diamond rings – i don't need them.

berlin based D E N A brings booty shaking rhythms with a hint of her native bulgaria peeking into the soundscape. the minimalist beat is something i, as an old electro girl, cannot resist. all i want is chill with my friends by the swimming pools...


performing live tonight at siltanen. i'll be there, you should, too.

popping down.

tonight i will experience a little something special. down down down below. more to follow...

sugar rush.

a long-awaited friday night with dearly missed friends demanded some special attention. it seems our lives get overwhelmed by work so easily, and the time we find for each other diminishes inconspicuously.

or life just happens.

although i'd say we're naturally inclined to effortless entertaining – meaning showing up at the door with a bottle of wine would be totally acceptable – there were lengthy and rambling facebook and email threads dedicated to planning the menu and the evening.

my contribution was sweet.

and it was good.

chocolate hazelnut pie in a jar.

how gala can you go?

perks of the job come in the form of big parties and exclusive events.

despite the fact that i most often wear a rather androgyne collection of clothes, a mix'n'match of women's and men's, and feel that i do not need to do neither my face nor hair, it's fun to get dolled up for a gala.

or a photoshoot just before.

dress by tiia vanhatapio, tights by wolford, sandals by miumiu, bracelet by kalevala koru.

oh, the smug smug face i have...

any excuse to see ya.

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.

true blue.

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.

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!

monday doc.

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...

tori.

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...

crabbie festing.

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.

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!

alternative bar.

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.

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.

after the rain.

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.

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!

whoah.

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!

bright spring.

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!

can perfection be redesigned?

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.