues the tradition of the city's rather peculiar restaurant naming policy: there is a bank, a pharmacy, a school and a toilet, all bars.

detail.

staff at work.

their site is flash-only which means i could not access it with my ipad or iphone. after i linked it, i realized it's only in finnish... but the address is there. wine is international, so just show up. the people are nice, trust me.

while i wait for my ride, i am enjoying few glasses of champagne (bubbles bubbles bubbles!) and a pretty little taster of herb marinated baltic herring.

baltic herring with herbs and cha cha cha.

turku is an amazing summer city and i recommend you pay e. ekblom a visit. charming.

ars in town.

2011-04-14T16:33:00.001+03:00

ars 11 has landed in this springy city of ours. i attended a preview last night, and cannot urge you more passionately to go.

the theme of this year's grand exhibition is africa in contemporary art. there are over 300 works of various media from 30 artists whose take on themes of global significance is impressive to say the least.

my favorites were numerous: among them were baudouin mouanda's photos of congolese dandies about whom i browsed a book lately. locally known as sapeurs, these men take style and color to a level of its own.

also, the photos and hanging installation (pictured below) of patrizia guerresi maïmouna were stunning.

sospesa (2008)

entering the room where nandipha mntambo's torsos hung was filled with the intoxicating fragrance of cowhide. although the installation (below) was impressive, there is no way to capture and share the scent that was essential to the piece.

emabutfo (2009)

needless to say, i was thrilled to walk into a room that was filled with something i instantly recognized: the photographs of pieter hugo about which i talked about here last fall.

all five floors are full of interesting and beautiful works – go visit!

dead drops.

2011-04-12T15:46:00.001+03:00

it must have been about a decade ago when i was hanging out at one of my favorite bars in turku and got an idea: there were cigar boxes from all over the world decorating the shelves and i had been opening and peeking into them ever since i started frequenting the place. that night i decided to pick a small post-it from my calendar and scribbled a brief message on it saying

hello, like-minded being! please, leave me a note.

and dropped it inside one of the boxes.

i had started a dead drop without knowing the term. it comes from good old espionage jargon: a secret place to exchange information between agents without the need to meet in person.

for years i collected little messages from my box; i think there were a few dozen in total. several were from people who knew me and had seen me peeking into my precious wooden chest in the hopes of finding a new note, but many were from strangers who shared my curious nature.

most were brief, perhaps merely a "hello!", but some could be described as short letters. there was a tingling sensation each time i opened my little letterbox and every single addition felt like a revolution.

my note is still there as far as i know.

photo from deaddrops.com

a digital alternative to my little experiment is the project of aram bartholl. he has left empty usb-drives around the urban landscape for people to use for file-sharing.

his manifesto describes a publicly accessible, passively powered hub for any kind of information anyone might want to share with others and appears critical of information clouds with limited accessibility. although for someone more-marginally-than-nyc located his perception of virtual shareability as limited rather than sharing at a random physical location might seem rather distorted, i find plenty of appeal here.

popping and peeking from walls anywhere one could imagine, the excitement of finding a usable file somewhere unexpected seems like something i could get excited about.

and let's not start with the viruses, ok? i know i know, it's dangerous and stuff and everything and undoubtedly someone is going to vandalize these little ports, but let's pretend like we can trust each other for once, please.

to find out more and to install your own, go to the site.

tiger cannot change its stripes.

2011-04-08T12:28:00.000+03:00

so, ok, it's spring. mags and sites are raving about pastels, bright color blocks, florals, tie-dye and whatnot. i decided to go shopping, since i haven't exactly been too busy acquiring new things.

here's the result: a black and white tee and a black bag.

yes, the bag!

tee by weekday, jeans by rick owens, wedges by camilla skovgaard, bag by alexander wang, bracelet by h&m. toys in the box jorma's.

well, what can i do...

why be square when you can be cube?

2011-04-07T12:53:00.001+03:00

co-ownership instead of private owning and sharing instead of exclusivity has been a topic one stumbles into increasingly often. many forms of what i've been dubbing 'new collectivism' have been a part of online and neighborhood communities, such as sites like brain republic, babysitter exchange and couchsurfing in addition to all small circles of friends who order their organic produce together or share a car. we're developing our own, lihapiiri (i.e. meat circle), to include more people in the regular order of local, sustainable meat straight from a farm.

office shares have been a reality for years, but a new openness towards outside influence encouraged some brooklynites – well, surprise surprise – to develop a network of open workspaces for those who have no permanent office at their disposal. in a city where freelancers flock to little cafes and fill the seats of libraries and rents are extremely high, there is a pressing need for a room of one's own – and preferably outside the already crammed living quarters new yorkers are accustomed to – but also a sense of community.

for example, my own working time in the city was spent less at my alma mater up north by harlem and more at the corner coffee shop in williamsburg where i lived. although i recognized and greeted everyone else who frequented the same little establishment, we weren't sharing an office or a space in such a socially acceptable way to start behaving anywhere near as coworkers.

the new open network i'm talking about is called loosecubes. it started from the basic tenet that most work these days is flexible both time and location wise. add social networking and the need to connect to the equation, and you've got a basic online social application. now make it physical and material, that is, take it to the streets, to more or less established office and work spaces and, tadah, you've got a network of desks at anyone's disposal.

on their website you can look for or add a space. members can seek spaces they want to work at, and for a fee starting from zero$ a day, you can become a part of a working community – or just work silently at your own desk. always wanted to know how a psychotherapy office functions? why not spend a day at one. wondered what digital marketing agencies look like on the inside? why not go and become a part of the community for a week.

surely it can be socially challenging and even daunting to some people. sometimes chemistry can be tricky. but there is also the possibility that connections, even friendships, are formed and, moreover, the learning potential is immense.

needless to say, for a freelancer it sometimes feels simply great to sit next to a proper desk or have coworkers to talk to by the coffeemaker.

there are other such sites, like desktime. but what about starting a network of loosecubes in helsinki? go here.

seeing as one.

2011-03-30T14:59:00.002+03:00

it may be another question of which came first, but there is something immensely fascinating in the sort of photographic evidence most of us strive for when visiting tourist destinations. i am talking about the obvious state of affairs that for someone to visit pisa for the first time and not return with a picture of the leaning tower seems impossible. the same adheres to iconic buildings and statues globally: the proof of a successful visit is a photo of the landmark associated.

because we're often taken on predetermined tours and given mere moments to capture the images we wish to catch, it hardly comes as a surprise that the results staining our films - or the pixels on our screens - share a significant resemblance to each other. so much so, that one may start to wonder whether sometimes we're consciously attempting to recreate photos that we've seen in other people's photo albums and streams.

to put it more bluntly: we'd feel somewhat awkward if a friend showed a set of pics from pisa and the only shot of the tower was taken from an angle that did not showcase or accentuate the tilt – unless there was some other artistic merit to the snapshot, that is. right?

this observation inspired photographer corinne vionnet to arrange images she found online via search engines on top of each other. the resulting photos are dreamlike, impressionist collages which challenge the idea of personal memories and, moreover, the role recognizable icons play in our understanding of the cultural landscape which weaves imaginary with the real.

in the series photo opportunities vionnet's photos portray some of the world's most illustrious landmarks via our collective perspective and proves that we very much see as one.

bright spring.

2011-03-28T11:40:00.000+03:00

last weekend i had the pleasure to play at loisto's spring party. the yearly event has been a highlight of a rather quiet party season. there's always a theme, a beautifully detailed decor and, of course, amazing people having fun. the party provides a breath of spring that always convinces one that the warm season is in fact on its way while the last snowfall and slush create doubt.

actually, to be totally honest, i felt envious of the people on the other side of the decks since i was busy clicking through records while they were mingling and dancing. oh, poor me and the trouble of working at parties...

this time the entire salon was filled with balloons and flowers, the smell of chocolate from a fountain and a couple of bright and breezy punches that made sure the crowd was happy and rowdy.

the intoxicating chocolate fountain.

dress by katri niskanen, belt by h&m, tights by wolford, boots by camilla skovgaard.

humid inside.

thank you, i had a blast!

spam on my walls.

2011-03-25T12:27:00.001+02:00

i betcha thought that "hey, that's an appetizing way to emerge from silence...", but fear not, none of those processed meat related products coming your way.

instead i wanted to introduce a way all of that mailbox filling nonsense can be put to creative use with results that could be called – ta dah! – beautiful. spamghetto is a wallpaper with computer generated patterns where the messages that fill your email are added into the fluid and organic forms. the result is stunningly pretty and comforting and, additionally, worthy of some laughs up close.

customizable and available online.

font fanatic.

2011-03-12T14:53:00.000+02:00

as far as i'm concerned it is impossible to be interested in graphic and web design without some rather pronounced opinions about fonts and their usage. i lack all formal training, which in the world of web and graphics does not coincide with unprofessionalism since many established designers are self-educated, but i claim to be no such thing – just an avid follower.

it must come down to being a bookworm and an aesthete, but i have always given an immense importance to the form the words i ingest come in. obviously the cover design of a book is essential and i have spent several moments considering whether it is plausible to buy the same book wrapped in different covers just because they're all so incredibly beautiful. fyi, my answer so far has been no. moreover, since my early years the usage of serif and sans serif and their myriad forms have become familiar.

being an outsider of a kind – as in not taking active part in the particularities of design myself – i have not acquired many of the common pet peeves graphic designers tend to hold. but my work, which focuses on usability and functional issues, is design-oriented enough to provide me the sort of insider background to find sites like clients from hell and comic sans criminal amusing. needless to say, a throw-up of fonts in a design raises the hair on my body.

regardless of the pukey possibility offered in the project, i was thrilled to find one of my favorite games and one unsurpassed pastime dedicated to the beauty of words upgraded. andrew capener has taken good old scrabble and remade the base product classy in addition to adding a customizability option to it.

his vision is to have it produced and sold via the scrabble website where you could order the font you like best or a preselected assortment of fonts – in case you're not dismayed by the possibility of receiving comic sans in your set.

which font would you prefer?

faits-divers.

2011-03-09T16:49:00.000+02:00

if you're a history buff, there's no way you could have avoided the decades worth of discourse around the loss of the great narrative, the significance of micro-historical examinations and the need to address times already passed from various different perspectives. the loss of belief in objective historical depictions both binds and liberates: we need to remain critical and interrogative as readers, but we're also allowed to consider a vast and sometimes unexpected body of works as informative.

although meticulous study still follows criteria that seems unsurpassable, works of fiction can reveal aplenty about the era of the writer (and sometimes even the topic) and, moreover, many of us consider (auto)biographies worthy in providing historical perspectives.

i briefly talked about my relationship with (auto)biographies here.

simultaneously with the ever-increasing demand to develop a critical stance towards everything we read, i have found literary experiences that encourage free imagining more appealing. inventive form goes a long way, but in terms of content it seems poems still provide the most self-evident media for guilt-free subjective interpretation and story building.

nevertheless, it is always impressive to find other kinds of sources for my historical imagination to run wild. having an aide at helping me go half-way is also rather great, and as it happens, joanna neborsky took the frugal current affair reports of félix fénéon and illustrated them to provide the flesh of her imagination around what fénéon's writing reveals of the early c20 france. the result is the illustrated three-line novels.

the pictures are as enigmatic as the original excerpts of information, and together they form a collage worthy of building a story around.

de charme, non? available from here.

hand salvage.

2011-03-02T09:55:00.001+02:00

these winter months of continuous cold have destroyed the delicate surface of my hands. i am serious: destruction is the word.

last week i noted with repugnance that my knuckles looked as if i had taken part in some free fight session on my way to work. just briefly reaching for my tram ticket from the pocket of my winter coat had ripped the skin into gossamer films and torn the surface into a web of bloody cracks. the tops of my fingers had started to change their color towards a bluey tone that did not disappear during the day in the warmth of the office.

needless to say, i wore proper gloves outside all the time.

being as low maintenance as i am, i hardly pamper myself with creams for the body let alone specialty products. i have noted that hand ointments are something many of my friends feel passionate about – although we might never discuss body lotion, bringing up dry hands releases a fountain of passionate recommendations and opinions. for someone like myself who hardly suffers from dry palms, this winter has seriously clarified why this is such an urgent matter: i have, for the first time ever, been in pain.

luckily i did not have to rely on suggestions which all seemed to come with a downside: either the smell was foul or you needed gloves after applying. i was relieved to have some at hand (ha!) and this time i went to the storage and reached for the ultimate aide.

kiehl's has been my product line of choice for years because their subtle fragrances, simple packaging and quality contents appeal to me. i stock up on my trips abroad and have a pretty decent selection of almost anything i could need – luckily i had also succumbed to the lure of their hand cream.

two applications later, my hands are back to life. truly a miracle solution.

remains.

2011-02-28T11:34:00.001+02:00

last weekend i browsed through my bookmarks and found a note from last year: "ghost in the machine". my philosophy background had me thinking i had marked it because of some cartesian point, but i was pleasantly surprised to stumble into erika iris simmons' homepage.

the young artist takes discarded materials and turns them into art. built from old cassette tapes and film reels she describes her series as being

inspired by some strange ideas. how at one level we are cellular beings and another we are a single “self.” the single cassette tape i thought of as representing the mind. the tape ribbon represents our thoughts, the data within. taking that data – those bits of memory – and rearranging them to form what we see as a face is my way of finding a “ghost in the machine.”

whether the idea of a divided self strikes you as plausible or not, her works remind us of human beings being able to leave a mark that endures through their influence on other people. whether you'd call it a soul that lingers or just a collective memory and appreciation, the phenomenon is definitely something appealing.

all pics from iri5 flickr stream. there's plenty more.

i wouldn't mind having a robert on my wall. now where's my disintegration tape...

oh, danny boy.

2011-02-27T10:02:00.003+02:00

it is not once that i hear friends with children complain about the troubles associate with finding clothes for their kids. the usual pastels divided into girls' and boys' feel unpleasant for parents who would never express their own gender stereotypically. there are options for classic style, but prices are often mindblowingly high, and sometimes dressing kids in miniature adult wear does not feel proper either. online stores provide some help for those parents who have the time and money to browse.

if you've got good credit, tiia vanhatapio bebes is an adorable collection for small babies and marimekko still continues in the spirit of the 70's in offering cute separates that are partly unisex. although the latter are not incredibly expensive, they are way above high street pricing and quite honestly do not stand out quality or stylewise from the crowd – for some of my style-savvy friends, that is.

daniel palillo and his humorous take on design comes to aid. he has released a line of kid clothing for aw11 which pleases the eye of even those urban parents who have found daniel's clothing a little too much for themselves. most of the collection is simple and functional, all of it cleverly playful, and the simple black, white and red selection follows the aesthetic familiar from daniel's signature style.

the line is still looking for retailers, but i can just about see a bunch of little palillo humans running around my neighborhood.

if you've got kids, would you dress them in these?

resurrection.

2011-02-22T16:05:00.001+02:00

i have not disappeared from the face of this earth. nor did i catch life-threatening pneumonia as a result of my hesitation to see the doctor.

i started a new job a week ago.

i am thrilled to say i will be taking part in a transformational project that affects my immediate surroundings as a citizen of the finnish capital, but which will also have a global influence. we're in it to do good, to embetter our living environment, and i have a unique opportunity to share my greatest passion through my work.

do i sound excited? you betcha i am.

i am also a little pressed with time for these first weeks. i promise to update as frequently as humanly possible, though.

thus, i must dash and leave you with pictures from french artist leo caillard whose project art game from december 2010 examines the way our current tools of interaction with reality affect profoundly, for example, our art experience.

all pics from leo caillard.

for the next two years i will be doing my modest part in embedding design in life.

therapeutic threesome.

2011-02-10T16:40:00.000+02:00

i fell ill in the middle of last week. there is never a convenient time to get sick, but this one was particularly horrible: i had promised to help in the organization of one event and had put together a fundraiser myself. as much as i wanted to wrap myself in blankets and shun the rest of the world, i had to be out and about till late at night.

i heard at the finlandia party that i was glowing. fever. that'll do it.

finally on saturday i was allowed to stop, snuggle up on the sofa in my missoni bathrobe and start focusing on healing. on monday i went to the doctor to find out that i had the influenza and was crazy to keep on going last week.

well, shucks, i had no idea i was that sick.

still coughing, i feel today that life might just about get better.

my threesome necessary for recovery comes from pukka teas. organic herbal infusions combine my favorite elements: mints, gingers and soothing flowers.

i start the day with three mint, warm my aching body with three ginger and before bed, to help sleep, infuse a cup of night time.

i love the packaging and the fact that i can fetch my supply from around the corner at sis.deli. although tea aficionados might claim that bagged tea is as evil as instant coffee, i must admit to finding these sufficiently flavorful for my needs.

time to get some more rest, then. next week another adventure begins...

can perfection be redesigned?

2011-02-09T16:42:00.001+02:00

last thursday i was one of the few lucky finns to attend the launch of the all new finlandia vodka bottle. a crowd of a few hundred international guests gathered to greet new design and to finish a week of finlandia vodka cup, an annual bartenders' competition held in lapland.

the contents are still the same, but the look of the bottle went sleeker and more polished. moreover, the battling reindeer logo is back and will replace the running herd.

it pleases me to say that the american-owned brand still focuses on finnish talent: the new video was produced by komia with music from lcmdf, the bottle design is a collaboration with harri koskinen (as was the last one) and continues the tradition started by tapio wirkkala. the contents of each and every bottle come from single origin, that is, rajamäki finland, which is quite rare in these times of bulk vodka.

the old rail yard of pasila was transformed to an all white, icy world of vodka. entertainment was provided by axl smith and dj 3rrd and by a bunch of bartenders from all over the world, such as the soul shakers, setting things on fire(!) and building cocktails. food-pairing was created in collaboration with fat tomato catering.

here's a pictorial recap:

the space with several bars and klaus haapaniemi prints.

the new bottle.

dj 3rrd and axl smith freestylin'.

bottles of fire.

a bunch of bloggers: mv, me, silver and petra.

i'm wearing a jacket by alexander wang, leather bustier dress by theory, leather necklace by cos, wolford tights, wedges by camilla skovgaard and a louis vuitton clutch.

designer harri koskinen and yours truly (with seriously flattened hair... oh, the dismay of growing a mane).

all pics by paavo lehtonen, courtesy of finlandia.

the new bottle will be out later in the spring. until then, vodka from above will be available in its usual format. keep your judgement pure and drink responsibly.

love token.

2011-02-07T15:54:00.002+02:00

i hardly use my blog as a wish list. i tend not to want many things and when i do, i have a habit of forgetting them unless i succumb to my desire instantly. my way of being is very much in the moment and i tend to harbor fairly few plans for the future which is obvious in my inability to think about, for example, fashion of the coming seasons. hence, creating lists of fleeting wants or needs seems rather futile and artificial.

i live in the now.

sometimes i surprise myself, though. that is, i give into uttering a wish. sometimes i am surprised by loved ones who read my wishes and follow them.

this time i voiced my wish at another location. and it still actualized on our third anniversary.

my token of love.

customizable jewelry from ideapaju.

malmen makeover.

2011-02-03T11:08:00.001+02:00

i have a special relationship with hotel scandic malmen. although i visit stockholm irregularly, for the entire c21 my location of choice has been medborgarplatsen and the big hotel right in the epicenter of södermalm.

it was never the swankiest establishment, but an easily accessible and affordable choice. in the early 2000's my friends and i had the habit of hopping on the boat just to see a band and with people's differing financial statuses it was easiest to book rooms where everyone could afford one. even though i otherwise prefer small, design savvy hotels, it would be fair to say malmen had other perks.

as long as i can remember, the corridors and elevators of malmen have provided encounters worthy of namedropping to the point of nausea. the place enjoys a surprising status as the official rock cradle and bands from all over the world have chosen it as their temporary resting place.

warning: an abundance of indie-infused namedroplets about to follow.

i have shared the elevator with the members of interpol. not once, but twice. i slept on the sofas by the entrance with some members of the strokes. i waited to check out behind block party's kele followed by the singer from the secret machines. i hugged beth ditto outside one summery night and tried to lure her to mcdonald's with me only to witness her being adviced otherwise by css's lovefoxx. i had breakfast with erlend øye who just happened to walk in (although i did know him from before). there were others that i vaguely recognized and many that i didn't.

whoa, that was ostentatious.

if we ever considered not staying at malmen when visiting sweden for a gig, it was never voiced out loud. it was the place to be if you had a drop of indie stalker in ya.

a bit over a week ago i stayed there again. this time courtesy of visit sweden, i had the opportunity to meet the hotel manager and hear about her work in creating the new malmen. after my last visit the place had seriously changed and i was eager to find out where they were headed.

they had renovated the rooms and the public areas. what used to be a basic hotel restaurant was turned into a colorful hub for people to meet and party. as the most thrilling surprise i realized that they had taken their popularity with music people seriously, and opened den lilla hotelbaren, a small venue for up-and-coming artists to showcase their talent.

detail from the restaurant. both photos courtesy of scandic malmen.

they had done something right: our room was cosy and the hotel was full of life until the wee hours. it truly seemed a regular stockholmer would consider opting for a hotel for a night out – something that i've only seen happen in nyc before this.

our room.

what remains are the affordable prices and the perfect location. the only thing i miss are the large sofas by the reception desk – there are never too many places for great naps. with the strokes.

hel yes.

2011-02-02T12:21:00.001+02:00

wirkkala champagne flutes.

last wednesday night we enjoyed a meal at hel yes. we had booked the much coveted seats early, but felt fortunate to have a very unexpected additional reason to celebrate.

more about that later, my dears.

the pop-up restaurant itself was located in an old warehouse at the outskirts of town – there was a handpainted sign guiding the way, but from the outside only a string of lights revealed that something out of the ordinary was going on. as an urbanite with a partiality towards rough and rugged surroundings, i instantly loved the location.

the large dimly lit room was decorated with assorted furniture from finnish designers and everyone was seated at communal tables. the tableware was also mismatched creating a homely bohemian feel. klaus haapaniemi's amazing folklore-inspired blankets hovered tent-like over some tables, ours had an arch of birch creating our own micro-sanctuary of repast.

the leg of a lamb served from communal plates was gnawed clean...

the atmosphere was excited and expectations were high. perhaps a little too up there as the porcini mushrooms in my lasagna proved. the food was tasty, but not spectacular. nevertheless, the location and the buzz compensated nicely, and ultimately i found myself returning to my thoughts about guerilla stores and the impulses they create.

luckily, the champagne, organic beer from lapin kulta and the dessert wine were exactly what i needed, and we left very satisfied.

the reason we rushed out soon after finishing the dessert were tickets to see the hurts. we made it to the club exactly when the guys stepped on stage. i could not have been surprised more pleasantly when i heard my favorite kylie song cover.

a hel of a good night.

i will follow lykke.

2011-02-02T08:37:00.000+02:00

i wasn't entirely sure lykke li's "get some" was going the right direction for me, but the second single from her forthcoming album, wounded rhymes, has more promise. lovely video, too.

offbeat beauty.

2011-02-01T11:08:00.004+02:00

flaneuring the streets of new york city or los angeles offers an incomparable insight into human form. these cornucopias of style challenge beliefs of stability and clarity of beauty and gender if one ever held any. there is such freedom of expression that stems from an imperative to manifest oneself as one feels right in addition to the visible results of hedonism and desperate longing for conformism.

katy grannan records people in the streets and at their homes. she caresses the eccentric and unorthodox, and lets the stance of suspicion, pride and fragile strength of marginalized surface show in her subjects' eyes.

vulnerable, unorthodox and beautiful.

pics 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the series boulevard, pics 3, 4 and 7 from the series westerns, pics 8, 9 and 10 from the series mystic lake. katy grannan is represented by the fraenkel gallery.

***
outrageous outings is finally on facebook. it's ok to like.

feelin' the blue.

2011-01-25T20:57:00.000+02:00

you might as well consider yourself deaf if you did not hear the dance track of 2008: hercules and love affair's "blind". it is rare that an original dark dance gem gains such popularity – in my circle of friends it crossed musical taste boundaries like no other new song that i know of.

the album was great and the band rocked live, but i started doubting if there'd be anything to follow: the following year their starlet, nomi, formed another group, jessica 6. late last year kim ann foxman released a(n amazing!!) solo single, "creature".

i was convinced the band was done.

but no. soon after kim ann's release there was another hercules song: "my house".

their album, blue songs, will be released at the end of this month. for those of you in need of a prefix, guardian is offering a full album stream here. they're also playing live at debaser, stockholm 3 march 2011.

good vibes are back!

witty luxe.

2011-01-25T10:42:00.002+02:00

viral visibility has caught on brands that formerly relied on taking over glossies with their multipage campaigns. the degree of airbrushing has since only exceeded what anyone believed possible and the pouts still adorn the pages, but the whimsical humor a clip of video can portray has appeared in places i hardly suspected.

first there was hermès with their successful fingerskate flick.

and now chanel is showing a sense of humor about their beauty line.

Animating Chanel on Nowness.com.

reputable and respectable fashion houses marketing via the power of smile is definitely something new, and i, for one, do not mind a little chuckle associated with the buck aimed at buying prestige.

what do you think: can high fashion take itself lightly without losing credibility?

heja sverige!

2011-01-21T15:05:00.000+02:00

on the exact day that i placed a carefully pondered order at the byredo webstore, i received an email inviting me to the city where the magic happens. if you're about to be corrupted, why not accept bribery to greet one of your loved ones, because that makes it a token of affection, right?

and i just love stockholm.

the beautiful city has not been graced by my presence for such a long time that it is definitely well overdue that i drag my tush to the streets of södermalm.

i was invited to spend a weekend in our neighboring capital by visit sweden and viking line, and my lovely companions include my favorite blogger pals. i cannot wait.

although i am a little disappointed i'll miss the opening cocktails tonight at hel yes!

and just in time to see me off, my byredo package arrived with the scents of adventure.

ta ta, more later!

blimey.

2011-01-21T10:48:00.001+02:00

i was aware that it was gone. i even talked about it a couple of days ago with a friend. the feeling of being hit hard.

i mean that for the longest time i have not wanted something instantly when i lay my eyes on it.

i have grown pickier by the day, and have internalized the fact that i have very few needs. although i have found things attractive, wearable and sometimes quite exquisite, they have not created the feeling of desire. not enough to have me going all clickety-click through checkout.

i have been looking for a medium sized black bag for over a year. i have considered the ps1 repeatedly, but for some reason or another have left it at the store. i really like it, but feel unsure whether the structured shape would look too stiff in combo with my bare style.

this time things are different. this is pure lust.

i want.

alexander wang kirsten satchel. pics from here.

isn't it just perfect? and so me?

bemired.

2011-01-20T17:46:00.005+02:00

today i learned that swedish hasbeens will hook up with h&m to produce a line of their signature clogs. i had to read it twice to believe the news.

i have celebrated the branding of swedish hasbeens since the beginning, and although i find their shoes clumsy-looking, i own a bag and have always appreciated their knack in creating a fully solid brand image and story with an actual basis in reality. that is, they have given body to their marketing jargon with their commitment to ethical local production that celebrates the history of swedish craftmanship. i never considered them a design forward company, but a nostalgia driven provider of handmade quality wrapped in a package that appeals to the current tastes of urban fashionistas. and they did well – so far, that is.

as my readers should know, i have nothing against h&m, per se, although i rarely buy anything from there; it comes more down to cutting down consumption than a boycott of any kind. i am fully aware of the ethical dilemmas of the fashion industry. it isn't news to me that consumer prices are full of air – although i truly wish gina tricot doesn't add too much to theirs for the sake of paying minimally humane wages. blah blah blah.

my point is not that there's something wrong about creating accessible goods by lowering the price, because this is a brand specific rant.

pic courtesy of h&m.

i only see one loser here: swedish hasbeens. was it that they realized that the hipster community stranded them for the next brand or trend, flimsy as they tend to be? did they calculate that providing products for the ethically inclined consumer base was not enough to meet their growth expectancy? were we just not buying enough of their shoes?

i find it sad because they destroyed their credibility as a local and sustainable brand by forming the wrong kind of alliance. h&m appeals to the masses and helps create press thus promoting sales, but at what cost?

was it really worth selling their beautifully branded soul...

what do you think?

***
edit: it has become apparent that swedish hasbeens have suffered from their collaboration in ways that was unexpected: h&m has (most probably) accidentally revealed that the eco-brand blatantly lies on their website: on 9 feb 2011 the page still says:

They are still handmade with respect for people and the environment in the same small Swedish factory since the 1970's. Our production methods and material are kind to nature and people. Happy toffels make happy people.

h&m's press office told bloggers inquiring about the clogs that they are made in the same factory in romania as original swedish hasbeens. what an inconvenient truth.

worthy of space.

2011-01-20T12:13:00.000+02:00

lately i seem to be hearing and reading about the recycling troubles of friends and fellow bloggers regularly, and thought that i'd show what we're doing.

to begin with, i take it for granted that people recycle their waste to their best ability. i wish there were more collection points in the city, but we've managed so far with the ones available to us. needless to say, i hope it was all much easier – like in germany, for example – but i can deal with the system we have as well.

i am aware of the many arguments claiming that recycling is redundant and i know that global inequality is apparent in many matters regarding the subject, such as recycling electronic hardware. ultimately, the problem of a trash-engulfed world will not be solved with recycling, but by radically reducing waste production, but in the meantime trying to reuse whatever we are tossing away seems like a plausible activity.

to our solution, then.

one of the first things we decided after moving in to our new home a bit over a year ago was where to organize the recycling. our kitchen trash bins were enough for biowaste and whatever unrecyclable waste we might produce, but i wanted a simple solution for returnable bottles, glass, metal, paper and carton.

the thing is: i am lazy and cannot be bothered to take newspapers, magazines, bottles and whatnot out all that often. therefore, the requirement for some proper storage was quite urgent.

in a household of infinite shoes – a sneaker and a heels collector do not a storage-friendly couple make – all closet space is highly valued, but we decided from the get-go that one of our high hallway wardrobes would have to give half of its space for recycling. it is undoubtedly true that shoeboxes adorning the perimeters of our habitat are more aesthetic than almost any available recycling center if left in plain sight as the latter tend to be some ugly mofos.

with a couple of simple, cheap and almost decently attractive boxes from ikea we had our system ready. the top one is for return bottles, the middle for paper and carton and the bottom for glass and metal. on the left side is an extra lid and on the right a collection of paper bags for reuse.

someone's been gulping on vitaminwater lately...

although we need to sort out the paper from the carton and the glass from the metal before tossing it, the reasonable size of the container divides the task to bearable episodes to be performed at a time. quite honestly i think it does work out nicely.

and as you might have noted, it isn't a particularly creative solution: storage boxes in a closet. additionally, they are storage boxes designed for recycling. so why am i eager to show it, you might ask.

the reason is that knowing the limited amount of living space the average finn has at their disposal in addition to the constant lack of storage space, our decision to dedicate a large part of essential and fully functional space to the mundane task of recycling becomes clearly a conscious choice.

we certainly do not have more room or more of the much treasured closets than people living in central helsinki on average have. we also wanted to challenge (in our own life, that is) the assumption that all waste management should happen in the kitchen and be fitted under the sink.

i am aware that none of this is really worthy of praise nor does it count as original thinking; there are plenty of others making similar value-based decisions every day. some of my friends have thoroughly inventive systems at their homes. moreover, most people discussing their problems with eco-friendly living are really only after design savvy solutions, such as the ovetto, instead of eyesores or something that genuinely does not cram an already small space.

however, there is plenty of excuse talk: if only we had a house instead of an apartment or a proper utility room or a garage or an extra 20 square meters... it just seems that for some the simple decision to recycle can create an immense source of discontentment and personal nuisance. although it makes me no saint, i can tell you that it really comes down to priorities.

how are you dealing with the requirement to recycle?

staple.

2011-01-18T14:22:00.001+02:00

for someone who practically lives in jeans and tees – be they morbidly black and artfully deconstructed but still, ultimately, just jeans and tees – there is a need for something simple to dress outfits up. or, to be quite honest, the need is based on my desire for things to be simple and, thus, a need of my own creation.

as most style issues are, i guess.

a sharp jacket is a self-evident solution, but i find most blazers dull and boring even when they have something quirky going on cut or detail-wise. nevertheless, for some reason during these past few years my go-to piece has been a simple, no-fuss, short blazer with short sleeves.

i purchased it on a whim from h&m and i think it was on sale. i have worn the bargain piece everywhere to smarten casual outfits up or to cover something too dressy for the occasion, like a tiia vanhatapio mamie dress. the short length exposes layers underneath and does not overwhelm or over-construct the look; the look is never your basic office coverall but the jacket provides a frame for the shoulders and bust.

the only problem with my chosen one being the short sleeves has kept me looking for a long-sleeve alternative. i have tried on numerous garments and always found them lacking in some respect: no buttons in front, no collar or the wrong collar, too loose in the back or in the sleeves... you can imagine.

finally for xmas, my sweetie solved the issue and got me a beautiful black alexander wang blazer with super long sleeves and the perfect cut above the midriff. i have worn it everywhere ever since and it has definitely proven to fill a gap i had in my wardrobe.

soon i'll probably have some shots of me wearing it, too. i just seem to avoid the camera these days...

have you got an unlikely staple in your wardrobe?

limbus.

2011-01-14T13:54:00.000+02:00

saara ekström's limbus opened last night at kiasma museum of contemporary art.

ekström's video installations and photographs describe a midway between bloom and decay, natural and artificial, life and death.

by themselves these topics often seem fully exhausted as the binaries themselves are such monuments of modern patterns of thinking and even her preferred imagery of wilting flowers can appear blasé, but the collection of images and videos is so strikingly beautiful while challenging our conceptions of beauty that i, for one, am willing to ignore the downsides.

go see.

eezy chiiz.

2011-01-11T19:02:00.002+02:00

last year was definitely a food centered one for me.

although food has, for years, played an important part in my life, i was not raised in a foodie family. the sad truth may unveil itself more clearly if i told you that my elder brother asked me last year what the green grassy stuff i brought to the table was. he has not ventured far from our childhood days and did not recognize basic basil pesto...

bluntly put, my introduction to the fineries of nutrition came gradually and later in life. to be exact, my infatuation with food began with ethical questions and only afterwards moved on to culinary considerations.

on a daily basis i am easily pleased: bread and cheese keeps me going for a surprisingly long time. days, to be completely honest.

moreover, i am not picky nor do i expect the best, and i have been known to nibble on leftovers until they actually run out. i still cannot throw food away – a remnant of the frugal lifestyle of our family.

nonetheless, i appreciate and cherish every meal that is prepared with care, and although i have an inbuilt hostility towards routine, i have rediscovered the fascination of taking the time to plan and execute meals myself.

with our garden cottage, i've discovered the joys of seeing my food grow from minuscule seeds and have, i kid you not, experienced mothering tendencies with my plants. seriously, there is nothing maternal about me otherwise.

my latest pursuit goes towards creating items i would normally buy readymade: tortillas (which did not turn out but resembled little corn blinis instead... but i ain't givin' up.) and cheese.

stir stir...

the simplest recipe is curdled with eggs and sour milk or creme fraiche, and is as easy to prepare as a plain soup – it just requires careful heating and stirring... and some more stirring...

take 3 parts (full) milk, 1 part sour milk or creme fraiche and add 1 egg per regular milk litre. heat the milk carefully to boil, mix the sour milk and eggs in another bowl. add salt and spices (such as cumin) to taste.

remove the milk from the heat and add the egg and sour milk mixture. reheat carefully, stirring constantly until the first bursts of boiling appear. remove from heat and pour carefully into a colander or a cheese mold. gently push down and add a weight on top. let cool in the fridge.

voila, you've got yourself a hefty glob of fresh, milky cheese.

final product.

pics are from the garden cottage, a day before new year. old kitchen stove works for cheesemaking, too.

around midnight.

2011-01-01T14:29:00.000+02:00

happy, snowy new year!

2010-12-31T17:43:00.002+02:00

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.

top 10 of 2010.

2010-12-29T13:24:00.000+02:00

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

bag raiders: bag raiders

anoraak: wherever the sun sets

jaakko eino kalevi: modern life

snow can wait.

2010-12-27T21:45:00.001+02:00

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...

puppy love.

2010-12-25T18:32:00.000+02:00

i love animals, i do.

anyone who loves animals, adores baby animals, right? yes, puppies, kittens, lambs, baby monkeys, the whole lot.

sometimes they're just a little too active for their own good.

here is the xmas greeting my sister's six-month-old pharaoh hound, pirjo, left on my bed this morning:

hello, i used to be a louis vuitton damier graphite iphone case.

the dog's got good taste, i say.

the sweet season.

2010-12-24T14:40:00.000+02:00

these few nights before xmas we spent inside, sipping hot mulled wine and preparing tasty little presents.

my sweetie cooked the special mustard with whiskey with my dad in mind.

fresh in jars.

tagged and ready to go.

i melted chocolate and formed little balls of sweetness in various flavors.

truffles in four flavors: malibu-coconut, cognac, peppermint and vanilla-white chocolate-almond.

little jars of sweetness.

we left the entire apartment smelling of the most fragrant season, and i hope there's some traces of it left when we return in a few days.

i hope you all have a lovely holiday!

xmas lunch.

2010-12-21T19:25:00.000+02:00

'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.

go enjoy while you still can!

wrapped.

2010-12-15T16:09:00.001+02:00

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...

full (winter) gear.

adorable, right?

dragged out.

2010-12-11T10:53:00.000+02:00

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.

sometimes reality is a drag.

killjoy.

2010-12-10T15:12:00.001+02:00

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.

olives to die for.

heavenly halloumi burger for me from the veggie table .

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.

don't mess with my love.

2010-12-09T11:23:00.001+02:00

juvelen is the prince of sweden as far as i'm concerned. enjoy.

it gets better.

2010-12-08T09:47:00.005+02:00

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.

welcome.

"mittens mittens, where are my mittens?"

2010-12-07T17:02:00.000+02:00

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.

my new mittens.

do you prefer gloves over mittens?

independent brand.

2010-12-06T17:01:00.002+02:00

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.

i guess they got that much right.

happy independence day!

green fuel.

2010-12-05T21:20:00.009+02:00

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.

beanie by lustwear, waxed merino cardigan by cos, tee by zara men, necklaces by i know why no, karen walker, my o my and mm6 by martin margiela.

i have never left unsatisfied.

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.