Atlantica - 01.09.2007, Page 42

40 a t l a n t i c a
�� Though Vihma is an exception, the
Finns aren’t exactly known for their
warmth. Their icy relations with Russia for centu-
ries haven’t helped their cause, nor have the cold,
gloomy winters their hardy souls must survive
year after year. Not to mention that the Finns
have been the butt end of a few jokes about their
cuisine. “After Finland, it [Britain] is the country
with the worst food,” former French president
Jacques Chirac once quipped. And then there was
former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s
infamous remark: “I have been to Finland and I
have had to endure Finnish food. The Finns don’t
even know what prosciutto is.” The comment
was made in the summer of 2005 when Italy was
making its bid to overthrow Finland as the seat
of the European Food Authority (the Italians
won). When the dispute was over, one Finnish
politician sent Berlusconi a card with a picture of
a pig on it.
Poor Finns.
But if one thing is certain, it’s that they’ve con-
quered the exclusive and ever-expanding world
of design. And not just with their saunas. Nokia
is the largest producer of mobile phones in the
world. Marimekko’s bold prints, made famous by
Jacqueline Kennedy during the 1960 US presiden-
tial campaign, revolutionized textile design. Alvar
Aalto’s asymmetric Savoy vase, now produced by
the renowned Iittala glass factory, is a quintes-
sential piece among the collections of all design
junkies. And then there are those orange-handled
Fiskars scissors we all know, use and love.
In a world where form usually supercedes func-
tion, such cannot be said about Finnish design,
where much of the creative inspiration behind it
is as practical as it is art. And for good reason. Just
look outside the window. “Nature and our rough
climate conditions are the reasons for much of
our creative inspiration,” says Aila Kolehmainen,
communications manager for Design Forum
Finland, which oversees the work of around 2,400
design offices. “Designers have always looked at
the local conditions and the local natural materi-
als to find functional and user-friendly design.
Less is more.”
“Seen at its radiant best, Helsinki can be hyp-
notic,” the late New York Times journalist R.W.
Apple wrote in an article published last June
about the world’s second-most northerly capital
(after Reykjavík). Undoubtedly, this radiance and
hypnotic feel is in large part thanks to Finland’s
��
Helsinkia
Helsinki Market Square, Russian Orthodox Church,
and scenes from Helsinki.
Opposite page: Finlandia concert hall, and boat
building on Suomenlinna, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.