here.

i took the two required minutes to read my blog posts of last year. 19 in total; more pictures than text, so unlike me.

i was not here. i was hardly present anywhere.

2012 started in the limelight at the senate square and my year was boosted and shadowed by the blue ball wherever i went. a rewarding ordeal of a year workwise. the hours put in taught in many ways more than the miles of books i read for my dissertation: if i ever was, now i am pragmatic and practically prepared for any ordeal to come.

otherwise i shattered, collected myself, crumbled again, reassembled what i could find of myself with a clingwrap that muddled with its thick layers but still managed to reveal everyone around me how broken i was.

pieces are lost forever. new ones will surely caulk even the most gaping holes.

nonetheless, there were moments of happiness, many of them. i traveled, alone and with friends. i shared meals and moments of drunken exhilaration. i read books on which i wasn't able to concentrate for the past years. i danced for hours.

blowing off some steam.

midsummer and one of the best guarded secrets near my summer cottage.

ruisrock with silver.

sleepyhead.

boldly go wherever i want.

lavender in stockholm.

roxy in stockholm with bff.

kumpula.

reminders, part one.

fountain and flow festival.

flow festival.

restaurant day and hillbilly haystack.

reminders, part two.

new pups.

city happenings: laughs, speed and tight curves. this time with my little sis.

crazy, impromptu fun.

new puppies.

everyday discoveries at suvilahti.

farmers' market at teurastamo.

lovelies moving to their dream home.

london. sitting in a fountain.

dear friends getting married. love.

iceland. a dream come true. freezing.

muru pops down in tytyri and finlandia vodka platinum launch.

williamsburg, brooklyn, right after sandy.

i did not make promises for the new year.

i decided that i would just concentrate on being. being present. being here.

popping down.

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

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...

hopes up.

i am in a great mood. partly it is due to the beautiful sunlight that illuminated my way to work this morning. helsinki is incredibly beautiful in the fall.

in greater part it is because of last night and the international media dinner for world design capital 2012 i attended at telakkaranta. i think it probably cleared my vision this morning.

the space had been turned from a dumpster to a surprisingly cosy loft just overnight. there were historical photos of the area on the walls, the eclectic looking – and sounding – tampo band from tampere provided the sonic ambiance and the atmosphere was cool and casual.

the design capital project is finally kicking off, and about a hundred media professionals and designers gathered to hear what we have to expect. although very little was revealed – i guess they're still coming up with the content – it bothered us fairly little. the ongoing helsinki design week and helsinki festival provided entertainment for the visitors and everyone seemed genuinely pleased with what they were experiencing.

we listened to the development plans of the shipyards and continued conversations around long dinner tables. we contemplated about the possibilities of creating such vast residential areas without ghettofying them. we had discussions about finnish food culture and the prospects of political and cultural change that thriving for excellence might bring about. we came about imaginations of taking development into our own hands, having and using the power to change our environment for the better. embedding design in life, as the slogan for helsinki's year states.

yet, there was none of the often complained naivety of believing that design itself could bring about change or improvements, but wholesome analyses about what truly makes meaningful design and the added relevance of creating living spaces that benefit through design.

there was such positivity and entrepreneurship in the air, people were smiling and sharing. pure vodka drinks with fresh seasonal berries from finlandia, eat and joy buffet dinner from organic local delicacies, the warm and inspiring dinner company of an urban planning professor and architect from cairo, the dozens of people i had the pleasure to meet briefly who all shared the air of excitement and, to top it all off, karaoke with alfredo häberli.

there is plenty to do and very little time, but i firmly believe that there is fertile ground for greatness here. the vastness of the project boggles the mind, and i truly hope that the results will provide more than the most obvious implementations and advances as the usual commercial ones.

take part in the process, and suggest, propose, inspire. although the idea bank at their website is closed, there are many ways to get involved.

i am truly inspired.