April 2012
31 posts
3 tags
Spoon of the month
Vintage Finnair spoon “Borrowed” from aircraft ca. 1999
Pre-9/11 dining in an aircraft used to be a pretty sweet deal. Not only did the food taste better (?), but you’d be eating it with cutlery made out of high-grade, solid steel.
Of course there were risks involved in providing passengers with these potentially lethal weapons – sometimes a traveller would take down an entire airplane...
4 tags
At the Yellow City release party
Yellow City is an anthology of illustrated stories about Helsinki, published by Napa Illustrations. As avid followers of the literary scene we at the Kasper Stromman Design Blog were naturally at the release party.
The party was fun and the book looked okay and everything, but what’s most important – the beer was sponsored! As someone who is actively looking for a beer sponsor, this...
2 tags
Sculpture of the month
Stormtrooper Christer Nuutinen 1983 Painted wood
2 tags
Lahti souvenirs top 3
Lahti is a city situated 100 km north-east of Helsinki, and is in no way short of things to see. Here are the top three Lahti based souvenirs.
3. Picture of town hall in horseshoe shaped frame
Just like a lot of other cities Lahti can pride itself with having buildings and statues of nude people. Once you visited the city this souvenir will remind you of this fact forever.
2. Sticker,...
4 tags
Magazine of the month: Roiskeläppä
The Kasper Stromman Design Blog magazine of the month is Roiskeläppä, published by Karprint. The first issue features singer Eini on the cover, whose biggest claim to fame is her 1977 Finnish cover version of the Baccara hit Yes sir, I can boogie.
The magazine is very enthusiastic about the fact that Eini “talks like a man about cars and driving”. We also learn that the singer has recently...
2 tags
A letter from Sari
Hi Kasper Stromman!
Here’s a solution to Bryan’s metro problem:
(http://judithfdgagnon.eklablog.com/le-transport-en-commun-le-manque-de-savoir-vivre-a4348112)
This is what they use in the Montreal metro; the big arrow shows where people exit the train, and the small arrows indicate where new passengers should stand. I’ve used the Montreal metro before and after this arrow...
2 tags
A letter from Adam
Having also experienced the torment of the metro doors I sympathise with Bryan’s plight. Might I suggest the following: Firstly, the metro driver pulls up to a stop as per normal, allowing a crowd of aggressive Ins to gather. They then toss a coin (preferably a 50 cent piece because it’s a big coin and it’s dark down there) and if it lands heads, quickly shunt forwards five...
2 tags
A letter from Kimmo
Dear Mr Kasper Stromman,
I read Bryan’s offer to sponsor your beer for a week, provided that you come up with a solution for his problem with getting off the train in an orderly manner. Only minutes thereafter, I had forgotten all about it. It wasn’t until yesterday, while I was watching my favorite Tom & Jerry cartoons, that I realized that what might work for mice, might work...
2 tags
2 tags
Reviewing easter eggs
Easter is the holiday when you can feast on chocolate eggs for days on end because of all that fasting you’ve been doing. In that sense it’s actually much like an egg based all-you-can-eat buffet. Here’s a review of the most prolific eggs this year:
Lakupeikko yllätysmuna
Unconventional black wrapping, but then this is a liquorice flavoured chocolate egg which is very...
laurakatri asked: Your blog is brilliant - I'd like to know more, like why do you write it?
1 tag
A letter from a mämmi hater
No attention should be paid to mämmi, nor should it recieve any acknowlegment. We should all just try to ignore this traditional “food”, and serving it to foreign guests while going “tee hee, we have this food that looks and tastes like diarrhea” should be made illegal. Finland has a lot of traditional foods that actually taste good, so let’s try not to ruin our reputation by even talking...
4 tags
Men laughing alone with mämmi
Redesigning a laundry day classic
As we all know, 95 percent* of Finnish people carry their washables in the classic blue Ikea bag. There are other known uses, but It’s without a doubt a stone cold laundry day classic.
*Completely made up statistic.
Of course you do have a bit of choice though, since it also comes in yellow (where the handles still remain blue). Both colour combinations obviously draw inspiration from...
March 2012
32 posts
3 tags
Logo of the month: Olvi
Design by Marko Salonen, 1947.
PS. Did you know that the Kasper Stromman Design Blog is looking for a beer sponsor? Just saying.
1 tag
Postcards from Finland #18
PAPERIMAA Tel. (90) 349 6492 Printed in Finland
1 tag
1 tag
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,...
1 tag
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...
1 tag
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...
