March 2012
32 posts
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Postcards from Finland #18
PAPERIMAA Tel. (90) 349 6492 Printed in Finland
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Window shopping at charity shops
Charity shops are always fun, and their window displays never let down. Here’s a top 3:
1. Samaria, Sturenkatu
Samaria is having a clearance on wooden Finlands at the moment, so if you hurry you should be able to pick one up for cheap. Also nice touch to dress up the one in front with a little Bolero jacket. It’s just what northern Finland needed.
2. Rihmankiertämä,...
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Idea for Kasper Stromman Design Blog official...
A while ago we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog tried our hands on designing our own logo, in order to be taken seriously within the design community. It turned out great, and we’re happy to report we got many a pat on the back from said design community.
But why stop there? If anything we now need our own typeface, which will look awesome on all our official correspondance. So we...
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Työväen kalenteri, 1934
Today we review the Worker’s calendar for 1934. It was published by the Social Democratic Party in 1933.
For being a calendar this publication is quite comprehensive, and contains articles on different subjects like this one on making margarine. It’s the poor man’s butter, you know.
Also included: several pages of happy workers doing various sorts of gymnastics. This...
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Postcards from Finland #18
SUOMI – FINLAND FORSSA, LINJA-AUTOASEMA Foto: U.Heinonen
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Turning you car into a “commercial vehicle” for...
In the 1980s the tax for owning a car used to be expensive. However, a loophole in the law was spotted pretty soon – if you registered your car as a “commercial vehicle” your tax was a fraction of that for a normal car.
Of course certain weight and height restrictions had to be met. The loading capacity also had to exceed a certain size.
Nevertheless, this could easily be done by removing...
Anonymous asked: Why do Finnish fashion designers think that black garbage bag -shaped anything is chic?
Testing tar flavoured products
Tar is a substance which was used a long time ago for preserving wooden ships against rot. These days ships are made out of steel though, so people have had to find other usage for all that surplus tar laying around. Here are some of our favourite foodstuffs:
Tar flavoured lozenges Tar flavoured lozenges come under several different makes; we chose the generic supermarket brand.
Verdict:...
Anonymous asked: Dear The Kasper Stromman Design Blog. I could not avoid to notice that in your entry entitled as "Top 3 Helkama two wheelers" you have mischievously included within history's most notorious Helkama products an object with only ONE wheel. I suppose that your plan for appreciation of the price of the Kuntojopo, in order to sell your grandfather's old exercise bycicle with huge...
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The graphic art of Pauli Kinnunen
Every now and then a comic comes by that has truly found a voice of its own; a voice that is seemingly free from any formal training, and therefore posesses an unique freshness.
Pauli Kinnunen’s artwork is reminiscent of a lot of the outsider art that has been so fashionable in later years. And by refusing to go by the rule book Kinnunen has not only been able to create his own style,...
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Postcards from Finland #17
Olen juuri lähdössä marjaan ja sieneen, haastan Sinutkin!
Reumasairaan hyväksi Reumaliitto – Reumaförbundet ry.
PS. Joko laskit poimijat kuvasta?
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Top 3 Helkama two wheelers
Helkama is a Finnish company involved in a broad variety of activities such as manufacturing refrigerators and importing cars, but is foremost known as a bicycle brand. Here are the Kasper Stromman Design Blog top 3 favourite two wheelers made over the years:
3. Helkama Tossu (early 1970s)
Originally a mini moped of late 1960s Italian origin, the Fantic TX7 or Fantic Broncco was sold in...
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Anonymous asked: There is a huge differens between volley ball and beachvolley. The sport played at Hietsu is beachvolley, not volley ball. Så de så. ;)
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Idea for Kasper Stromman Design Blog logo
You know what? It suddenly occured to us here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog that we don’t have a logo! And while we don’t absolutetly need one, we feel we still should have one in order to be taken seriously within the design community.
So we had our design team quickly throw something together.
The graphic of the first draft is based on the idea that design is an ordering...
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Helsinki according to a sweatshirt
Since Helsinki is, like, super hot right now (not literally) you sometimes come across a manufacturer who wants to ride this wave of coolnes by creating their own Helsinki themed item of clothing. That’s fine with us.
But have they really done their research before printing a lot of random words on a shirt? As Helsinki locals we here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog decided to help out...
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DIY Block lamp
The Block lamp is a nice piece of design, but does it come cheap? It does not. And really, why pay € 150 for something you could easily make yourself? We here at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog decided to give it a shot.
As a basis we used a plastic take-away container from our local Thai restaurant. Not only is this economical, but working on a full stomach also makes total sense.
The...
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The Hobby Hall mail order catalogue, 2007
Leafing trough old mail order catalogues is a great way to learn about eras long gone. Today we examine a fascinating vintage Hobby Hall catalogue dating from 2007.
The first impression we get from the cover is that people seemed to have a lot more time on their hands than they do today. Hence it was not uncommon for couples to just sit around and play “video games” all day long wearing “blue...
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YO cigarettes, 1994–1995
In 1994 the Finnish tobacco company Rettig was worried. Cigarette sales were going down, and the legal age limit for smoking was about to be raised from 16 to 18 the following year. This would most certainly be effecting sales even further.
Clearly something had to be done.
Rettig decided now was the time to seriously target the youth market, and YO cigarettes were born.
With artists like...
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The airbrush art of Simo Riikonen
Simo Riikonen is widely considered Finland’s premier airbrush artist, and pretty much airbrushes everything that moves. And hey, if it doesn’t move he airbrushes it until it does. Here’s a selection of his artwork.
Mr. Riikonen has been in business since the 1970s, and has to date produced over a 1000 custom painted vehicles and portraits.
Trucks are naturally heavily...
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HELsinginkatu Looks
If you want to see people with a lot of spare time on their hands enjoy themselves a beer or fourteen, the stairs opposite Helsinginkadun Alko is a great place. Here’s a street fashion shoot we did last summer:
Pena, 38
”I try to dress comfortably in clothes that I can pass out in. At the moment I’m wearing Cheap Monday jeans with a fun 90’s cut and a random polo shirt for...
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Insignificant Helsinki landmark #5: Opastinsilta
One of the most trivial structures you could visit in Helsinki is the Opastinsilta bridge of Pasila. We’re basically talking a little footbridge over a not-so-busy road here, so it’s something you rarely see on a postcard of Helsinki.
So yes, quite mundane. But there actually is one fun fact about this little bridge. Are you ready?
Opastinsilta is actually not one bridge, but...
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Logo of the month: Love records
Design by Harri Manner, 1969.
February 2012
31 posts
Alvar Aalto house for sale
Here’s your chance to snap up a house designed by Alvar Aalto (at least according to the estate agent) for a mere € 59,000. Oh, and we hope you don’t mind living in Imatra.
Interior design apparently not by Mr. Aalto.
Although you sort of wish the interior would come with the house, don’t you?
http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-asunnot/6049026 for more...
