Helsinki Shanghai Welcome to Finland takes part in ... - SUSAMURU

Welcome to Finland 2/2010 Magazine from Finland
SUMMER 2010 / 14,90 € / WWW.WELCOMETOFINLAND.FI
The Future of Work – How to keep workers happy?
Marketing – The fear of growing up
Among Ostriches – One American man and many Finnish ostriches
Magical Thinking – Cuddly toys and big biceps in the air
WELCOME to FINLAND’s
SUMMER
SHOPPING
SPECIAL
Helsinki ♥Shanghai
Welcome to Finland takes part in World Expo 2010!

GEORGE CLOONEY’S CHOICE.
MIKONKULTA, Mikonkatu 5, 00100 Helsinki, puh (09) 628 825
MIKONKULTA, Mikonkatu 5, 00100 Helsinki, puh. (09) 628 825

CONTENTS
4 CONTRIBUTORS
7 EDITORIAL
8 BRIEF
16 THE MAP
22 POWER
45
19 REPORT: The Future of Work
24 IN COLLABORATION: Lignell &Piispanen
25 IN COLLABORATION: Kiasma
26 MARKETING: Teenagers and adults
32 INTERVIEW: Mohammed El-Fatatry
34 SHANGHAI SPECIAL
45 MEETINGS: Business Dinner
CULTURE
48 52
48 REPORT: Ostrich Farm
52 INTERVIEW: Renny Harlin
58 REPORT: Pokrova
64 IN COLLABORATION: Mikonkulta
65 HOTELS: Karhulan Hovi,
Hilton Strand, Linna Hotel
68 PHENOMENA: Football, Shoping, Turku
74 FIRST PERSON: Fear of Flying
76PORTFOLIO: Markus Henttonen
89 SUMMER SHOPPING SPECIAL
113 COLUMN: Anu Partanen
114 COLUMN: Kyösti Niemelä
76
3

CONTRIBUTORS
WE ASKED:
Explain what these things mean to you
1. SHOPPING 2. INNOVATION 3. EDUCATION
4. WORK 5. TRAVELLING 6.DESIGN
THEY ANSWERED:
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Kati Ala-Ilomäki
kati.ala-ilomaki@susamuru.fi
REPROGR APHER
Aste Helsinki
CONTRIBUTORS
Juliana Harkki, Saara Helkala
Merja Hemmilä, Markus
Henttonen, Veera Jussila,
Karoliina Kangas, Laura
Koljonen, Janic Leino, Kyösti
Niemelä, Rami Niemi,
Anu Partanen, Satu Pirinen,
Riitta Supperi, Teemu Ullgrén,
Heidi Urpilainen, Justin Vela
TR ANSL ATORS
English:
Pentikäinen & Kristiansson
Russian: Galina Pronin
Chinese: Zhiyuan Yao
SATU PIRINEN
photographer, 27
SHOPPING – Should do less of it.
INNOVATION – A word which is
used too much these days.
EDUCATION – It is great to live in a
country where I can study almost
whatever I set my mind into.
WORK – Important, but
should not define a person.
TRAVELLING – Always
an eyeopener.
DESIGN – Makes everyday life
more beautiful and easy.
MERJA HEMMILÄ,
journalist, 27
SHOPPING – I would be lying if
I said shopping isn’t a pleasure,
but as other pleasures, it loses
its power if exercised too often.
INNOVATION – The clever
one doesn’t innovate but
copies ideas from others
and develops them a bit.
EDUCATION – I remember
that university was mostly
about learning the right kind
of attitude towards work. I
never listened very carefully.
WORK – Dyskinesia
caused by hunger.
TRAVELLING – So many places
to visit, so few holidays!
DESIGN – Done well, makes
life better. Done badly,
gives a good laugh.
JUSTIN VELA,
photographer & journalist, 23
SHOPPING – I shop for flights and
to replace disappearing socks.
INNOVATION – Spreading
knowledge by doing what I love.
EDUCATION – A package of what
you want to be which hopefully
never stops expanding.
WORK – Work can be fun,
but it is always work.
TRAVELLING – Done through
an everyday of life and it
is often one crazy trip!
DESIGN – Properly done,
it gives order in chaos.
DISTRIBUTION AND SALES
Henry Fordin katu 5 H
FI-00150 Helsinki
Fax: + 358 9 611 681
ADSALES AND MARKETING
Leila Reponen
Sales Director
leila.reponen@susamuru.fi
+358 40 514 9834
PUBLISHER
Susamuru Oy
PRINTED BY
Printall Estonia
Paper 90gr Multiart, cover 260gr
Invercoat
THE NEXT ISSUES:
1.10. and 28.12.
www.welcometofinland.fi

EDITORIAL
The Challenge
of Working Life
A YOUNG MAN, not even in his twenties,
walks around in an office. He pulls
out a rolled up mattress and spreads it
on the office floor. His smooth cheeks
show no signs of weariness and his body
is slender like that of a young buck.
It’s the eighties, and this young man
is the child prodigy of the current era in
Finland. He is Sam Inkinen, a businessorientated
urban individual involved in
various fields—something unheard of
in Finland, the promised land of trade
unions. He explains that he makes no
distinction in his life between work and
free time, and that he doesn’t have a
separate home or office. His life consists
of projects that lead to other projects
and hopefully to some interesting
events along the way.
That is why he rolls out the mattress
on the office floor. It’s a good a place
as any for a few hours’ nap in between
projects.
I was watching the video described
above on television the other day. I
started laughing and mumbled a few
words about enthusiasm of the young
to myself. I reminisced about how a few
years ago it was completely natural for
me to spend the night on the office sofa.
However, around thirty, I realised that
there isn’t a single job worth sacrificing
sleep in my own wonderful bed—preferably
in eight-hour periods.
What happened?
First of all, self-evidently, I got older.
The renewal rate of my cells isn’t what
it used to be and that goes for my level
of energy as well. Second, in addition
to the regeneration of my cells, I also
think something changed in the society
surrounding me. I’m not referring to
the ongoing economic recession, but
to a deeper cultural transformation.
A clear sign of this came from someone
I interviewed. Managing Partner
Tuomo Salonen—whose job is to lead a
company that looks for future leaders—
pointed out, that many people complain
about how busy they are. In my opinion
this is one of the major changes in our
working lives. Being busy no longer has
anything to with working hard on an
interesting project. It has turned into
dealing with an uncontrollable chaos
and a never-ending stagnant gray mass.
Conditions like this are not suitable for
human nature. Challenges are inspiring
and give you energy, but only when
they are somehow reachable. A moment
of glory and self-appreciation at the end
of the battle is essential. When the challenges
grow too big, something changes
and goes wrong. Without moments of
success, the challenge loses its glow.
Naturally, this is only my personal
theory. You should read more on the
subject in this magazine’s The Future
of Work article, in which the topic is
discussed by individuals with more wisdom.
In addition to the aforementioned
Tuomo Salonen and Sam Inkinen, Timo
Leskinen, HR Manager of Fiskars, will
share their views. There is also a brilliant
introduction to the subject by our
reporter Laura Koljonen.
In addition, this issue features two
unique sections. We brought back the
Summer Shopping Special that debuted
last year, this time in a new and
improved format. I am especially proud
of having the opportunity to interview
Vuokko Nurmesniemi, a living legend of
Finnish fashion. Also taking part in the
Shanghai World Expo 2010 makes this
summer special for Welcome to Finland.
The time has also come for me to say
goodbye to our readers and subscribers.
Over two years of hard work on Welcome
to Finland has passed and the next
issue will have a new Editor in Chief on
board.
A moment of glory and
self-appreciation at
the end of the battle is
essential.
EDITOR IN CHIEF -KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
PHOTO: TEEMU ULLGREN
7

BRIEF
READ IT
Inside Steve’s Brain
Steve here means Apple’s creator Steve
Jobs. This book gives you an easy intro to
the story of Apple and the skills of Steve.
Leander Kahney: Inside Steve’s
Brain. Penguin Books, 2008.
Before You Travel
Want to know more about history of
Finland? Grab Professor David Kirby’s
excellent book A Concise History of
Finland, published by Cambridge University
Press in 2006.
More than a Shop
”Is there something happening tonight?” a
young woman asks, with an accent in
her English which I cannot place, as she
stands in the middle of bookshelves full
of used books in Arkadia International
Bookshop in Töölö, Helsinki.
Ian Bourgeot, a charming English man in
his late forties, gets up from his desk placed
in front of a tiny stage, which gives a nice
personal touch to this two-room store.
“No show today,” he says.
The woman answers with a slight frown.
“I know. Shocking isn’t it! Last week
we had four shows,” Bourgeot smiles,
and recommends the woman to return
tomorrow listen to a piano concert
by a 15-years old debutant.
Bourgeot’s two year old Arkadia
International Bookshop isn’t just a store. It
is also a place for people to present their
skills in various arts, read extracts from
their books, or just come and meet people
in one of these hundred or so happenings a
year. The word has spread out fast, especially
in the international community of
Helsinki, and the crowd in most happenings
consists of mix of foreigners and natives.
Bourgeot has lived in Finland for 15
years. His parents were the travelling
kind, and he continued the lifestyle well
into his adulthood. Finland is the country
he has lived the longest, and it is the
country he plans to stay in, too. There are
a few reasons to Bourgeot’s decision, but
the most beautiful to a Finn’s ear must be
this: Bourgeot feels that in Finland one is
first treated as a person, and only after
seen through his or her nationality, gender
or whatever any other characteristic.
“Before moving to Finland, I lived in
Paris. There one is trained to have the right
clothes, the right manners, the right words.
But here in Finland, one must work on being
oneself. All the little tricks I learned in Paris
did not work here, and I am very thankful
for Finland for pushing me to find myself.”
Arkadia International Bookshop,
Pohjoinen Hesperiankatu 9, Helsinki.
www.arkadiabookshop.fi
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTO: SATU PIRINEN
8WELCOME TO FINLAND

BOOK ABOUT FINLAND
A 1500-mile journey
IN THE BEGINNING of this century,
American Jim O’Donnell fell in love
with a Finnish woman; a flamenco
dancing and mountain climbing
artist. Love brought O’Donnell
to Finland, and little by little
his urge to learn to understand
northern people grew. He decided
to walk across the country, 1500
miles in 5 months. Based on his
experience, he wrote a book titled
Notes for the Aurora Society.
O’Donnell’s effortlessly flowing
depiction gives a fresh insight to
Finland, even to Finns. He makes
my home, the Kallio district in
Helsinki, sound like the Wild West
with the cowboys substituted
by alcoholics. A lot of his stories
are based on the stereotype of
Finns as somewhat untamed and
stubborn people. It feels surprisingly
good, and after I finish the
book, I am proud to be a Finn.
Jim O’Donnell: Notes for the Aurora
Society. Infinity Publishing, 2009.

BRIEF
EAT HELSINKI
IF YOU’RE PLANNING to stay in Helsinki for a few weeks and
want to experience the best restaurants in town, Eat Helsinki
is an essential purchase. The booklet introduces 12 quality
restaurants in Helsinki, including some of the newest fine
dining spots like Luomo in the Kruunuhaka district and the
much acclaimed Farang in Kunsthalle Helsinki. Eat Helsinki
doesn’t just introduce the best eateries in the city. In addition
a member of your dinner party will eat her entrée for free,
simply for showing the book at any of the restaurants.
5 FINNISH DELICACIES
TO TAKE HOME
1. THIN CRISP RYE BREAD
Made of rye, thin crisp is a healthy, low fat alternative
for bread. Easy to take home, as it remains
perfect for a long time.
2. RYE BREAD
Finns love rye bread. The perfect, healthy bread
choice for those who want to avoid excessive
amounts of wheat.
3. SALMIAKKI SALTY LIQUORICE
Salmiakki, the Finnish specialty, is a salty candy
that can take a bit of time to used to. Out of all the
homeland delicacies, Finns living abroad tend to miss
salmiakki the most.
4. KARELIAN PASTIES
Traditional Eastern Finnish rice-filled rye pasties
basted with butter. A popular Finnish snack.
5. CLOUDBERRY JAM
A jam or a marmalade made of handpicked cloudberries
from Finnish Lapland is a souvenir that can’t go
wrong. Also try a bottle of cloudberry liquor.
Viinimaa
SuomiFinland
—the wine country
The man standing in front of me argues
something that doesn’t seem to follow any
logic. It is hard to believe him when he
says that Finland is a perfect destination
for a wine trip. How can this be? Finland
has no wine production whatsoever,
the Finnish middle class has only really
learned to consume wine in the past
decade, and above all Finland is a country
dominated by an alcohol monopole—wine
can only be bought in Alko stores.
Master of Wine and Managing Director
of Winestate Tuomas Meriluoto seems
to be one of those people who see the
glass half-full. To Meriluoto, the aforementioned
factors are actually what
make Finland a good wine country.
First of all, Alko’s monopole is
a good thing. Wine doesn’t need to
be available in grocery stores.
“Alko has the responsibility to maintain
a broad and balanced wine selection,
that is to say that they sell wines
from all over the world and in a wide
price range. The staff is professional
and the supply is solid in all parts of
the country,” Meriluoto explains.
Secondly, powered by the growing
interest to wines by the Finnish
middle class, Finland is growing into
a leader in wine knowhow—at least if
you look at it from the right angle.
“Out of all degrees of the field,
Master of Wine is the most distinguished
in the world. Only 280 people
have it worldwide, two of whom are
Finnish. This means that Finland
has the second most Masters of Wine
per capita, right behind Norway.”
And third, the fact that Finland has
no wine production of its own is only
a good thing. Production would mean
a preference in domestic wines. In this
situation, we get an elite selection of
wines from all parts of the globe, from
Chile to Spain and New Zealand.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTO: PÄIVI RISTELL
10WELCOME TO FINLAND

BRIEF

BRIEF
10
Things I Have Learned
This is my last issue as Editor in Chief of
this magazine. It is a time to say farewell
and share what I have learned.
1. Eat cottage cheese at breakfast Skipping
breakfast is like starting a day-long
journey in a car with hardly any fuel in the
tank. Don’t do it. Porridge makes a good
breakfast. Eat it with some berries, and add
cottage cheese for protein.
2. Get fit Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander
Stubb is famous for saying that one hour
of daily exercise gives you two hours more
time a day. He is absolutely right. Get fit, no
excuses here.
3. Never be too busy There are things you
should never be too busy for. Those things
are: listening to a friend in need, having
family time, sleeping enough, eating
properly and exercising. If you find yourself
being too busy for these things, get better
at time management.
4. Cancel unnecessary meetings Even Mensa
agrees with this. In one of their books the
Hi-IQ society says this rule simply means:
cancel most of the meetings. I could not
support this rule more—at work we are
supposed to work, not drink coffee and
chat about things that no one will ever do
anyway.
5. Read Kant “Act in such a way that you
treat humanity, whether in your own person
or in the person of any other, always
at the same time as an end and never
merely as a means to an end," Kant wrote.
Think about what this could mean in your
organization.
6. The customer is sometimes wrong
A lot of times customers have no idea what
they need or want. If they knew, they would
not have hired you to do the job!
7. What you wear doesn't matter that much
I know they say that one should always
dress to impress. I don’t agree. The substance
comes from what you know and
who you are, not from your looks.
8. Don’t worry about what you can’t change
This means most things. Many times
the only thing you can change is your
own attitude. Work on it relentlessly.
9. Forget about “taking time for yourself”
Women’s magazines love the concept
of “taking time for yourself”. I suggest
you forget about it. It shouldn’t
be something you have to write down
in your calendar. Your every minute
should be time for yourself.
10. Don’t brand yourself These days some
people like to talk about “branding oneself”
in order to gain opportunities in the labor
market. One advice here: Have a bit of selfrespect.
Don’t treat yourself like a product.
But if you do, then don’t get upset when
other people treat you the same way as well.
In Collaboration
BELLA BOATS
Q: What are today’s boat trends?
A: Due to the prevailing economic
conditions customers value versatility
and practicality in a boat.
If in an economic boom people
seek for luxury yachts and special
features, the demand now is
for a versatile boat that is easy on
longer trips and practical to live in.
Good indoor designs and efficient
use of space in cabin boats allows you
to enjoy time with your family at sea
from early spring to late autumn.
Our true success story of the
Vene10Båt –expo in Helsinki was
the cabin boats, the newest additions
to the Aquador family—the
smallest, 22-foot closed cabin
boat—and the nearly 6-meter Bella
580 C from the Bella range.
Interviewee Raimo Sonninen, CEO,
Bella-Veneet Oy. www.bellaboats.com
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
12WELCOME TO FINLAND

Downshifting
”No, sorry, I have no time.” “Nope, sorry,
I am busy.” “I am really busy!” “Nope,
sorry I can’t, I am just too busy.”
Sound familiar? Ever wondered
when did it become a standard to answer
a question “How are you?” by
telling how busy you are, instead of a
simple “Fine, thank you, and you?”
I didn’t. Then I noticed I was starting to
resemble a badly behaving brat by expecting
people to offer some sympathy for my
self-inflicted hectic schedule, even when I
always put them on a second place. I also
became a victim of “Nope, I can’t, I am
busy”-treatment myself, and I realized how
upsetting it is want and need to talk with
someone who always brushes you away
with using these same words. It is almost
impossible to answer to them without losing
some of one’s self-confidence and pride.
One thing in the world is wholly democratic
in its basic nature: time. All of us
have seven days a week and more or less
24 hours a day (some of us might have a
circadian rhythm closer to 23 or 25 hours).
The circumstances we live in might differ,
but the amount of time we have
doesn’t— as long as we are alive, of course.
That is why I have decided, among
many others of my generation, to downshift.
Wikipedia defines this trend quite
well meaning individual’s pursuit to live
a simpler life to escape from the rat race
of obsessive materialism and to reduce
the stress, overtime, and psychological
expense that may accompany it.
I’ve come to the conclusion that one of
the psychological expenses of that rat race
is a psychological shield being busy offers.
It works as a defense mechanism. The
busy person never has to face himself or
any other human being— he can always
hide behind the mask of being too busy
to be nice and considerate to others.
ILLUSTRATION: RAMI NIEMI
13

BRIEF
PORVOO An attractive
summer town a one hour
drive away from Helsinki.
Hotel Porvoon Mitta
A lovely small hotel with
character. All the rooms are
distinctively different.
www.hotelporvoonmitta.fi
TURKU The former capital
of Finland located on the
west coast.
Holiday Club Caribia
A spa hotel that is especially
popular with families.
www.holidayclubhotels.fi
TAMPERE A growing
university town two hours
train ride from Helsinki.
Sokos Hotel Ilves
A hotel of guaranteed quality
right in the centre of Tampere.
www.sokoshotels.fi
LOVELY LUGGAGE
The selection of stores on Pohjoisesplanadi,
one of Helsinki’s main shopping streets, was
joined by this important newcomer a year ago.
Named after a Peruvian god over 30 years ago,
Tumi is known around the world for stylish
high quality bags and luggage.
Tumi Store, Pohjoisesplanadi 37, Helsinki.
WHERE TO STAY OUT OF HELSINKI
JYVÄSKYLÄ The pearl of
Central Finland is a vibrant
town, thanks to vivid
entrepreneurship and a good
university.
Hotel Yöpuu
The small and personal Yöpuu is
one of the first boutique hotels in
Finland. www.yopuu.fi
OULU A university town,
where Nobel Peace Prize
winner Martti Ahtisaari
studied.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Oulu
The Radisson Blu chain is a safe
and comfortable choice for both
business and pleasure.
www.radissonblu.fi
ROVANIEMI The capital of
Finnish Lapland is worth a
visit also during summer.
Clarion Hotel Santa Claus
The newest hotel in Rovaniemi is
making the most out of the Santa
Claus brand.
www.hotelsantaclaus.fi
Heaven at
the Airport
The title of this article sounds impossible.
Airports are usually uncomfortable
places. You’re stuck inside walls
with thousands of strangers making
too much noise and raising your
adrenaline level. Resting areas and
quiet corners are constantly occupied,
and time is dragging by, unless
you happen to be in a hurry. That’s
when it feels like time stole the wings
of the Airbus waiting by the runway.
However, you can have a much
more pleasant airport experience the
next time you have a stopover at the
Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Just don’t
forget to bring a bathing suit. Via Spa,
the only airport spa in the world, has
opened its doors at Helsinki-Vantaa.
Via Spa is located in the new Terminal
3. It’s open for all passengers, but access
to the actual spa area is prohibited
if you are less than 18 years of age.
The six saunas range from a spruce
sauna, originally from the Alps, to a
traditional Finnish one. After the sauna
you can relax on heated recliners
and gaze at the airplanes outside, or
take a dip in a pool of mineral water.
A variety of beauty and relaxation
treatments are also available, with
durations that fit the schedule
of even the busiest travellers.
There is also a spacious café and a
waiting area. The decor is meticulously
designed; effortlessly combining
colours, materials and shapes into
a harmonic whole, making the wait
for a flight quite an enjoyable task.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
14WELCOME TO FINLAND

THE M AP
COLLECTED BY: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
10 PLACES ROUND THE
Helsinki Railway Satation
1. RAILWAY STATION
The Helsinki Central Railway Station
was designed by Eliel Saarinen and
finished in 1919. It is built of Finnish
granite. The station houses various
kiosks, shops, restaurants and a gym.
ASEMA-AUKIO.
2. SOKOS DEPARMENT STORE
Sokos is a traditional Finnish department
store chain. The first store opened
in Helsinki in 1952, the same year Helsinki
hosted the Olympics. Sokos sells various
international and Finnish brands, with a
selection in both home ware and clothes.
MANNERHEIMINTIE 9.
3. SOKOS HOTEL VAAKUNA
& RESTAURANT LOISTE
Right next to the Helsinki Central Railway
Station, adjacent to the Sokos department
store, lies Sokos Hotel Vaakuna. One of the
city’s most pleasurable eateries, restaurant
Loiste, is situated on the top tenth floor of
the building, equipped with a summer terrace
and a lush view over the station area.
KAIVOKATU 3.
4. HOLIDAY INN HELSINKI CITY CENTRE
Helsinki City Centre hotel, which is part
of the Holiday Inn family, is right next to
the Helsinki Central Railway Station. Its
location makes it an ideal stay before
a train trip to Russia, for example.
ELIELINAUKIO 5.
5. MAKKARATALO
Makkaratalo stands opposite to the
Railway Station. It has sprung a lot of
controversy since it was finished in late
1960s. The building is called Makkaratalo,
which means The Sausage Building,
a name which derives from the car
ramps circling the construction. Inside
it you’ll find restaurants and stores.
KAIVOKATU, OPPOSITE TO
THE RAILWAY STATION.
6. CITY-KÄYTÄVÄ INDOOR WALKWAY
City-käytävä indoor walkway is accessible
through the Railway Station passageway
or through Makkaratalo. It runs in between
the station and Aleksanterinkatu. The
walkway used to be a legendary hangout
for youngster. Nowadays its businesses
tend to have a swift turnover rate.
7. FINNISH NATIONAL
GALLERY ATENEUM
The biggest art collection in Finland can be
found at the Ateneum museum a little left
from the Railway Station main entrance.
Besides its own collections, Ateneum has
an exhibition of women’s life in Helsinki
opening for the coming summer.
KAIVOKATU 2.
8. FINNISH NATIONAL THEATRE
Next to the Railway Station lies a bulky,
gray castle-like building. It is the
Finnish National Theatre, with plays
running on four stages. Tickets available
in the theatres own box office.
LÄNTINEN TEATTERIKUJA 1.
9. KAISANIEMI PARK
Behind the Finnish National Theatre
lies Kaisaniemi Park, where the people
of Helsinki have taken strolls for
over two hundred years. Even today,
the park is a popular retreat,
but best avoided in late at night.
10. FENNIAKORTTELI
Fennia quarter built in the Viennese
Baroque style has reborn in the last
few years. Inside the building you can
find several restaurants, a large cinema
complex, Grand Casino Helsinki, stores
and the Kaisaniemi metro station.
MIKONKATU 17.
16WELCOME TO FINLAND

POWER
”
very man should examine his
E
own genius, and consider what
is proper to apply himself to;
for nothing can be more distant from
tranquility and happiness than to be
engaged in a course of life for which
nature has rendered us unfit.
An active life is not to be undertaken
by an inactive person, nor an inactive
life by an active person; to one, rest
is quiet and action labor; to another,
rest is labor and action quiet.
“
— Epicurus
17

GOOD TIMES
AFLOAT
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Scandinavia’s leading motorboat manufacturer.
S C A N D I N A V I A N H E R I T A G E
www.aquadorboats.fi

R EPORT
The Future of Work
In the future, work will be about more than
just money or position. A researcher, a consultant
and a Personnel Manager of an international
corporation tell us what exactly.
TEXT: LAURA KOLJONEN PHOTOS: SATU PIRINEN
EVERYTHING ABOUT WORK used to
be so much better: we had more time,
longer lunches, fair bosses and no need
to take work home with you. On top of
that, you could keep the same job for
your entire career if you wanted.
Well, that might have been the case
in the past. That’s great, but there’s
no use crying over the bygones. Those
days will not return. It’s simply better
to accept the new ways of working that
the future has to offer. When you take a
positive approach, you might even find
some sense in them.
In the end of the 1980s a man in his
twenties became known in Finland for
his views on technology, media culture
and society. This young man said his
life was built on networks and that his
work was fast, dynamic and made up of
consistent movement from one project
to the next. His opinion was, that the
border between work and leisure had
faded away. Finns listened to him with
astonishment. The man’s name was Sam
Inkinen. Back then, he was a nerd and
a communications professional, today
he is a Ph.D., a researcher of media
and future, and an author speaking
on the importance of education. He is
orientated in questions on society and
identity, digital media and the problems
of creativity. At present, a great number
of people lead similar working lives as
the one he described in the 80s, a model
characterised by projects and processes.
And no one is laughing anymore, unlike
twenty years ago.
“It should be made clear, that the
change in working life and society is not
stable. Different people and organisations
experience it in different ways.
However, some principal characteristics
can be observed. The industrial age is
changing into an age of information and
services, where experiences, innovations
and creative work based on information
are emphasised,” Inkinen says.
Agricultural and industrial societies
were paced by precise schedules,
hierarchy and tasks based on repetition
and predictability. In the knowledge
work of the future, it is natural that
work doesn’t necessarily take place
during office hours. In the new culture
of work, hours are flexible and you have
to be available nearly all the time. On
the other hand, the nature of working
becomes more liberated. The thought
of work being pleasing and creative has
become acceptable.
“Certain fields have operated by this
model for a long time already. Inventors,
artists, researchers and freelance
writers, for example. Their daily schedule
makes it difficult to say when work
begins or ends.”
However, the reformation
of work is filled with
paradoxes. One is, that
many organisations
still seem to appreciate
physical presence and
employees sitting by office
desk computers as rigidly
as possible.
19

REPORT
Temporary and project-based jobs
have become more common. Few
people can imagine having the same
employer for the rest of their career.
Also freelance work based on networks
is on the rise.
“Creative knowledge work has to
break borders, almost on a daily basis.
On the other hand, who dares, often
wins. You can influence the way your
future shapes by being pro-active.”
However, the reformation of work is
filled with paradoxes. One is, that many
organisations still seem to appreciate
physical presence and employees sitting
by office desk computers as rigidly
as possible. Working hours are clearly
defined, even though the surrounding
society is shifting towards working on a
24/7 basis.
WORK OF THE future is a subject that
has been widely written about and
every study seems to put the emphasis
on certain things. The significance of
communication is often mentioned.
The focus in the future will be more and
more on interaction and communication
between people. Different networks
will gain importance when work
consists more and more of gathering
information, organising, analysing and
distributing. This kind of work is based
on creative processes, information
technology, communication skills and
mental alertness. It’s not a coincidence
that open innovation has become a primary
concept in the discourse.
“There is a saying, that we have
moved from a time of oracles to a time
of dialog and discussion. This interactive
basis also depicts the character
of knowledge work in the future. The
essential challenge for tomorrow’s
knowledge work is communication.
Work will take place between people,
individuals and communities,” Inkinen
states.
The fragmentation of production we
have become familiar with will continue:
fields with low wages will execute
the parts of production in which labour
costs have a remarkable significance,
while more demanding tasks will be
performed in divisions demanding
Some protest the change
and choose something
other than work as the
most significant thing in
their life.
higher levels of education. Marketing
will take place close to the markets.
A society increasingly dependent
on technology will constantly set new
demands on its citizens to update their
skills, at work as well as outside it. For
example, a gap could form between
people that use information technology
in their profession and people that
don’t.
But what is the worker of the future
like then?
The future worker is either in
trouble, or the winner of his own labour
market. That depends on the line of
work. He is more flexible than before.
He will have to be able to react to
changes swiftly. He should have a high
tolerance level for stress. In addition
to operating independently and with
self-initiative, working will require
being exposed, producing significance
and communication, and even branding
yourself, as some suggest.
Some protest the change and choose
something other than work as the most
significant thing in their life. They
might even give work up entirely in
the traditional sense, as Time Magazine
wrote in the Drop Out Economy
article published in March. With the
aging population, this is something the
employers can’t afford.
The future will also force employers
to think about how to motivate
their employees. It’s become evident
in a number of fields that money isn’t
necessary the best lure. Leisure, the
satisfaction that the work provides and
the moral values of the company can
become more important than the salary.
The choice of where to work can just as
well be motivated by working hours,
location, the company’s social responsibility
or how trendy it is considered
to be.
Home and family have also become
more significant, especially for younger
age groups. This might be connected
with the growth of short-term employment.
Life and identity can’t be built
solely on work when there is no guarantee
of its permanence and your job
can, for example, suddenly be moved to
another country.
20WELCOME TO FINLAND

TUOMO SALONEN,
Managing Partner,
Heidrick & Struggles
“HEIDRICH & STRUGGLES is a company
originally from Chicago working in
executive research and talent management.
The youngest executives hired
through us are around 35 years old, so
when I refer to the young I am referring
to that age group.
In my opinion, the attitude the young
have towards work hasn’t changed as
radically as the media sometimes depicts.
In my experience it’s the meaningful
challenges and the monetary
compensation that are still considered
significant. At least among the people
we associate with—persons wanting to
advance as business executives, that is.
However, there have been some
visible shifts in attitudes. Nowadays,
young executives think more about
where they want to work. There was
an interview where a young executive
asked his potential employee “Why
should I work for you?” The interviewer
hesitated and didn’t immediately know
how to react. A question like that used
to be ill-mannered. We’ve also noticed
that people are reluctant to work in, for
example, the tobacco industry.
The younger generation questions
traditional work times. They are eager
to work on projects: working really
hard for a few months and then resting
for a couple. The problem is that executives
rarely have that choice.
The future will require leaders
to have more and more social skills.
Leadership is for the most part interaction
with other people. A leader can no
longer order his or her subordinates
around, but instead he must use other
means to get people to move in the
same direction and achieve things. It is
connected to equality and a larger way
of socio-political thinking. Instead of
traditional headhunting, a continuous
research of young talent (in talent pools)
will become important. An executive
needs to be encouraging, inspiring and
energetic. And it the end it’s also a
question of personality. When we look
for a leader, we look for a person.“
21

REPORT
SAM INKINEN, 39,
Media and future researcher, author
“THE CHANGE IN work is connected to
a more general change in culture, society
and technology. The industrial age
is changing into an age of information
and services, where experiences and
innovations are emphasised. From the
viewpoints of the labour market, social
processes and decision makers the role
of the service industry, creative knowledge
work and information-intensive
processes will gain importance.”
The knowledge work of tomorrow is
connected in networks and demands
agility. Situations often change rapidly
and it is essential to be able to react
quickly. On the other hand strategic
and long term planning also become
more important: predicting the future
and also shaping it.
On the level of megatrends, developing
characteristics in the forthcoming
years will include the fragmentation
of work history, the population aging,
risk management, as well as ecological
and ethical matters. The new era
and creative knowledge work require
a new kind of leadership and ways in
which work is organised. Clinging on
to the paradigm of the past can lead to
unwanted results. Then again, the significance
of change is often exaggerated
and the hype can exceed substantial
change.
Knowledge work of the future will be
challenging and contain many uncertainties.
That is something we have not
been taught to tolerate. However, this
type of work is unpredictable by nature.
Creative and information-intensive
work includes making continuous
choices and focusing resources in the
right areas. One key factor is impact,
or how the resources at use (money,
time, people) are directed in the right
way. Instead of the quantifiable amount
of work, it’s the quality of work that’s
becoming important.
The information society is filled with
paradoxes. One of them is that, unlike
in the “techno-paradise” prophecy
from decades ago, creative knowledge
workers are under demanding and constant
pressure. There is never enough
time, there is always a deadline around
the corner, too many ongoing processes
at once… and so on. Stress management
and the ability to relax are often tested
when time is limited and you’re in a
constant hurry. It’s a bit amusing how
in the 80s we presumed that robotics
and high technology would take us into
substantially shorter working hours.
The future of working is tied to the
essential question of organising and directing
work, knowhow and resources.
Maybe we should consider a broader
view into employment and creating jobs
by moving towards a four-day workweek?
22WELCOME TO FINLAND

TIMO LESKINEN, 39,
Personnel Manager, Fiskars*
*Fiskars has a staff of over 3600 people
in more than twenty countries.
“THE FUTURE OF work is not unified.
At least for as long as items are being
manufactured there will be production
work, not just creative and
knowledge work. Naturally automation
will increase, and development
and design will demand increasing
amounts creativity, knowhow and innovation.
Work will not be the same for everyone,
and not all workers are alike.
That’s why there is a need for a variety
of different kinds of employers. The
ability to take others into consideration
will be emphasised. Individual accomplishment
is not fashionable.
As knowledge and knowhow grow on
an international level and information
spreads rapidly, what you know is no
longer essential. Instead the emphasis
is on how you use what you know. In
our case, we have to understand what
the consumer wants. When we have a
perception of the consumer, we have to
channel that information into production,
sales, maintenance and marketing:
all operations of the company.
Creative workers (nearly all work is
creative) value opportunities to develop
and the possibility to do whatever inspires
them. They also regard how close
the employer’s values are to their own.
Globalisation affects all companies. If
you want global advantage, your rules
and operational models need to be partially
similar within the entire company,
regardless of the country. Local culture
should be benefited from instead of
fought against. In Asia, for example,
income and one’s position in hierarchy
are important, while Finnish whitecollar
workers value freedom, creativity
and a social security network.
Leadership will become more
important in the work of the future.
People will come to a company that has
a good brand and a positive image as an
employer. The most common reason for
leaving will be bad leadership.
In every company, there are times
when work demands extra flexibility
from the worker. In financial management,
for example, the turn of the year
is always challenging. But arrangenment
has to work both ways: if the
worker is flexible, the company will
have to show flexibility on another occasions
by offering opportunities to rest.
Company culture that constantly emphasises
working hard is short sighted.
A person can work a lot, but too much
work will cause a decrease in quality.
The hours on the clock don’t always
correlate with the results. The attitude
towards work time must change.”
23

IN COLL ABOR ATION
LIGNELL & PIISPANEN
An internationally recognised
connoisseur of liqueurs
TEXT: ILKKA KALLUNKI
Unique tastes from wild nature are what
the success of Lignell & Piispanen relies on
today, even more than before. The company
has a reason for confidence in what
they do. Matters of taste can be argued
on, but international recognition of skill
and knowhow is something that can’t be
denied.
The latest acknowledgement comes
from one of the world’s biggest competitions
in the quality of alcoholic beverages,
the IWSC in the United Kingdom.
The company’s berry liqueurs–Kuningatar,
Lakka, Lakka Light and Vadelma–
emptied the trophy table.
In a way there is nothing newsworthy
about it. Lignell & Piispanen’s success
story in international competitions
is nearly as long as the company history.
For example, the company’s Mesimarja
liqueur (Arctic bramble) received a gold
metal at the famous world exhibition of
Paris, already in 1900.
“Being a family business has meant
dedication in taking care of product
development, quality and tradition. The
knowhow has been treasured, enriched
and handed down from generation to
the next for over 150 years,” Managing
Director Hemmo Rossi says.
The company has always appreciated
the wild and arctic berries that get their
unique and exotic flavour from the short
intensity of the Nordic summer, when
the sun barely sets at all.
At present, Lignell & Piispanen’s
collection includes more than fifty
products, providing the company with
success in competitions in every established
category of drinks. The selection
still includes products, majority of
them, born already in the 17th century.
But that doesn’t mean the company
doesn’t move forward, quite the contrary.
The company is now working on
developing innovative design products
for demanding consumers with a preference
in natural tastes. Like the vintage
mulled wine Loimu, that gets its flavour
from natural berries and is a popular
product during the Christmas season.
The factory of Lignell & Piispanen is
in Kuopio, in the same area where the
Royal Distillery was built in 1783 by the
King of Sweden.
24WELCOME TO FINLAND

IN COLL ABOR ATION
THE IMAGE OF FINLAND
PAINTED BY THE BRUSH OF
A SOVIET ARTIST
TEXT: MERJA HEMMILÄ
The role of Soviet artist
Ilja Glazukov as the court
painter of the Finnish president
was a topic of discussion
in the 1970’s. Kiasma,
the Museum of Contemporary
Art, is bringing a piece of
political history to the present.
A TALL, BALD MAN with thickframed
glasses resting on his nose
stands in the middle of the painting.
That is what President Urho Kaleva
Kekkonen (1900-1986) looked like.
Why is it then, that the painting caused
a stir in the 1970’s? Let’s dig a bit
deeper into history.
Urho Kekkonen is the longest serving
president in the history of the Republic
of Finland. He was in office for
a continuous period of over 25 years,
until he lost his physical health in 1981.
Kekkonen is remembered especially for
his merits in handling eastern relations
in a politically difficult period. The
struggle over power by greater political
forces cast a shadow over Finnish
politics nearly throughout Kekkonen’s
presidency. Finland’s geo-political role
as the only western-minded country
sharing a border with the Soviet Union
was strategically sensitive.
Kekkonen was feared and respected.
He crushed many of his competitors with
ruthless tactical manoeuvres and took
advantage of his eastern relations in internal
politics to an extent where he was
considered irreplaceable. Kekkonen was
a master in the power game of politics.
But that wasn’t the only reason for
his success. Kekkonen was popular,
charismatic, sensitive and athletic—a
perfect role model for a people searching
for a national identity.
When the portrait artist Ilja Glazunov
arrived in Finland to paint the president
in 1973, Finns were shocked. Why was a
Soviet artist working as the President’s
court painter? Furthermore, Kekkonen
was a taboo in Finnish art. It was difficult
for the people to understand that it
was about cultural diplomacy between
Finland and the Soviet Union.
It goes without saying that Glazunov’s
painting wasn’t accepted without
criticism. The portrait was called tame
and foreign. “Who is this man?” people
were asking. The portrayed person
didn’t look like “our” president. Details
of the painting, like the red-chested
bird sitting on a branch, were scrutinised
for political meanings, which they
might not have had.
Glazunov’s style differed
from the official ideological
conception of art during the
time: instead of social realism,
his touch was romantic and
stylised.
Ironically, Glazunov’s popularity
ended around the same time as
Kekkonen’s reign. “Ilja Glazunov and
Finland”, the exhibition at the Museum
of Contemporary Art Kiasma, presents
Finnish society of the seventies through
a phenomenon of the art world. For
Kiasma, the exhibition is above all an
opportunity to offer the visitor a story
about not only Finland, but also about
the relationship between political
power and art.
“The Glazunov-phenomenon also
reflects the negative sides of the commercial
art world, like the uncontrollable
publicity surrounding the artist
and rumours about replicas, high prices
and suspicious deals on paintings. Every
field has its own glazunovs. They are
artists whose works talk about the
accepted taste of a particular era in
commercially successful art, and have
been used as means in political action
or creating an image,”says Jari-Pekka
Vanhala, Senior Assistant at Kiasma.
”Ilja Glazunov and Finland”
in Kiasma from May 21st. www.kiasma.fi
25

OPINION
DISAPPEARED
Some people complain that
childhood is lost. It may well be
the case, but is it a symptom of
something even more serious?
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTOS: JARI LITMANEN MODEL: ILONA / FACEMAKER
”13-YEAR-OLD GIRLS LEAD the way
in the world,” claims a prominent business
man sitting on a chair on a stage.
The crowd, mainly European business
leaders, around one hundred men
and considerably fewer women, bursts
into an accepting laughter, with a tone
sounding like they were collectively
sighing “how cute!”
My status attending this conference
is a listener. I am not allowed to
report, so I won’t tell you the name of
the conference nor the speakers nor the
place where it was held. It doesn’t really
matter, since those things are not the
point.
The point is this: do 13-years old girls
really rule the world?
Let’s start the speculation from the
little laughter the claim evoked in this
crowd.
From the viewpoint of these people,
yes, 13-years old girls really do have
plenty of power. First, many of these
people are CEO’s or members of board
in companies whose survival depends
on young girls’ interest in their products
and finding them trendy enough
to spend their money on. Second, even
the people in the companies, which do
not deliver for the youth, are somehow
depended on the mood swings of teens
and even younger kids. As authors of
the book Consumer Kids – How big
business is grooming our children for
profit, Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn write,
children of any age have an astonishingly
strong influence over a parent’s
purchases, be it a car or a holiday
destination.
In the past children used to be the
ones who listened to adults. However,
in the past twenty years or so there has
been a major shift in attitudes. Last year
a teenage boy claimed a disconcerting
status in the international media and
the world’s financial hotspots from
London to Tokyo. The boy was 15-years
old Briton, Matthew Robson.
You probably read about Robson in
The Financial Times or The Guardian. He
was the one who according to the news
“shook the City” by writing a report
stating stuff like: “No teenager that I
know of regularly reads a newspaper, as
most do not have the time and cannot
be bothered to read pages and pages of
text while they could watch the news
26WELCOME TO FINLAND

OPINION
I was horrified when I was told
that in the States one should not
wear the same clothes two days
in a row to school. In Finland,
I had a habit of wearing the
same outfit for one week, with
no one questioning my personal
hygiene.
summarised on the internet or on TV”
and “Whilst watching TV, adverts come
on quite regularly (18 minutes of every
hour) and teenagers do not want to
watch these, so they switch to another
channel, or do something else whilst
the adverts run”.
Robson wrote the report while taking
part in his school’s Workday experience
scheme in Morgan Stanley. According
to Times online Robson’s supervisors
said that the report was one of the
most thought-provoking and clearest
insights they had seen.
Worrying? Yes. Not so the report
Robson wrote, but the fact that Wall
Street analysts get all excited by “the
news” of teenagers not wanting to pay
for media or not being bothered to read
long texts.
Somehow the global economic
meltdown does not strike me as odd
anymore.
CHILDHOOD IS LOST. This argument
has been heard around Finland for
couple of years now. I don’t know if
this idea makes sense to people from
other nations. My American friend at
least gave me a quizzical look when I
stated this to him, even though books
on the subject come out from the United
States, too.
In Finland, this argument is rooted
in a romanticized vision of childhood:
Summers spent swimming in a lake,
winters skiing in snowy fields, and all
the spare time spent in play with little
toys, preferably handmade from a pine
code, as my parents’ generation used
to do.
28WELCOME TO FINLAND

It is easy to understand that nature
plays a strong part in the ideal Finnish
way of life. Brands, marketing
and shopping malls are definitely not
included.
And in fact, it is not so many years
ago that life really was like that. As a
child I, for example, still spent weeks
during summers hardly seeing a shower,
since I splashed around a lake most
of the time anyway. And during winters
skiing was a natural part of life, not just
a fashionable form of exercise that it is
today. I did have toys made in China
instead of the local pine code, but the
only brands I consciously knew of were
Levi’s, Pepsi and Coca Cola. Others, I
did not care about.
The concept of shopping was introduced
in my life during my year as
a high-school student in the United
States. I was 15 and still not very aware
of brands. But I soon learned to love
American style shopping malls. Before
that I don’t actually even remember
purchasing anything other than ballet
shoes and other dance gear. I was horrified
when I was told that in the States
one should not wear the same clothes
two days in a row to school. In Finland,
I had a habit of wearing the same outfit
for one week, with no one questioning
my personal hygiene.
The values of consumer society have
taken over Finland during the past
15 years. Of course the emergence of
brands had already started earlier, but
the hard truth is that even as late as in
the 80s most Finns did not have enough
money to spare for anything extra.
For Finns the argument of a lost
childhood actually means the innocence
of childhood is lost amid a consumer
society, where children and teenagers
are an increasingly targeted consumer
group. This means that they have not
only learned to consume in order to
gain acceptance among peers, but also
to judge others by their consuming
habits.
YOUTH MARKETING IS said to be one
of the most important areas of marketing.
Lately, the media has concentrated
Children of any age have an
astonishingly strong influence
over a parents purchases, be it a
car or a holiday destination.
in worrying about the growing elderly
population, but there are still plenty
of teenagers and children in the world
ready to learn the power of brands. The
old rule “teach them young” is still apt.
“If you want someone to be your a
friend of your brand in the future, you
must start building up a relationship
with them when they are young,” says
Mikko Ampuja, Business Development
Manager of research company 15/30,
which does research among young
adults.
It is the kind of communication children
seem to learn easy. Some time ago
I went on a date with a man who has a
three-year old girl. He told me that the
girl already speaks “with brands”, stating
for example that she wants a Calvin
Klein skirt or a Ralph Lauren shirt.
Ampuja disagrees with me in that the
opinions of the youth get too much attention
these days. He thinks the youth
is not heard enough. However, we agree
on the way this is visible in our society.
Looking at many commercials
targeted at the youth, one can’t but
wonder what happened to being a
teenager. In many commercials teenage
years are shown as a period of constant
party, love affairs and astonishingly fun
times with friends. The only crack in
the perfect picture might be a pimple
(but even that, of course, can be zapped
away with a right product).
Where is the existential pain of the
youth that I remember going through?
Where are the moments, when finding
your way in the world had nothing to
do with wearing a right brand of jeans?
Where is the rollercoaster of emotions
created by falling in love for the first
time? Where are all the problems that
can’t be solved by ordering a ringtone
for your mobile phone or drinking Coca
Cola?
Youth marketing has distorted the
29

OPINION
way we see being young.
“Teenagers themselves laugh at this
sort of advertising,” Ampuja says. “It is
easy to see that it is produced by some
middle-aged people sitting in a conference
room with no knowledge of the life
of the young.”
The problem is, ads aimed at the
youth sometimes represent a more
idealized youth than the real thing. The
party and care-free attitudes are an
illusion created by adults. It is how we
would like to remember our own youth.
It is our take to forget the moments of
shaky hands and sweaty armpits when
we felt inadequate to face the world.
Ampuja thinks young people should
get to participate in the ad business targeted
at them. Among better commercials,
two things could be improved.
First, according to a 15/30 Research,
ethical and ecological consuming is the
biggest trend among the young in Finland.
The problem is there aren’t many
products or services aimed at the youth
that would fill this category.
Second, the youth is often treated
as a homogenous group. In reality the
young are as heterogeneous as us adults.
This idea was presented in the 90s by
Canadian writer Naomi Klein in her
book No Logo. She said that most global
ad campaigns concentrate in selling an
idea of a global teen market, which in
reality does not exist.
“Too many people still think in
terms of what they see in their own
social circles. Most CEO’s and Marketing
Managers of big companies are very
wealthy, which means their children
are powerful consumers as well,” Ampuja
says. “But that is not the reality for
most young people.“
The other day, as I was crossing a road
and waiting for a red light to change, I
overheard two young boys discussing
their options for a candy purchase. They
were probably around 12 and dressed
according to our harsh winter this year.
“We should go to Citymarket*. They
have a better selection of candies,” the
other one said.
“No, there is an S-Market* too. Let’s
go there. It is cheaper,” responded the
other one.
“No, Citymarket has better selection.”
30WELCOME TO FINLAND

“But S-Market is cheaper!”
The discussion continued. I didn’t
hear a possible conclusion, but clearly
these two young boys were very different
types of consumer already at young
age.
LET’S RETURN TO our “whiz kid”
Robson, the one who excited Morgan
Stanley by writing that teens like to flip
TV channels during commercials.
I admit being slightly amused by
the attention Robson received, but the
one thing that his report showed very
clearly, was that kids use a wide variety
of media—some of it “old media” like
print, some of it “new media” such as
music downloads from the internet.
Today’s children and teenagers grew
up in a world that differs from the world
where us adults grew up in one very
important way: They have no memories
of the days before the internet and
mobile phones.
But how important is this memory
actually? We may sometimes exaggerate
the importance slightly. Especially
because, quoting this March’s issue of
Time magazine, we like to believe we
live in an era of unprecedented change.
According to Finnish Professor of
Sociology, Terhi-Anna Wilska, adults
are often far too amazed by the technological
abilities of the young. If your
kid has an avatar in Second Life or surfs
on Youtube, it still doesn’t mean that
she or he is somehow insuperable. The
adventures in the virtual world might
seem like magic to you, but be assured,
they aren’t.
I say internet has made adults lazy.
Children and teenagers are left to hang
around in the virtual world while
adults whine about not being able to
do anything about it, since they don’t
understand it.
We need a reality check. Most things
in the internet are created by adults.
Regardless of how much you’d want
to believe that 13-year-olds rule the
world, a fact is they don’t really invent
anything. They simply consume what
adults produce for them—be it virtual
toys in Habbo or Bratz Dolls (which at
In Western societies we
are still firmly in love with
freedom and the good
old saying: “You can be
whatever you want to be”.
least I find to look like a bunch of badly
made up prostitutes).
Adults are too quick to succumb into
a state of horror over how strange the
world of the young is these days. Is it
really so strange? Or just a reflection of
the adult world?
IN HIS 2007 book, Consumed, American
political theorist Benjamin R. Barber
states his worries regarding the infantilization
of adults. By infantilization
he means adults acting like children
in a sense of not being able or willing
to defer gratification. He is probably
onto something. If Aristotle would be
resurrected from the dead, he would
probably want to return to his grave
immediately. In the Western world,
we don’t exactly live up to his ideals
anymore. Pleasure no longer needs to
require hard work and discipline is no
longer valued high.
In Barber’s opinion this is caused
by the way capitalism presents itself in
the contemporary consumer society.
In the past, capitalism promoted
hard work and self-discipline, until a
problem presented itself. People had
worked hard and earned enough material
pleasures to live on happily, but the
capitalist markets needed to keep selling
things—things that people no longer
neither wanted or desired. The only way
capitalism could survive was to mingle
with identity politics.
Consuming has always marked differences
between social classes, but
only in the recent past it has been used
in forming identities. Ampuja says that,
according to their studies, about 30 %
of Finnish young adults between the
ages 15 to 30 now say that they present
their identity and personality by their
consumer choices.
In Western societies we are still firmly
in love with freedom and the good
old saying: “You can be whatever you
want to be”. Every adult should know
that this is not true. I, for example, have
a very limited scope of things I can be.
I am good at two things; doing physical
exercise and writing. I can desire to be
something else, but the truth is I most
likely won’t be. But since watching
Disney’s Pinocchio, I have been made to
believe that if I wish up on a star, anything
I dream can become true. Later on
the idea is bombarded by the massive
self-help industry making millions of
dollars out of our dreams. This promotes
another twisted idea, that we could
somehow control our own destiny.
But let me be honest here. Most of
the time we can decide which brand of
running shoes we choose to buy, and
even there the choice of the brands are
scarce. Being an adult is to accept who
you are, not a constant identity project
acted out by shopping. Only once us
adults find that self-confidence again
will children have room to be children.
* S-Market and Citymarket are
Finnish grocery stores. In this article
I am not stating that the other one is
cheaper or that the other one has a
better selection of candies. I am simply
referring to the young boys who happened
to stand next to me on a street.
31

INTERVIE W
MUXLIM FROM FINLAND
Muxlim.com founder Mohamed El-Fatatry’s
business has spread from the corner of his
living room to New York. "This is just the
beginning," he assures. TEXT: LAURA KOLJONEN
It’s easy to see that someone is about to
realise his wildest dreams. But El-Fatatry
hasn’t come to this point over night.
THE SNOW-BEATEN FEBRUARY Helsinki is
grey, but the downtown Helsinki offices
of social media website Muxlim.com show
no traces of the greyness. An incoming
visitor is greeted by a glass ball art piece
and a row of bright-coloured armchairs.
The chairs are in the Muxlim.com theme
colours; blue, red, green and yellow.
A herd of people exit the meeting
room. The people are dressed more casual
than in your average office, wearing
jeans, hoodies and sneakers—with an
occasional exception of a shirt and a suit.
Then a man steps out of the meeting room
wearing a Stetson hat and a broad smile.
He is Mohamed El-Fatatry, 25,
the founder and CEO of Muxlim.
com, a million euro business.
“We have the house warming party of
the new office tonight and everyone has to
wear a hat. I don’t dress like this everyday,”
El-Fatatry defends the colossal headpiece.
He bought the hat on a business trip to
Las Vegas, from where he has just returned.
Lately he has been collecting a lot of frequent
flyer miles with Muxlim.com expanding
to the USA. The company already has an
office complex rented in New York City.
“Can I show you some pictures?” El-
Fatatry asks and presents me with colour
prints of the skyscraper office’s
view, in day and night time lighting.
MUXLIM.COM IS AN Internet service that
combines the features of Facebook, Myspace
and Youtube. El-Fatatry founded the service
in 2006. On the site you can meet other
users, collect your own web of friends,
watch and share pictures and videos, chat,
follow blogs, and take part in polls. The site
also includes muxlim pal—a virtual world
where you can build your own avatar.
At the moment Muxlim.com reaches tens
of millions of people from 190 countries.
Five percent of the users are non-Muslim.
“I founded Muxlim.com, because the
sites already designed for Muslims felt
alienated from the everyday life of people.
All of these sites revolved around religion.
I’m a Muslim myself and like to talk
about things outside religion as well. This
got me thinking, why there were no sites
where Muslims could discuss the current
Billboard hits or Oscar -winners.”
Muxlim.com is not a religious site, but
El-Fatatry says it supports the Muslim
lifestyle and culture. From the start, the
site has also been open for non-Muslims.
Advertisers have found the potential of
the site as well. No wonder why. It reaches
150 million Muslims. That’s a hefty market
share for people interested in reaching
the international Muslim audience.
“Even though we would reach 10 million
people more every year, we would still be just
scratching the surface. So, I don’t think we’ll
run out of things to do with Muxlim.com in
the near future,” El-Fatatry smiles. “It didn’t
take us long to gain global interest. Nowadays
a few newspapers and magazines even use
us as a source of information. They include
The Times, Guardian and Time-magazine.”
32WELCOME TO FINLAND

In fact, Time has just interviewed him
the day before our interview. He discussed
matters such as why today only 20 percent
of Muslims live in the Arab countries
or Middle East, the traditional idealistic
strongholds of the Muslim world.
“The journalist also wanted to interview
my father and younger brother who are
visiting Finland. My father told him he is very
proud of me. It made me feel very good.”
The father is also partially responsible for the
son’s initial spark of interest in the IT world.
El-Fatatry, who was born in Egypt, became
interested in computers, and especially the
Internet, in his teens. His father was the
Editor-in-Chief in the biggest newspaper
in Dubai. It was using his father’s work
computer that young Mohamed got his
first taste of the worldwide web already
in 1997—long before the average Dubai
resident. The joy was boundless when he
realised that WWF wrestling results were
available online in real time. The matches
were two seasons behind on local television.
“I went to my fathers editing office at
6pm and we left at 3am, when the paper
was sent to the print. I was online
the whole time. I became quite a superhero
at school, being able to predict next
year’s wrestling champion. That’s when
I realised the power of the Internet!”
Later El-Fatatry studied information
technology at an American university
and worked, but at the same time
he was sure that there was more to be
learned. He was searching the net for
further study opportunities and bumped
into the free education system in Finland.
El-Fatatry made an excursion to the north
and became assured that he would like it here.
And soon he started his studies in the Helsinki
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
“Many thought I was crazy when I left
my steady job for a school in Finland. I am
grateful for my parents who have always
trusted and supported me. Our family is
spread out all over the world at the moment,”
El-Fatatry says referring to his
brother and sister, who all study abroad.
At Helsinki Metropolia El-Fatatry got the
idea of a web community for Muslims. The
teachers encouraged him, even though his
schoolmates thought he was a bit dotty.
How could anyone start a Muslim website
in Finland? Finland is not even near any
countries with major Muslim population.
“Who’s the sucker now?” El-Fatatry smiles.
The original name of El-Fatatry’s business
was MuslimSpace, a social and
entertainment-centred online portal
targeted at a Muslim audience. It caught on
and received a lot of interest in the media.
After Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest
newspaper in Finland, wrote of the small but
interesting company, El-Fatatry received a
call from Pietari Päivänen. The two men met,
their interests and chemistry clicked, and
in the end of their meeting Päivänen was
ready to invest 50 000 euro to Muxlim.
“I actually received three calls; one
from Pietari, another from the USA
and a third one from Belgium. I chose
Pietari, because I thought it would be
good to have a Finnish business partner,
if I run the company from Finland.”
MUXLIM.COM CURRENTLY EMPLOYS
50 people. The company has offices
in Helsinki and New York.
“At times it feels weird that our lives
revolve around this business. I, for example,
haven’t unpacked my suitcase in years. On
my recent business trip to the US, I visited
three states in one day. And I didn’t
think there was anything weird about it.”
There have been attempts to buy the successful
business, but El-Fatatry has been
reluctant to sell an unfinished product.
“At the moment one maybe could get
a few million for this business, and live
happy in Hawaii with the money, but what
would be the point. Everything else is
much more interesting than money at this
point. And I can assure you that this is just
the beginning. We have so many possibilities
for development,” El-Fatatry says.
Currently, there is plenty of work to be
done. El-Fatatry travels more than six months
of the year and says he suffers a continuous
jetlag. He is also a wanted speaker. This spring
he has given a speech at the Presidential
Entrepreneurship Summit organised by
President Barack Obama in Washington.
A few months ago El-Fatatry made
the list of the 500 most influential
Muslims. In February he received
the 2009 Internationalization Award
of the President of the Republic from
the Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
“The knowledge of the Internationalization
Award spread across the Muslim world
and people reacted to it like it was a Nobel
He is Mohamed El-Fatatry, 25,
the founder and CEO of Muxlim.
com, a million euro business.
Prize. For me the most important thing
was that Nokia received the same award
ten years ago,” says El-Fatatry, who
chose Finland as the country for his studies
partially due to Nokia’s reputation.
El-Fatatry is constantly asked why Muslims
need their own online community, if they use
Western entertainment websites as well. He
explains that just a few years ago you couldn’t
upload Muslim material on Youtube without
receiving a lot of unpleasant feedback from
other users. He wanted to create a Muslimfriendly
community, where no one would
be mocked. El-Fatatry has received a lot of
praise for the friendliness of his community.
“Most Muslims are normal people who
love their families. The picture of Muslims
that the media boosts is not always truthful.
For example, a recent study shows that
over half of the Muslim reportages have to
do with only one percent of Muslims.”
With Muxlim.com, people always talk
of a good idea. Most good ideas are
simple. El-Fatary says he was just in the
right place at the right time. He thinks
Muxlim.com could have been founded
by anyone, also by a non-Muslim.
“It is hard to believe now, but the online
community could just as easily have been
founded by some other Muslim named
Mohamed. This is a commercial company. I
knew what I was doing, because I wanted to
use this kind of a service myself. That I admit.”
That’s a good way to sum the recipe
for a perfect product: Make something
that you would use yourself.
33

DESIGN
FROM SHAPE MAKING
TO SENSE MAKING
There’s a lot more to design than
just beautiful objects. Its real
purpose is to make life better.
Helsinki, elected as World Design
Capital for 2012, is taking design
far beyond its traditional borders
to all kinds of projects, from
improving public services to
redefining subway colours.
TEXT: ANNIINA KORPELA PHOTO: RIITTA SUPPERI
TAKE A COFFEE cup, for example. A lot
of time has been put into designing it.
When the cup finally has the best shape
possible, it becomes a utility for the
breakfast table. The idea behind design
is simple: good design makes life easier
for people. In Finland, design is also applied
beyond its traditional horizons, in
areas where its use can be more or less
surprising.
“Including design in health care, for
example, doesn’t mean decorating hospital
waiting rooms with pretty vases.
In this case design means wide scale
planning. It’s been used to make hospitals
more functional and shorten the
line of patients,” says Pekka Timonen,
Cultural Director for the City of Helsinki
and head of the World Design Capital
Helsinki 2012 project.
Helsinki is a small city among great
metropolises, but it’s not short on
potential to be a design centre. The venture
is a possibility for Finland’s capital
and its neighbouring areas to develop
in leaps and attract international design
specialists. The year is a cause for celebration
also for Finnish design education,
especially the Aalto University and
Lahti Institute of Design are involved in
the planning of the project. Helsinki is
working to actualise plans that might
not be possible without the title granted
by the International Council of Societies
of Industrial Design.
“Design is like an engine that we
want to use to enhance our city’s
economic competitiveness and create
humane solutions in all divisions of
society. Design equals creativity, with
a purpose of creating pleasure and enhancing
the quality of life. This is what
traditional design is also about: quality
that creates joy for years to come,”
Timonen says. Helsinki is interested in
unique solutions that can be applied all
over the world. How does the option
of using a mobile phone to buy an SMS
ticket in the city’s public transportation
sound?
THE WORLD DESIGN Capital venture
will see numerous exhibitions and
events related to the field, like seminars
and workshops.
“I’m certain that our efforts in design
34WELCOME TO FINLAND

will not remain unnoticed by anyone
visiting the city,” Pekka Timonen states.
For easy access to a wide range of
design, Timonen recommends heading
for Design District Helsinki. It’s an area
in downtown Helsinki with a concentration
of professionals in the field: 25
streets with 180 sites such as jewellers’
shops, bars, galleries, clothing stores,
design companies and hotels. WDC Helsinki
2012 is also going to have a strong
presence online, both as a key factor in
reaching people and as an open platform
for sharing ideas. Preparations for the
design year have already begun, but
it won’t all be finished in 2012. Being
a design capital is a process of several
years and many results won’t be visible
until afterwards.
“The World Design Capital venture
exists because the world needs examples.
The purpose is to encourage cities
to take advantage of design on a broad
scale,” Timonen sums it up.
www.wdc2012helsinki.fi/en
www.designdistrict.fi
www.worlddesigncapital.com

EDUC ATION
SHIFTING PARADIGMS
Yrjö Sotamaa, designer and Professor
of design innovation, has worked for
years to form a relationship between
designers in Finland and China.
This year Finnish Aalto University
and Chinese Tongji University will
establish a joint project called Aalto
Design Factory Shanghai.
Q: Design Factory, originally a project
of University of Art and Design Helsinki,
was established in 2008. What was the
original idea behind the project?
A: Several reasons have lead to founding
Design Factory. First, Finland has a very
good university system, but often the level
of teaching is not good at all. Pedagogically it
is very teacher-centered and lecture-based.
Aalto University has promised to create a
new learning culture in which teaching will
be made more student-centered. The biggest
promise we’ve made is this: We try out
new pedagogical approaches, which will
include a strong interdisciplinary element.
Q: What does Design Factory require
from the students?
A: In order for teaching to be more
student-centered, students need to be
active. It is a very intensive way of learning,
since students really need to contribute
to their own learning which requires a lot
of commitment. But this is exactly what
many students want. They want challenges
that cannot be dealt half-heartedly.
Q: In Design Factory students work in
the actual world and sometimes collaborate
with companies. How does
that benefit corporate world?
A: There are many kinds of companies, of
course. Some companies understand that
collaborating with a university will help them
see things a bit broader. This kind of collaboration
can be seen as a window to the future.
Q: The agreement to establish Aalto
Design Factory in Shanghai was signed
in January. What makes Shanghai
such a special city in China?
A: Shanghai has a special history. It is a
place where East and West have truly met.
The British and the French came there and
as a result cultures clashed. Nowadays
the city is a fascinating mixture of communism,
market economy and Confucian
thinking. It is also the most liberal Chinese
metropolis and they value entrepreneurship
high. It is a very dynamic and creative city.
Q: The emphasis our society gives to design
and on how things look sometimes
bothers me. Do you think that design
can ever become more democratic?
A: Inherently design’s nature is not democratic;
it is meant to create ways to stand
out from the crowd. Be it people, companies
or countries, they all use design in order to
define their individual character. But yes, how
design could be used to promote equality
and democracy is very important question
in the design world. A shift is taking place in
how people perceive things, the relationship
to consuming is gradually changing.
It will just take a while. Today designers
emphasize holistic thinking based on human
needs, and design is becoming more
and more significant to society. This way
design by its true nature is democratic.
What?
AALTO UNIVERSITY
Aalto University is an outcome
of a merger of three Helsinki
universities: Helsinki School of
Economics, University of Art and
Design Helsinki, and Helsinki
School of Science and Technology.
The new university, named after
the renowned Finnish architect
Alvar Aalto, started operating last
autumn.
36WELCOME TO FINLAND

CHINA’S SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Professor Lou Yongqi from Tongji University, Shanghai, visited Finland this
winter. He talked about Aalto Tongji Design Factory in Shanghai and China’s
transition from being a manufacturer to being an innovator.
Q: What makes Shanghai such a special city
and a suitable place for Aalto Design Factory?
A: Design and innovation are Shanghai’s
core characteristics. It is one of the most
dynamic cities in the world. It is both
intercontinental and intercultural in a way
that makes it a very special city for China.
In addition, it is also the home for Tongji
University, long known for it’s excellence.
Q: China is very well known as a manufacturer
but Chinese brands less heard of, apart
from the likes of Huawei and Lenovo. How
do you see the future of Chinese branding?
A: China is currently in transition
from being a manufacturer to becoming
an innovator. Innovation is the core
where business, technology and design
meet. Some encouraging examples of this
meeting are happening as we speak.
Q: Sustainability should be an important
aspect of design in the future. In your opinion,
will China be a leader in this trend?
A: Sustainability will be part of how Chinese
branding and innovation will look like in the
future. Most likely China will not spring a
brand like Louis Vuitton. Rather something
with a more lifestyle appeal to it will emerge.
Sustainability will be a natural part of a brand
like this. The whole paradigm of the country
will shift towards sustainable development.
Q: What role do university students
hold in this transition?
A: Students have a very important role. It is
the young people who will change the world.
The method of teaching will change too. The
case is no longer that the teacher has knowledge,
which she or he will give to students.
The new methods of learning will need
a new style of learning environment as
well. This will be provided by Aalto Design
Factory Shanghai. I hope we will not just
teach, but create opportunities and encourage
learning in many ways.
Q: I know this question is a bit too
large, but I will ask it anyway. What image
do the Chinese have of Finland?
A: Finnish brands play a major role in the
image people have of this country. Designers,
of course, know of Alvar Aalto and others, but
if we talk about middle class Chinese people,
their knowledge is mostly based on Nokia.
It is a brand that has a very humane and innovative
image. And you know, these days
brands have a cultural image. For example,
most Chinese do not know what or where
Sweden is, but they know what Ikea is.
What?
AALTO DESIGN FACTORY
Aalto Design Factory is a project
of Aalto University. Aalto Design
Factory in Helsinki started operating
in 2008. In Shanghai, the local
Aalto Tongji Design Factory will
start operations in 2010. Aalto Design
Factory aims to facilitate new
pedagogical approaches, innovations,
and collaborations between
students and companies.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTOS: TEEMU ULLGREN

TR AVEL
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
CEO of Finland-China Development & Exchange Centre,
Erlin Yang has lived in Finland for over 20 years. In this section
he answers questions often asked by the Chinese.
THE SCENE: It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon on a beautiful summer
day in Helsinki. People lounge on the grass in Esplanadi park, the
street side cafés are crowded and no one seems to be in hurry.
THE QUESTION: When do Finns work?
THE ANSWER: The length of a Finnish working day is set in the law. A normal
working day is 7,5 hours and people work 5 days of the week. When you
take away the coffee breaks, the actual working hours are even less. This is
possible because Finnish people work efficiently during their working hours.
Employees are professional with a clear focus on their work, and bureaucracy
is fairly easy. The values of the Finnish people also lay an important
role. Finns are proud of the quality of their work, and it is important to them.
THE SCENE: A traveller sits onboard an airplane. The seatbelt is fastened
as the flight attendant has just announced that the plane
is landing in Helsinki-Vantaa airport in 10 minutes. However,
there is no city at sight; only forests, fields and lakes.
THE QUESTION: How do Finns manage to preserve their nature?
THE ANSWER: Nature is valuable to Finns. You can see it in politics.
Finland focuses on environmental politics, but the respect
for nature is an even broader subject. Finnish children
learn already in school that nature has to be looked after.
THE SCENE: Finland has only 5 million inhabitants, yet it has managed to
spring international business like Nokia, Vaisala and Wärtsilä that can be
found in China, for example. The level of education has to be very high.
THE QUESTION: If my children want to study in Finland, is it possible?
THE ANSWER: Finland is a free country, so basically it is possible. Finland
has a good education system and everyone has a possibility for education;
there is no tuition in the academia, and the people who can’t get in
the university can study through the open university system. To get in a
Finnish academy, one has to pass an entrance exam. Chinese people are
used to studying hard, so normally the exam shouldn’t be too difficult.
38WELCOME TO FINLAND

TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTO: EMMA SUOMINEN
MESMERIZED
BY CLOUDS
Chao An, 23, came from Beijing to
study in Aalto University in Helsinki
last August.
P “Northern Europe has been a
common dream for Chinese people of
my age group. I didn’t know too much
about Finland before I came here;
mainly Nokia, Santa Claus, and that
Finland is a beautiful and cold country
with lots of snow. I also had an image
about Europe—the buildings being
old and decorated, the streets made of
stones instead of asphalt, and people
strolling around peacefully.”
P “In China I had a tutor who had
spent a year in Finland. She told me
about Finnish people, explaining that it
is not easy to make friends with a Finn,
but once a Finnish person is your friend,
he or she is really a good friend. I find
the people here very friendly. Often
when I ask directions from a stranger,
they lead me all the way to see the place
I am looking for. I am so touched by this
kind of kindness.”
P “What I like most about Helsinki is
how people live together with the nature
here—there is no conflict. I can see forests
and trees everywhere, even in the
city center. Also, the air is very clean,
and I love the clouds here. In China,
clouds seem to reside way up in the sky.
Here they seem very low. I am even doing
a project on this in school.”
P “When I was in high school, I fell in
love with fashion. Nowadays my attitude
to fashion has changed. I don’t see it as
being about clothes and jewels anymore,
but more about an attitude towards life.
I like how Finnish people really love
domestic brands such as Marimekko and
Iittala.”
P “It was once a very cold and rainy
day, dark in the streets and no one
around. A group of us students went to
the café in Seurasaari (Villa Angelica).
It was like an illusion in the middle of
the cold and darkness. It was more like
someone’s house than a café. There was
tea and cakes everywhere, but no one
around!”
P “I would advice anyone coming to
Helsinki to forget all about the clichés of
travelling. Do not just go through all the
famous sights. Don’t make a schedule.
Slow down. Just walk around, in this
city you don’t have to worry about getting
lost.”
39

INNOVATION
WIRELESS FUTURE
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTOS: JULIANA HARKKI
STYLE: JANIC LEINO MAKEUP: KAROLIINA KANGAS
Three years ago
Maija Itkonen came
up with a table
that charges mobile
phones. The
forthcoming years
will show how far
Powerkiss will go.
IN THE BEGINNING, two things were
needed to influence Maija Itkonen, 33.
Without them she would not be sitting
by this café table, making notes in her
little notebook with an image of a heart
split in two on the cover.
The two things: necessity and an
inspiring teacher. She was taking part
in a course on innovation at the Helsinki
School of Economics. The course included
writing a business plan.
“I went to see the teacher in advance
and told him that I’m a design student.
And that I don’t know so much about
business plans,” Itkonen tells me.
The teacher was Italian Pier A. Abetti,
a 90-year-old professor who has made
his career in the United States. Speaking
about him makes Itkonen’s eyes light up.
“Abetti told me it didn’t matter.”
Itkonen sat down by her desk and
started thinking. What things had she
heard people complain about lately?
Cords. People had complained to her
40WELCOME TO FINLAND

about cords. In ten minutes, in the
middle of the lecture, she wrote a preliminary
business plan.
“It looks like some people here are
just playing computer games,” Abetti
said, and gave Itkonen and her computer
a glance.
It was 2007 and Powerkiss–the
cordless mobile phone charging system–was
born.
ITKONEN TAKES OUT two small, white
objects. The first one you attach under
the table, and the one that looks like
a USB-stick you attach to the device
you want to charge. The result is a table
that charges devices. Isku and Kinnarps
are some of Powerkiss’ manufacturers,
and the tables can be found at the Via
lounge at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport,
for example.
That’s as far as Itkonen wants to
explain the technical features.
“Nobody buys technology. People
want a user experience,” she says.
User experience consists of the
product’s entire life span: from the
place you buy it and the package it
comes in, to what you need to do to
start using it and what happens to it
when it’s no longer used.
“Maybe some men in red overalls will
come to pick it up,” Itkonen grins.
Whatever the case, a good idea is not
enough. Resources, both mental and
material, are also required.
In the case of Powerkiss, the most
important mental resource is Itkonen
herself. She is an energetic woman who
first got an education as a professional
musician. That’s when her commendable
work ethic developed (she still
plays wind instruments once a week
at the Helsinki City Theatre). She is
clearly not afraid to take a leap into the
unknown, but has the intelligence to do
it feet first.
In 2007 she studied in the International
Design Business Management
program at the School of Art and Design.
The program was a collaboration involving
the School of Economics and the
School of Science and Technology. She
also worked at a research lab at the
School of Science and Technology.
“I had a feeling that all the resources
I needed were available and I was surrounded
by people who could answer
my questions,” she says. “I believe in a
strong sense of community and that innovation
lives in networks. You just have
to find the courage to rely on them.”
Innovations without money never
leave the drawing table. As soon as the
concept was created, Powerkiss won
the Venture Cup competition for new
ideas. The prize money wasn’t that
big, but winning brought a lot of free
publicity and media attention. After
Venture Cup, Powerkiss was included in
a funding program of Tekes (The Finnish
Funding Agency for Technology and
Innovation) and now Finnvera (a government
owned investor) will provide
financial security for some years.
“Finland has an unbelievably wellorganised
funding program,” Itkonen
praises. “Sometimes it’s just not used
correctly.”
The problem is that funding is usually
meant specifically for product development,
and marketing is often neglected.
“This can easily lead to situations
where the product is finished, but no
one has thought about who’s going to
buy it,” Itkonen explains.
Powerkiss has proceeded in a different
way. The product has been marketed
all along and the brand has been
developed in various ways. It is present
also as we speak: the dented heart on
the cover of Itkonen's notebook is the
Powerkiss logo.
HAVE A GOOD IDEA?
Finland has a system for
helping entrepreneurs
develop their projects.
Funding and help in
developing ideas can be
arranged by Tekes, Sitra
or the Foundation for
Finnish Inventors, for
example. Technopolis is
a listed company that
offers premises and advice
for new informationintensive
companies.
Karri Hautamäki, The
Director of Technopolis
OnLine, tells us where
future investments should
be made in Finland:
“Commercialising
innovations is a risky
business, so help is
needed. The viewpoint
should be shifted to
see that it’s not only
technical development
that needs funding, but
also commercialisation
and branding. When there
is support, the right areas
of innovation and success
stories will come to us.
They could be in clean
tech, printed electronics
or service innovations.”
41

CLE AN TECH
FINNS INVOLVED IN ECOCITIES
If you have a question concerning
environmental issues and doing business
in either China or Finland, Finnish
Environmental Cluster for China FECC
can help you. FECC is a project started
by the Finnish Ministry of Trade and
Industry in 2006. It has a comprehensive
contact network in China, including
businesses and local officials. With
a population of 1 billion, China is a
tremendous growth opportunity for the
small and medium sized businesses of
tiny Finland. China’s EcoCity projects
create special opportunities for environmental
businesses. EcoCities are
born of China’s aims to transfer close to
400 million of its inhabitants from rural
areas to cities. Two of these projects,
Gongqingin and Danyang, have been
partially realised by Finnish DigiEcoCity
Oy, also involved in FECC.
www.fecc.fi
WORLD FAME WITH QUALITY RE-
SEARCH
Cleen Oy, or Cluster for Energy and
Environment Incorporated, is a cluster
of top Finnish minds in the energy and
environmental industries. Its aim is
to advance the level of Finnish research
and internationalisation, and to
tighten collaboration between research
institutes and funders in the fields of
energy and environmental business. The
Cleen vision predicts that energy and
environment will be Finland’s leading
industry in 2050, and that Finns will be
among global market leaders.
www.cleen.fi
CLEANTECH FINLAND
Cleantech Finland is a cluster of about
200 Finnish environmental technology
and clean tech companies (FECC is also
part of this cluster). Its goal is to help
small and medium sized Finnish enterprises
make their business international.
In practise, the functions are realised
through four expertise centres, one of
which is the Southern Finnish province
of Uusimaa. The area’s most important
projects include environmental monitoring,
energy efficiency in urban areas
and oil spill recovery. Environmental
monitoring means improving the level
of expertise in the field of environmental
measuring and linking it to ICT, in
which Finland has been traditionally
known for its expertise. Energy efficiency
refers to a field of business that
has risen out of the necessity to monitor
energy consumption in urban environments,
related to living and traffic, for
example. Creating new alternatives is
also part of the activity. Oil spill recovery
is related to the preservation of the
Baltic Sea area.
wwwcleantechcluster.fi
SOMETHING’S
GOING ON!
Bits and pieces of what is
happening in clean tech in
Finland.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
42WELCOME TO FINLAND

WHAT IS
CLEAN TECH?
The terms clean tech
and environmental
technology are
widely used, but
what do they actually
mean?
PERHAPS THE MOST significant phenomenon
in our society in the first
decade of the 21st century has been the
accommodation of sustainable development
in people’s everyday lives. The
term has settled in virtually all facets
of our everyday life. Businesses from
clothing manufacturers to energy
suppliers have used it to describe their
philosophy. Along with sustainability,
clean tech and environmental technology
have also found their way into our
everyday discussions.
”I use the term environmental technology
to talk of technologies that are
clearly working for the benefit of the
environment. Clean tech is a broader
term. It includes all the processes and
technologies that are environmentally
positive,” says Executive Vice President
Kari Larjava of VTT Technical Research
Centre, who has been involved in the
Finnish EcoCity-project in the MenTou-
Gou district of Beijing.
The growing concern of climate
change has been a driving force in clean
tech. Decision-makers all over the
world are almost unanimous in their
view of the need for a profound change
in the way people and societies consume.
How it can be achieved divides
people in two camps: the first one
believes that consumption should be cut
radically, the second thinks that with
the right technology consumption can
be made less burdensome for the environment.
All means are needed, due to
the enormity of the challenge.
Larjava provides an example of what
clean tech could mean in house building.
“Twenty years ago people talked of
low energy buildings. Nowadays we are
already aiming for zero energy buildings,
meaning buildings that consume
no energy, because they produce energy
that can be fed backwards to the smart
grid.”
However, the very definition of clean
tech and environmental technology
has its challenges. European Union has
only recently started the verification
process of environmental technologies
to get everyone on the same page, even
vaguely.
“It takes a pretty high level of knowhow
to understand what technologies
are good for the environment,” Larjava
says. “In the entirety, technology gets
tangled with social sciences and especially
economics. We also have to be able
to take the impact of the whole process
and the entire duration of its lifespan
into consideration.”
Only then we can genuinely talk of
sustainable development.

Culture
Suomi – Finland
Postage stamps from Finland at Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Itella Corporation, Philatelic Centre
P.O. Box 2
00011 ITELLA, Finland
Email: stamps@posti.fi Fax: +358 204 51 5580
www.posti.fi/goshopping
44WELCOME TO FINLAND

MEETINGS
A TASTY DEAL
The food and the milieu of a restaurant must
work seamlessly together in a business
meeting. A local kitchen is ideal to bring the
parties together—after all what’s the point in
doing Finnish business over escargot or sushi?
Below, a group of Finnish business experts
reveal their oases for a perfect meeting.
SAVOY, Helsinki
EEROPEKKA RISLAKKI, Editor in
Chief, Viisi Tähteä -magazine
STRINDBERG, Helsinki
CLARISSE BERGGÅRDH, CEO,
Sanoma Magazines Finland
”Strindberg offers good
Scandinavian food. The service
is excellent. Also the location
and beautiful park view
deserve a commendation.”
R One of the biggest terraces
of the city is a perfect spot to
follow the Pohjoisesplanadi stir.
The Library bar, adjacent to the
restaurant, is ideal for relaxed
meetings. Pohjoisesplanadi 33,
www.royalravintolat.com
PÖLLÖWAARI, Jyväskylä
AINO SALLINEN, RECTOR,
University of Jyväskylä
”This cosy restaurant offers
personal delicacies and
excellent wines. The service is
friendly and competent. The
presentation of the menu and
the wines keeps sparking admiration
in international guests.”
R The menu emphasises local
ingredients and includes for
example little perch fished from
nearby Lake Päijänne. Cabinet
for 12 people, also meeting
rooms for 10 and 25 people.
Yliopistonkatu 23,
www.hotelliyopuu.fi
"Savoy is a classic location,
with a long tradition in business
meetings. Chef Kai Kallio’s
food philosophy is based on
Hippocrates’ idea: let food be
your medicine. In Savoy, a fine
dining attitude joins hands with
local ingredients and a true
understanding of the effects
of food. Light food just doesn’t
do the trick in a meeting.”
R The restaurant’s interior
is preserved to house the
original touch of architect and
designer couple Aino and Alvar
Aalto. Cabinets range from
private to up to 32 people.
Eteläesplanadi 14,
www.royalravintolat.com
45

S H O P P I N G C E N T R E
Kämp Galleria is an elegant shopping centre in the heart of Helsinki. It has more than
50 shops, high-quality services and restaurants on three floors. Welcome!
OPEN • MON–FRI 10–20 • SAT 10–17 • SUN 12–16 (SUMMER TIME)
www.kampgalleria.fi

CULTURE
READ A BOOK
FICTION
NON-FICTION
Solar
BY IAN MCEWAN
The new novel by the top British author
deals with climate change.
So Much for That
BY LIONEL SHRIVER
The masterful storyteller tackles a talked
about subject in her new release: the
American health care system.
Snuff
BY CHUCK PALAHNIUK
Only Palahniuk can write such an entertaining
yet intellectual story of a porn
movie shoot.
The Shaking Woman
or a History of My Nerves
BY SIRI HUSTVEDT
Intellectual Siri Hustvedt goes on a journey
into herself and her personal health.
Liberalism and Prostitution
BY PETER DE MARNEFFE
A very topical information package about
prostitution, without the unnecessary
sentimental fuss.
Design Driven Innovation
BY ROBERTO VERGANTI
Never settle for what already exists.
Design Driven Innovation tells you how to
create new markets.
Just a Job
BY GEORGE CHENEY, DANIEL J. LAIR, DEAN RITZ
AND BRENDEN E. KENDALL
A current book about the ethics of work.
Work is never just work. The same laws of
ethics that apply to life should also apply
to work.
Fast Strategy
BY YVES DOZ AND MIKKO KOSONEN
Co-written by Mikko Kosonen, the President
of Finnish Sitra, this book deals with
a strategy to keep your company up in
the accelerating currents of the business
world.
47

REPORT

A QUEST FOR
FINNISH OSTRICHES
One American journalist gets to fulfill his
dream of being among Finnish ostriches.
TEXT AND PHOTOS: JUSTIN VELA
been raising ostriches for sixteen years.
Hierarchal creatures, the dominant
male ostrich is established every year
in fights at the beginning of the mating
season. He then chooses his primary
female, who he mates with before mating
with other females. To be accepted
by the ostriches, Jan must be tougher
than the dominant male, a massive dark
winged loner named the Body Man,
who stands by the fence looking out
over the countryside as the rest of the
flock pecks and nips at my jacket.
The Body Man became the dominant
male six years ago. He is big, but
not the biggest male. Yet, according to
Jan, when the Body Man was young he
had more energy than usual. He didn’t
walk, he was running all the time. From
this start he grew into the top bird.
The Body Man doesn’t bully the other
ostriches, however. He is “nice”, but
when it comes to fights, he wins. He
does not fight Jan, however. His hand
on the Body Man’s back, Jan effortlessly
leads the top bird away from the fence.
Asked how he can dominate even the
Body Man, Jan flexes his arm muscles.
“This takes maintenance,” he says. “I
push their necks down. The birds are
lower than I am, they bow down, many
females come to me.”
“Sure they do,” Sirpa laughs.
OSTRICHES ARE FROM Africa.
Or so I thought. The limitations of this
thinking becomes rather quickly apparent
when you are in the middle of the
Finnish countryside, in the village of
Nurmijärvi, about a forty minute drive
from Helsinki, being swarmed by a flock
of these birds who think your jacket is
something that they can eat.
Is dark fabric really so tasty? As these
ostriches, all of whom were born in Finland,
push me against the side of their
pen it is not clear exactly what they
are looking for. Bugs, bits of plants? I’d
like to believe my jacket is free of such
edibles. The ostriches think otherwise.
Up close their long necks dart around,
serpentine and strong. Their nibbling
leaves chunky, dark brown spittle. They
pull at the cloth, stabbing the air around
me with their pointed breaks, looking
down with large, round, uncertain
black eyes.
I have no backup. Lahja, my co-pilot
and bodyguard, is meters away on the
other side of the fence, watching the
onslaught of pecking birds and chatting
with Sirpa Granholm. What they can be
so nonchalantly discussing while I am
being pecked, I don’t know. Jan, Sirpa’s
husband and co-owner of the Ketola
ostrich farm, is in the pen with me. He,
however, is only laughing. He holds up
a hand and an ostrich latches onto it,
chomping down on his thinly gloved
fingers. Jan only laughs more.
“This man loves his birds,” I think.
“There’s no way he’s about to save me.”
Jan does love the ostriches. He
strokes their feathered heads and pushes
them around, treating the birds like
oddly shaped wrestling bodies. He has
AN OSTRICH FARM is exactly as it
sounds. A farm where ostriches are
raised for their meat, feathers, eggs,
and hide. The parts are turned into various
products from ostrich feather boas
to make up to meat sold in speciality
shops. Dusters to purses to decoratively
painted eggs. The extent of the products
that can be made from ostriches
make one wonder why they are not in
greater demand. Why do ostriches not
rank among chickens, cows, lambs,
and pigs as a source of previously living
consumption? More importantly, how
did ostriches come to exist in the flats of
southern Finland?
I first asked myself these serious
questions in September 2008, recently
arrived back in Finland from the Middle
East. To unwind in the sense of taking
a break or vacation you need activities
that are different from those that you
49

REPORT
usually engage in. To come to this took
some thinking, but, theoretically, the
effect of such activities produce refreshment,
stamina and renewed vigor,
something that I was then desperately
seeking.
I don’t remember how it came about
exactly. There was the exclamative
confusion of “an ostrich farm, what the
heck is that?” Then my friend Marja was
quickly up and on Google. By the end of
the month a van had been procured, or,
rather, ‘borrowed’ from an unsuspecting
workplace and up highway E12 two
Americans and five Finns went, some
bouncing around the back of the van,
others seat belted properly in the front.
“There is a very high interest in
Finland for such things,” Sirpa says.
“People come all the time to see the
ostriches.”
This was the first time I visited the
ostrich farm. Sirpa guided us to look at
the ostriches. They trotted about the
pen. The males had black feathers, the
females brownish grey. Watching them,
your mind registered the sight. There
was no stretching savanna around these
ostriches, only some grassy fields that
ended with the dark trees of the Finnish
forest. Sirpa told us that the birds withstood
the cold winters by adding a layer
of fat to themselves, which they worked
off by the summer. Ostriches might be
native to Africa, but they could withstand
Finnish winters. These birds were
adaptable. I admired that.
Then Sirpa stated the rules.
Ostriches are powerful animals. A
kick or hard peck could be fatal.
Jan has experienced it at first hand.
“I don’t remember anything,” he
says. “Something happened. The next
thing I knew I was on the other side of
the barn.”
Usually Jan always wears dark
clothing-grays and blacks-around the
ostriches. One day he returned home
and, not to keep them waiting, went
to feed the ostriches without changing
into his normal attire. He was wearing
a blue shirt instead of the usual colors,
and snapped back to consciousness
with his chest badly bruised and unable
to breathe normally.
“They didn’t recognize me as the
boss,” he says.
Since he was not wearing his usual
clothing, the ostriches had not been
able to determine who Jan was. Sirpa
took him to the local doctor and tried to
explain that he had been kicked by an
ostrich. The doctor couldn’t believe this.
He thought Jan had been drunk and
seen something that was not real.
“It was an ostrich,” Jan told him.
“Do something! I can’t breathe.”
The doctor called to the nurses.
“This is something you have to learn,”
he said, pointing to Jan’s chest. “This is
what it looks like when an ostrich kicks
you!”
Getting kicked isn’t the only trouble
Sirpa and Jan have had with the ostriches.
Once, while visiting the nearby
village, they learned that five of the
ostriches had gotten loose. They were
wandering around a neighbor’s field.
Four ostriches were easily returned
to the pen, but a fifth evaded them.
Sirpa and Jan got into their old jeep
and tried to herd the ostrich, a young
female, back into the pen. But the jeep
was too slow. When running, ostriches
can quickly reach speeds of up to 80
kilometers an hour. The jeep could not
accelerate quickly enough to catch up
with the fleeing ostrich.
“The ostrich started to play with us,”
Sirpa says. “It would run, turn around
and wait, like it was saying, ‘are you
coming or not?’ Then it let the car come
very near. Then it started to run again.
We couldn’t catch it.”
After several hours of trying to herd
the ostrich into the pen with the jeep,
they decided it was impossible. The
bird outran them every time. They got
out and eventually managed to lure the
ostrich close with alfalfa pellets. Then
Jan grabbed the ostrich’s head and put a
hood over it.
“When its head is covered its very
easy to transport,” he says.
So, the first time at the farm, we had

-There was no stretching savanna
around these ostriches, only some
grassy fields that ended with the dark
trees of the Finnish forest.
to stay back from the birds a few meters
from the fence, admiring them at a
distance.
The disappointment set in.
I had imagined, at the least, wrestling
one of the birds. I wanted to
come to some mutual understanding
of avian/human relations. Looking
without coming close is frustrating and
most certainly not refreshing, but...no
touching allowed.
To be fair, the farm offers the possibility
of an ‘ostrich safari’ where visitors
can safely come closer to the birds.
There has never been any accidents with
the visitors and Sirpa and Jan want to
keep it that way. Still, I wanted direct
contact. Being initially denied made
me want it more and I began scheming
ways to get close to these Finnish
ostriches.
WITH AN OVERALL small number of
incidents and Sirpa and Jan’s round the
clock watchful dedication, the Ketola
ostrich farm is one of the most successful
out of the twenty ostrich farms
operating in Finland.
Approximately four thousand visitors
come to the farm every year during the
summer time to see the birds. About
fifty groups visit per year. The farm also
hosts weddings, bachelor/bachelorette
parties, birthdays, and christenings.
An ostrich farm might seem like an
odd place to host a party or event, but
the tucked away location amidst the
spacious and quiet Finnish countryside
has made it successful.
“I think it is a combination of the
environment, extra with the ostriches,”
Sirpa says. “There’s the buildings and
the space. People are looking for something
unusual and extra.”
Laughing, she describes a wedding
last summer where the ostriches lined
up along the fence and watched the
ceremony.
“They were the guests too!” she says.
Ostriches are friendly birds. They
are curious about what goes on around
them, if slightly awkward about it. This
meant we shared a certain kinship. And
so that is why, fourteen months after
my initial visit, when Jan opens the gate
and allows me to slip inside the ostrich
pen, I feel that surge of satisfaction that
comes from living out a dream.
I am amongst Finnish ostriches.
Of course the ostriches are now
pecking and pulling at my jacket, pants,
boots, and recording equipment. I am
pinned against the fence. There is no
where to go. No savior in sight. New
questions quickly form. Will one of the
ostriches decide to land a hard peck
across the side of my head? My eyes?
And what about being kicked? Ostrich
feet are gnarled and thick and tipped
with a single, enormous claw meant for
scratching at the ground to lay nests
for their eggs. I try to slip pass them,
but they follow me, their faces close to
mine-purplish blue circles surround
their eyes-quizzically trying to figure
out what I am, their orange beaks
coming down forcefully upon my chest,
their massive feet scratching at the
snow.
I know the ostriches are only curious.
But will I, like Jan, end up in a hospital
trying to convince a doctor that I have,
indeed, been kicked by an ostrich?
But, of course, shouldn’t the doctor
already know that ostriches are, also,
from Finland?
OSTRICH FARMING
AROUND THE WORLD
Ostrich farming began in South
Africa in the late 19th century.
By 1913, over one million
ostriches were being raised
commercially around the world.
Today, there is no comprehensive
data on ostrich farms currently
available. Ostriches are farmed
in the EU, Israel, US, South Africa,
New Zealand, Australia and Egypt,
among tens of other countries,
largely on privately owned property.
It is still a relatively new type
of farming. Ostrich farms
were not established in
England until the 1980s.
A 1997 study showed that
300 000 ostriches were slaughtered
in South Africa that year, producing
9 000-10 000 tons of meat.
Though it is not sold in most
grocery stores, the demand for
ostrich meat in most European
countries is continuous and it is
frequently sold in specialty stores.
Ostriches have been associated with
wealth and power since ancient
times. Early Egyptians, Greeks and
Romans all kept semi-domesticated
ostriches. The ancient Egyptians
believed the ostrich feather
symbolized justice and truth.
51

INTERVIE W
RETURNING HOME
The Finnish film director Renny Harlin
became famous for his Hollywood movies,
such as Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger.
He returned to his home country to direct
a film about an icon of Finnish history,
Marshal Mannerheim.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTO: TEEMU ULLGRÉN
Harlin was (and
still is) the only
Finn successful in
Hollywood, and
became a sort of an
incarnation of the
American dream.
52WELCOME TO FINLAND

WHO?
RENNY HARLIN
Finnish film
director, born 1959
in Riihimäki.
Studied in the
Helsinki School
of the Arts until
moving to Los
Angeles in his
twenties.
His first feature film
was Born American
in 1985.
Directed films
including
Nightmare on Elm
Street 4, Die Hard
2, Cutthroat Island,
Drive, Cleaner.
Harlin has been
filming Georgia
in spring 2010,
starring Val Kilmer.
53

INTERVIE W
The civil war of Finland seems distant.
In reality however, it was more or
less only a lifetime ago when Finns were
divided in reds (the working class) and
whites (the burgeois), and fought each
other in a war that demanded more
than 35 000 human lives.
The leading figures included Lieutenant
General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim,
a Finn who had spent most of his
adult life serving in the Russian army.
Later on he became the President of
Finland.
Mannerheim’s story is fascinating.
He wasn’t interested in school and
wasn’t accepted into cadet school until
the third attempt. At age nineteen he
moved to St. Petersburg and was accepted
into the cavalry school of the
Russian army. Serving under the Tsar
he advanced to the position of general.
When Finland became independent
from Russia in 1917, the middle-aged
Mannerheim returned to Finland to
start the army.
The years Mannerheim spent in
Russia were filled with different phases
and trips. The story goes that his happiest
years were from 1906 to 1908. He
spent them pretending to be a Swedish
explorer and rode to China.
“They were the only times in Mannerheim’s
life he didn’t spend in war
conditions,” says another Finn, also
around fifty and returned to his home
country this spring 2009. He is film
director Renny Harlin, 49.
Harlin is sitting at the end of the
meeting table at the studios of Solar
Films, a Finnish film production
company. He is best known for the
Hollywood films he’s directed, like Die
Hard 2, Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea and
Exorcist: The Beginning. Now he’s ready
to direct his first Finnish project since
the 1980s. Mannerheim is on his way to
the silver screen once the funding of the
project is secured.
”SPRUNG FROM FINLAND'S Frozen
Wastes, Renny Harlin Is the Hot Young
Director Behind the Sizzling Action in
Die Hard 2”, People Magazine wrote
as the title of an article about Harlin in
September 1990. Back then Harlin was
(and still is) the only Finn successful
in Hollywood, and became a sort of an
incarnation of the American dream.
“When I was fifteen, I said I would
become an American film director,” he
tells me.
Harlin grew up in Helsinki and
already shot Super 8 films as a child.
After high school he chose to apply to
the School of Art and Design instead of
pursuing an academic career, shocking
his father, a doctor, and his mother,
a nurse. His parents were certain that
their son’s future was in jeopardy. In
their opinion people who graduated
from the school in question became
unemployed radicals. Another shock
followed when Harlin dropped out and
decided to head for Hollywood.
Young Harlin sent his clips to everyone
who’s anyone in Hollywood, including
people like Steven Spielberg. He
wondered why there were no answers.
Together with Markus Selin–his
Finnish friend who later became known
in Finland as a film producer and is
behind the Mannerheim film–Harlin
gathered up money and wrote the script
of their first film in Selin’s basement in
Lohja. The year was 1989. Once finished,
they sent the script to the other side
of the Atlantic, to the American actor
Chuck Norris.
“Just like that. We had gotten his address
somehow. We didn’t know about
agents. Or anything, for that matter,”
Harlin says.
Chuck Norris’ assistant called the
eager Finnish duo in about a month,
letting them know Norris had liked the
script.
Harlin and Selin were happier than
ever, but not necessarily surprised.
“That’s exactly how we thought
it was supposed to go, we thought,”
Harlin laughs.
The men sent Norris an advance
check, without a contract. They had
full-page advertisements for the film in
the biggest magazines in the business,
Hollywood Reporter and Variety. They
travelled to the Cannes Film Festival and
hired a producer and cameramen.
“By next summer everything was
ready for filming in Finnish Lapland. We
were practically standing there, holding
signs that said Welcome to Finland,
Harlin didn’t fit in the
Finnish movie scene
either, because for him
film was entertainment.
54WELCOME TO FINLAND

waiting for Chuck to arrive. They kept
calling us, saying that Chuck would
arrive soon. The film crew was standing
around and money was going to waste.
Then it started to snow,” Harlin tells
me.
Norris never showed up in Lapland.
He went to Thailand instead, to shoot
Missing in Action 2.
“That’s when me and Markus burst
into tears,” Harlin says.
Eventually the film was finished
in 1985, titled Born American. It had
Chuck Norris’ son Mike Norris in the
lead role and the premiere was in Hollywood.
“We thought success would start
then and there,” Harlin says. “It
didn’t.”
Instead of success the two ended up
running out of money and having their
credit cards cancelled. Harlin spent
the next few years taking buses around
Los Angeles in search for work, living
randomly in friends’ garages and cheap
motels.
Then, one morning three years later
everything changed.
Harlin woke up in his motel room
and went to pick the day’s papers. He
had become a star overnight. He had directed
a film Nightmare on Elm Street,
and it got great reviews.
Harlin went on to work with actors
like Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone
and had famous girlfriends, like Laura
Dern and Geena Davis, who he was
married to for several years.
NOT EVEN THE success in Hollywood
could make Harlin feel accepted in Finland.
He had been a “weird kid” already
in the college. He was looked down
upon by most people in the School
of Arts for moving to the States. The
showing of Born American was prohibited
a few times in Finland, because it
was considered violent and too hostile
towards the Soviet Union.
The first thing that set Harlin apart
from his fellow students was that he had
directed advertisements already while
studying.
“Advertisements were seen as capitalistic
junk,” he says.
But he didn’t have that many op-
55

INTERVIE W
”I was thinking that everyone
in the Finnish movie business
thought I was a fool and a
failure. Coming home was not
an option.”
tions. His father had died a few years
earlier and he had to support himself.
He also felt he was learning more shooting
advertisements than at school, and
the wages were good too.
“Everyone was taking the train to
school. I bought a Range Rover and
parked it on the schoolyard. It didn’t
exactly enhance team spirit,” he says.
Harlin didn’t fit in the Finnish movie
scene either, because for him film was
entertainment. In Finland, film was
perceived as art.
To understand it, you need to look at
the history of Finnish film. The golden
age was already before the 50s, when
a lot of films were produced and the
theatres were full. Television arrived in
the Finnish home after World War II. In
a small country that meant the movie
theatres were left empty. At the same
time the technology needed to produce
movies evolved and making films
became more expensive. Another way
of putting it is that Finnish film ran out
of money and turned into art funded by
the government.
“A film had to include a social commentary,”
Harlin says.
Popular subjects were alcoholism,
unemployment and other forms of
alienation from society. “In America
however, going to the movies has been
a form of entertainment. The culture is
different in that aspect, even musicals
are very popular over there,” Harlin
states.
IN ADDITION TO talent, Harlin’s success
is due to stubbornness and faith in
a personal dream, and fear.
“One of the reasons I managed to
keep doing it was that I would have
been ashamed to come back to Finland
with my tail between my legs. The
School of the Arts and the controversy
of Born American made me think that
everyone in the Finnish movie business
thought I was a fool and a failure. Coming
home was not an option.”
When the dream of being an “American
movie director” came true, Harlin
had already started thinking about
another one: to direct a film in Finland.
Which brings us back to the film
about Mannerheim. It’s a project that
has been in preparation for about a decade.
There are over 20 versions of the
script. Mannerheim spent a great deal of
his life in Russia, so shooting will most
likely take place there as well, and possibly
also in China and Germany.
Harlin is feeling tense and a bit
strange.
“It’s a big change. But I’ve come back
out of free will, and I can use all I’ve
learned.”
Harlin has been studying Mannerheim
and his era for the film.
“The most shocking thing is how little
time has passed. Both of my parents
lived through the wars, but as a child it
felt very distant. It was just black and
white people on television. Now you
understand that they were flesh and
blood, and that the world hasn’t really
changed that much. This is the point I
want to make.”
The film about Mannerheim will be
entertainment with content.
“Every single Finn knows the Mannerheim
statue in front of Kiasma, but
how many know his story and the sacrifices
he made to do what he did?”
* The interview was made in the
summer of 2009. Since then problems
have occurred in the funding of
the Mannerheim film and its destiny
remains unclear. Recently Harlin has
been directing a movie called Georgia,
starring Val Kilmer and Andy Garcia.
56WELCOME TO FINLAND

WHO?
CARL GUSTAF EMIL
MANNERHEIM
Secretary of State
(1918-1919), Chief
of Defence (1939-
1945) and President
(1944-1946). Born
1867 in Asikainen,
died 1951 in
Switzerland.
Studied in the
Finnish Cadet
School and was
expelled for bad
conduct. Continued
his studies in the
cavalry school of
the Russian Army.
Came back to
Finland after the
country became
independent in 1917.
Was married to
Anastasia Arapova,
daughter of a
Russian general.
The marriage ended
in divorce.
Was promoted to
General Lieutenant
in the Russian army
Received the only
title of Marhal ever
granted in Finland
in 1942.
57

REPORT

CONTROVERSY IN THE MONASTERY
The Finnish Orthodox Church takes
an nontraditional path to expansion.
TEXT AND PHOTOS: JUSTIN VELA
CONTROVERSY BETWEEN
THE FINNISH AND RUSSIAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH
1923 the Finnish Orthodox
Church declares itself
independent from the Patriarchate
of Moscow and
joins the Patriarchate of
Constantinople.
IN THE KITCHEN, the makings of Pokrova’s
famous borsch-carrots, garlic,
beets, and onions-are spread across the
wooden countertop. There are other,
secret ingredients, but they are known
only to Pokrova’s founder Father
Hariton Tuukkanen, a former Helsinki
restaurateur and chef.
“I first went to a monastery when I
was fifteen,” Hariton says. “They said
I was too young to stay. They said I
should go and make food for people because
I love food more than I love God.”
According to Orthodox Christianity,
throughout life a person maintains their
unique personal identity, no matter
how close to God they become. No place
typifies that view more than Pokrova,
a registered ‘association’ of the Finnish
Orthodox Church in the county of
Kirkkonummi, a woodsy place thirty
kilometers outside Helsinki with large,
if rapidly shrinking, tracts of empty
land.
Pokrova has all the attributes of an
orthodox monastery – a church, dwellings
for monks and visitors to focus on
prayer, a community of parishioners
– yet it has not officially been given the
title of monastery. This does not bother
Hariton. He changes into a black robe,
puts on a skufia, the tall black hat worn
by Orthodox priests, and sits at the head
of a long table in Pokrova’s main building.
From the ages of fifteen to eighteen
he served as a novice at New Valamo
monastery in Heinävesi, but it was only
after a nearly forty year hiatus from
monastery life that he founded Pokrova,
one of the most controversial additions
to the Finnish Orthodox Church since
its inception.
“Pokrova is an interesting phenomenon,”
says Juha Riikonen, a professor
of Orthodox religion at the University of
Joensuu. “Their leader, Father Hariton,
has quite strong Russian roots, but after
all, connected the monastery to the
Finnish Orthodox Church.”
Listening to Hariton speak, it is clear
he is aware that Pokrova is a contended
issue. There is a slight grin on his face
and he has the amused diction of a regaling
story teller. If religion is defined
by traditions and customs, then Hariton
has not followed many of the rules. Not
that he is seeking any kind of penance.
To make a life in fulfillment of one’s
dreams requires grace, something that
Hariton knows only too well.
ONLY 1.2 PERCENT of the population
of Finland is Orthodox. About 61
thousand out a population of 5 million.
Yet Orthodox Christianity stands equal
to Lutheranism in Finland as one of the
two national religions.
This comes from a tumultuous history.
Orthodox or ‘eastern’ Christianity
arrived in Finland from Russia in the
12th century, only a short period before
Western Christianity arrived from Swe-
1945 Metropolitan Grigori
of Leningrad and Novgorod
arrived in Finland demanding
the Finnish Orthodox
Church rejoin the Moscow
Patriarchate. The demand
had heavy political undertones
as the Finnish Communist
Party had just won
a number of posts in the
first postwar parliamentary
election.
Metropolitan Grigori declared
that the exchange
of sacraments and prayer
between the two churches
was broken off until the
Finnish Church rejoined the
Patriarchate of Constantinople.
1948 the Moscow Patriarchate
agreed that Finnish
Church could be independent
if it first rejoin the
Russian Church.
In 1955 the Finnish Orthodox
Church rejected the
demands of the Moscow Patriarchate.
1957 the Holy Synod of
Moscow-the highest church
authority in Russia-recognized
the Finnish Church as
part of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople.
59

REPORT
den. At the time most people in Finland
were practitioners of Shamanism,
worshipping a number of different gods
that revolved around specific aspects of
nature. Karelia gradually became largely
Orthodox due to its proximity to Russia
while western Finland, then part of
Sweden, became Lutheran.
It was only in 1919, two years after
Finland became independent from Russia,
that the Finnish Orthodox Church
broke away from the Patriarchate of
Moscow. Aware that they were too
small a church to appoint their own Patriarch,
but wanting to escape Russian
influence, they joined the Patriarchate
of Constantinople, over the harsh
denunciations of Moscow.
In 1923, articulating their independence
a step further, the Finnish
Church switched from using the Julian
calendar to the Gregorian calendar in
church ceremonies. The Gregorian calendar,
the international standard, was
already in use throughout Finland. The
Julian calendar, however, had been used
by Orthodox Christians for centuries.
Dates on the two calendars are slightly
different. For instance, Christmas on
the Julian calender falls on 7 January,
thirteen days after the more commonly
used date of 25 December.
The change in calendars, a move
backed by the Finnish Senate, further
cemented Finland as a Western
country, sovereign from Russia, their
massive eastern neighbor. Immediately
however, concerned that they were
becoming cut off from Russia, members
of the Russian Orthodox community in
Finland founded the private Pokrovskaja
and Nikolskaja associations. They
continued to use the Julian calendar and
maintained their ties to the Patriarchate
of Moscow, despite living in Finland.
Even today, though the Patriarchate of
Moscow has recognized the autonomy
of the Finnish Church, new Russian
Orthodox ‘associations’ have been
established in Finland in Turku, Pori,
and Vammala. One of these organizations,
the St. Seraphim of Sarov Memorial
Association, states their mission
is to “act under the Russian Orthodox
Church and promote Russian culture in
Finland.”
“We don’t see these two old communities
as a problem,” says Finnish
Metropolitan Ambrosius. “These new
communities are a problem. It is not according
to Orthodox tradition for other
patriarchates to enter Finland without
having active cooperation. Why come
to establish their own small communities?”
When he founded Pokrova, Hariton’s
Russian roots were immediately
questioned. Raised in a Russian speaking
family in Lappeenranta in 1953 and
having spent time working in Moscow,
there were concerns that he was
a member of the Russian Church and
might align Pokrova with the Patriarchate
of Moscow. Although Hariton was
baptized in the Finnish Church and
follows the Gregorian calender, Pokrova
follows Russian Orthodox traditions.
The rumors surrounding Pokrova continue,
but are best analyzed by examining
Hariton’s own connection to the
divine.
IN HIS CONTROVERSIAL book Balkan
Ghosts the American journalist Robert
D. Kaplan recalls visiting the Orthodox
monastery of Rila in Bulgaria. “…she
turned over a large key that opened
onto a cold and whitewashed cell: here,
I thought, I could blissfully live out my
old age, and die.”
In today’s fast moving world, the
attraction of monastic life is not hard
to understand. The quiet sanctuary and
absence of the material world offered
by monasteries allows for a greater ease
and connection to the spiritual.
Most monasteries were built during
a more severe and dogmatic time, however.
A visit to a monastery's church
usually dispels some of this comfort.
There, the icons and frescos of saints
and angels are meant to impress the
almighty power of God. To some the
details of their faces may offer absolute
forgiveness. To others the tiny figures
stare accusingly, secure in their knowledge
that no matter who has entered
the church, they are most certainly,
sinners.
The church at Pokrova is a departure
from that. Inside, the intricately
painted yellows, oranges, whites, and
subtle reds create a warm feeling. The
tiny figures depicted in the icons appear
60WELCOME TO FINLAND

to be more companions than judges,
their eyes kind yet focused. Outside,
during the spring and summer, dozens
of different types of flowers blossom
alongside berry bushes that produce
two thousand liters of berries a year.
“Before you could just go to the
forest, dig a hole and start praying,”
Hariton says of church building. “Other
people would come. You can’t do that
now."
After being told to leave New Valamo
at eighteen, Hariton traveled in Europe
and Turkey, working as a chef. During
this time he claims to have gone
to church at least once a week and on
holidays, but otherwise lived a fairly
typical secular life.
“I divided my money into three
parts,” he says. “One part travel, one
part disco, one part stock.”
He was twenty-two and working in
a Helsinki restaurant when he saw an
ad in the Helsingin Sanomat advertising
a position for a chef in an embassy. The
ad did not say which country’s embassy
or where he would work. Hariton applied
for the job and forgot about it. One
month later he was surprised to receive
a letter in the mail requesting he go to
the US embassy.
“I did not know what I was harming
or what I had done,” he says.
Hariton went to cook at the US
Embassy in Moscow. He smiles, but recounts
few specifics from his time there.
“I was young. There was disco and
alcohol involved. There were too many
adventures to talk about. You don’t
want anyone to know. It was a paradise.
The diplomatic ruble was equal to eight
normal rubles. For twenty-four rubles
you could have everything. It was a
three year adventure in Moscow.”
Amidst this debauchery he saw communist
life and felt that it was “miserable.”
After three years he had to get out.
“I started to miss things of my own
culture. Even though it was boring [in
Finland] it was safe.”
Nearly ten years passed before he
worked in Russia again. After running
a restaurant in Tampere and serving as
the chef to the Finnish Ambassador to
Kenya, he returned to Russia during
perestroika. The Soviet Union would
soon fall. Hired to run a restaurant
opened by Finnair and a company called
Russian Interest, he was tasked with
teaching the restaurant’s two hundred
employees to be Western thinkers instead
of Soviet thinkers.
This was no easy task and Hariton
had his hands full:“It was difficult. I had
to teach them how to make a profit.”
One of the most confounding challenges
he experienced while running
the restaurant was the loss of kitchen
utensils and dish ware. A guard was
stationed at the restaurant’s door and
the employees were searched on their
way out, but still pots and pans, plates
and silverware disappeared, sometimes
leaving the kitchen nearly empty. The
employees were taking home what they
wanted, simply bribing the guard and
walking off.
Hariton shakes his head at this. After
three years, he returned to Finland,
this time to stay. He had spent most of
his life traveling, living in Russia and
Kenya and making numerous shorter
trips to countries around the world.
Work consumed his life yet religion was
something he kept returning to.
“It followed wherever I went,” he
says.
AFTER FOUNDING TWO successful
restaurants in Helsinki, Hariton began
regularly visiting the Konevitsa Monastery
on Lake Ladoga in Russia. He lived
part time at the monastery, but wanted
to raise his children in Finnish culture.
He called Kirkkonumi County and
asked where he could buy land.
“Why do you want the land?” he was
asked.
“For a monastery,” he said.
“Are you mad?” the country representative
said. Then he asked, “Who is
the head of your bank?”
In 1995, then Archbishop Johannes
gave Hariton a written blessing to found
a private monastery and he bought land
to build Pokrova. While there are also
privately owned monasteries in Russia
and Greece, according to Riikonen their
establishment does not follow Orthodox
tradition.
“The Orthodox Church has a very
strong communal message,” says
61

REPORT
Riikonen. “The churches are open for
all and not any individual services can
be held, because there is only one herd
and one shepherd. This means that
there cannot be private monasteries or
church buildings.”
With someone from a Russian background
holding masses in his private
monastery, many members of the Orthodox
Church wondered what Hariton
was doing. Others simply asked him
for donations. The controversy became
larger when Metropolitan Ambrosius
decided to ordain Hariton as a priest.
Though Hariton had already agreed
to join Pokrova with the Finnish
Church, many within the church
suspected Ambrosius ordained him
to keep him from joining the Moscow
Patriarchate. Ambrosius suspected that
Hariton wanted to be ordained and
knew he could easily could have been
ordained by the Russian Church. Ambrosius
however claims to have made
Hariton a priest out of acknowledgment
of Pokrova’s growing community.
There is a shortage of Orthodox priests
in Finland, yet church membership is
growing by about one thousand people
a year. A priest sometimes came from
Helsinki to say mass at Pokrova, but
could not come often enough to meet
the demands of the community.
“Pokrova is a strong addition to
the church,” says Ambrosius. “It will
become a larger community and a monastic
community.”
Ambrosius may have wanted to
ordain Hariton to strengthen the
church, yet Hariton claims to have been
surprised.
"The train has already passed by,"
Hariton said, as he did not have any
theological education. He needed time
to think. After asking fifty members
of the orthodox community if they
had any issue with him becoming a
priest and finding they did not, Hariton
was ordained in Uspenski Cathedral
in Helsinki on 15 November 2008. He
never attended seminary, but according
to Ambrosius bishops are entitled to
ordain ‘half priests’ or non-stipendiary
clergy at their own discretion.
“No priest should be ordained
without theological education,” says
Riikonen. “Unfortunately, sometimes
our bishops ordain men without any
theological studies.”
THE FOUNDING OF Pokrova may not
exactly follow orthodox tradition, but
it functions in a way that would make
most believers proud.
Airi, a retired Finnish woman who
lives in the city of Vantaa, is one of
the five regular volunteers at Pokrova.
She helps Hariton prepare the borsch,
tends the gardens, and sings in the
choir. A Lutheran for most of her life,
she converted to Orthodoxism four and
half years ago after she discovered the
warmth and inclusiveness offered by
the Orthodox Church.
“I did not know any Orthodox before,”
she says. “I had no kind of idea
how they would be. Lutheranism is like
a business. It is stiff and cold. Orthodox
service is lyrical. It is beauty to listen to.”
Another volunteer named Ulla agrees
with her. Though she is still Lutheran,
Ulla is considering converting to the
Orthodox Church as well. She first came
to Pokrova a year ago with a friend and
heard that they needed more singers for
the church choir.
62WELCOME TO FINLAND

A pensioner, Ulla walks to
Pokrova nearly every day from
her house in a nearby village.
She still attends Lutheran
services on Christmas and
other important holidays, but
otherwise worships at Pokrova
where she enjoys being
welcomed without judgement
over her background.
“When I was small the Orthodox
persons were a little mystical. I was
curious what they were. They had their
own way. We didn’t have them.”
A pensioner, Ulla walks to Pokrova
nearly every day from her house in a
nearby village. She still attends Lutheran
services on Christmas and other
important holidays, but otherwise worships
at Pokrova where she enjoys being
welcomed without judgement over her
background.
“The main thing is not the religion. It
is the music. I love the orthodox music.
It fascinates me, the sound. It is very
traditional. The harmony of it sounds
more alive.”
Along with the music, another
reason that Ulla comes to Pokrova is
because of its size. Lutheran church
communities can be very large; the
members do not necessarily know each
other, attending mass once a week and
then going about their lives.
At Pokrova the congregation is
smaller and tighter. People get to know
each other and according to Ulla are
very friendly and warm.
“Lutherans lost the humanity,” she
says. “It is very far away from a person.
The only thing that gathers people now
a days is Christmas. Lutheran priests
never ask you to come for lunch. Father
Hariton says, ‘Please, there is a lunch.’
You can sit and talk. It is more familial.”
Hariton may not have followed the
rules, but through sheer force of personality
and opening Pokrova’s doors he
has found supporters. Even if Pokrova
had not quickly been made an ‘association’
of the Finnish Orthodox Church he
gives the impression that he still would
be living a monastic life, inviting those
that want to come to read the bible and
attend services with him.
A man who has remained close to
God his entire life, he has no time for
the contention between the Finnish and
Russian Orthodox Churches.
“There is no such thing as a national
church. It is only nationalism. There is
only one Eastern Orthodox Church.”
Icons
Icons are considered to be a visual
aid to making in making prayers.
They decorate the walls of churches
and are often carried during religious
celebrations.
Icons can be made from metal,
stone, or wood. They can also
appear as painted frescos and on
pieces of cloth.
According to Orthodox traditions,
icons may never be more than
three quarter bas relief to avoid
any resemblance to pagan sculptures.
They generally depict Mary, Jesus,
saints, and angels, but should
not depict God, who according to
Orthodox tradition does not have a
material form.
Nearly every part of an icon symbolizes
something, especially the
colors the artist chooses to use. The
color gold represents the radiance
of heaven. Red represents define
life. Blue represents the color of
human life. White represents the
essence of God.
Some Orthodox Christians believe
in “wonderworking” icons, or
icons which have miracles occur
in front of them or exclude myrrh,
a holy oil. It is believed that God is
performing the miracles through
the icon, not that the icon is performing
the miracle itself.
63

IN COLL ABOR ATION
NO NEED TO HURRY
RADO TRUE WHITE JUBILÉ, 1600€, White watch with diamonds.
RADO CERAMICA CHRONO MATT, 2300€, Broad watch with timer. Matte surface.
RADO R 5.5 XL BLACK, 1830€, Square watch.
www.osk-lindroos.fi
Mikonkulta, Mikonkatu 5, Helsinki
PHOTO: TEEMU ULLGREN STYLE: HEIDI URPILAINEN

HOTEL
KARHULAN HOVI
THE STORY
In the 17th century, industrial entrepreneur
William Ruth built a mansion for his wife
Fanny in the middle of Karhula industrial
area in Eastern Finland. For generations it
was the home for the families of different
factory managers. Then it became a
place for indulging the guests of Ahlström
Corporation. For the last few years it has
served as a mansion hotel owned by Next
Hotels. History is visible in the interior of the
mansion, with antique from different eras as
well as fireplaces designed by Alvar Aalto.
THE LOCATION
Karhulan Hovi is located in the immediate
vicinity of the centre of Karhula in Eastern
Finland, about ten kilometres from the city
of Kotka. It’s only a fifteen-minute walk from
the bus station in Karhula, with good connections
to virtually anywhere in Finland.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
THE ROOM
I am the only guest at the mansion and
my room is a chamber at the end of the
building. In the past it functioned as the
laundry room. Five windows, with a view
of beautiful nature, a beige-toned interior
and a remarkably comfortable bed
make the room adorable. Every room in
Karhulan Hovi is unique and the meeting
rooms and lounge areas are also lovely.
THE CONCEPT
Karhulan Hovi serves individual guests and
group parties alike, and also functions as
a venue for weddings, birthdays and other
events. I’m told that recently there have been
a lot of 80th and 90th birthday receptions.
This is not surprising, when you consider
the changing age demographic of Finland.
PLUS & MINUS
R
A beautiful hotel that gives you
some insight into how wealthy
people of the past lived in Finland
Q
A tiny, but very bright red light
in the heating system. I used the
tape in my luggage to cover it.
KARHULAN HOVI
AHLSTRÖMINTIE 26
48600 KOTKA
www.nexthotels.fi
65

HOTEL
HILTON
HELSINKI STRAND
THE STORY
The first hotel was opened in the current
location of the Hilton Helsinki Strand Hotel in
1988. At the time it was the most luxurious
hotel in Helsinki, up to par with international
standards, including meeting rooms and
rooms with bathtubs. Typical of the 80s, the
interior was built in atrium style to create a
sense of space inside the hotel. The décor is
made partially of Finnish granite and includes
works of famous Finnish artists, among others
Oiva Toikka, known for his glass birds.
THE LOCATION
Hilton Strand Helsinki is located in the
immediate vicinity of the Hakaniemi
marketplace and metro station, about
a ten-minute walk away from the city
centre. Kallio, the famous neighbourhood
nowadays favoured by media people and
artists, is also located nearby the hotel.
THE ROOM
The rooms exude a definite 80s mood, but
it doesn’t bother. As a result, the rooms are
much more homely than in many design
hotels and it is easy to find oneself enjoying
your stay indoors. My room has a view
to the sea. At one glance I can see two very
different sides of Helsinki: the 70s concrete
suburb Merihaka on the left and the
bourgeois Kruunuhaka on the right.
Guests staying in an Executive room can
enjoy access to a lounge space, with available
snacks and drinks. Gym, sauna and a pool
are situated on the top floor of the hotel.
HILTON HOTELS IN HELSINKI
Hilton operates three hotels in Finland, all
located in Helsinki metropolitan area. Besides
Hilton Helsinki Strand, the company runs
Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (still one of
the most pleasurable hotels I have stayed
in) and Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa,
which is located in beautiful natural surroundings
just outside Helsinki city centre.
PLUS & MINUS
R
The TV is in a cupboard, with
closable doors. A brilliant idea.
Q
Bathtubs were a hotel room
must in the 80s. I like showers more.
HILTON HELSINKI STRAND
JOHN STENBERGINRANTA 4,
00530 HELSINKI
www.hilton.com
66WELCOME TO FINLAND

HOTEL LINNA
THE STORY
The castle-like home of Hotelli Linna was
finished in 1903 and at first served as the
Polytechnician’s Association’s headquarters.
The architectural style of the protected building
represents Finnish national romanticism.
The building was transformed into a hotel
just over twenty years ago. Since 2005, it has
been operated under Palace Kämp Group.
THE LOCATION
Hotel Linna is situated about a 10 minute
walk away from the Helsinki city
centre, in the immediate vicinity of the
restaurants and shops of the Punavuori
district. The hotel is easily accessible by
car, foot and public transportation.
THE ROOM
Hotelli Linna has just undergone a renovation.
I get a special treatment. I ask for a quiet room
and get one on the fourth floor—it turns out
to be the only room of the floor! The room is
only accessible by a staff elevator. Peace and
privacy is guaranteed. The room is spacious
and pleasurable. I get a good night’s sleep.
PALACE KÄMP GROUP
Palace Kämp Group is a Helsinki-based
group of lifestyle businesses and services.
The company runs restaurants and
quality hotels, including the most famous
hotel in Helsinki Hotel Kämp, as
well as the Kämp Gallery shopping centre.
For Helsinkians Kämp equals luxury.
PLUS & MINUS
R
Uninterrupted peace.
Q
The room could have
a bigger television.
HOTEL LINNA
LÖNNROTINKATU 29
00180 HELSINKI
WWW.PALACEKAMP.FI
67

PHENOMEN A
WOMEN, FOOTBALL
AND A FULL-TIME COACH
The success of the Finnish women’s national football team is at a
level, which the men’s national team has yet to reach. The winning
streak continues, now with a full-time coach replacing the previous
part-time coach.
TEXT: ANNIINA KORPELA PHOTO: JUSSI ESKOLA
WOMEN HAVE BEEN playing football
for ages. The news is that the Finnish
women’s national team is doing well.
So well in fact, that they hired the first
ever full-time coach. The Swedish
Andrée Jeglertz took charge of the team
in January of 2010. He is known for his
career with one of the most successful
women’s teams ever, Umeå IK. Jeglertz
is described as a coach with a big heart
for football. Closing a four-year contract
with a full-time coach is a big leap
for women’s football. The team has been
lead by a part-time coach ever since it
was founded in 1973.
The rise of the Finnish women’s
national team began five years ago in
the European Championships where the
team reached the semi-finals.
“It’s true. The team’s success began
in the 2005 European Championships
and success is what we are interested
in,” says Project Manager Outi Saarinen
of the Football Association of Finland.
The European Championships took
place again last year, this time in Finland.
The home team was eliminated
in the quarterfinals, but organising the
event gave a boost to the self-esteem of
women’s football in Finland. The event
brought high-level professionals to the
country, from turf experts to marketing
professionals. The games received domestic
and international media coverage.
Eurosport even broadcast nearly all of
the matches live. It was a major achievement
for women’s football, where the
spectator benches are usually filled with
women, children and families.
For the sake of comparison it is worth
mentioning that Finnish women rank
16th in the Fédération Internationale
de Football Association FIFA’s yearly
ranking, while men remain 54th. Even
though women’s football is far more
successful, most of the money is still
used on men’s teams. The economic resources
are generated by men’s football,
but the difference in wages between
men and women is still remarkable. Be
that as it may, Outi Saarinen is reluctant
to make assumptions on equality based
solely on wages.
“Background work and the quality
of the activity are more significant than
wages. It’s important to have enough
money to give women an opportunity
for an elite level of training,” Saarinen
points out.
Getting a full-time coach was not
obvious for the Finnish team. There
are still numerous European countries
where women are trained by part-time
coaches.
“We have acted according to the
team’s development. Previously there
was no need for a full-time coach, but
now things are moving in a new direction.
We have taken steps towards the
highest level and the Finnish national
team has a lot of potential for development,”
Saarinen assesses.
Collaborative partners have also understood
the value of women’s football.
During the 2005 European Championships
women still played in men’s uniforms.
Later a collection was designed
for them. They also got their own tour-
68WELCOME TO FINLAND

nament ball for the 2009 games.
“Clothes are more significant for
women than men. On the other hand
this is more an issue of social norms,
rather than one related to football,”
Saarinen ponders.
Women’s football has developed in
leaps also on global scale. Sixteen countries
are competing in this year’s World
Championships, but the 2015 games
will see the participation of twentyfour
teams.
European football coaching is based
on club activity. It’s not possible to
examine the women’s national team
without taking the non-professionals
into consideration. Football is Finland’s
most popular team sport with over 25
000 registered female players. The highest
level of football is developing, but
one of coach Andrée Jeglerzt’s biggest
challenges lies in developing the junior
and amateur levels of female football. It
will also affect the future of the national
team. Club activity is important, because
active training takes place in these
teams. In addition to the clubs, keeping
women on the pitch is another great
challenge. A lot of women stop playing
at a young age, just when they should
be turning professional. If they don’t
end their careers, they often get drafted
to top international teams. Finnish talent
should be harnessed to work for its
own country.
“The promised land of women’s football
is Finland,” Saarinen says.

PHENOMEN A
THRILL OF SHOPPING
Going shopping is no longer just about shopping. Shops are meeting places,
where people spend time, get inspired and learn things. Shopping gives people
experiences as well as a chance to intent to buy their dreams. Shopping
in Finland is a book that gives you insight to the best places for Finnish
experience in going shopping.
TEXT: ANNIINA KORPELA PHOTO: AHTI KAUKONIEMI & MARIA PUTAANSUU
70WELCOME TO FINLAND

Q: Author Susanne Markkanen, what is
Shopping in Finland about?
A: It’s like a trip that leaves you with
an experience about Finnish culture to
take home with you. The shops reflect
our culture. We have a lot of small
entrepreneurs that operate outside the
chains, shops with delightfully personal
selections and bold choices. The
shops emphasise quality, simplicity and
ecology. Another distinctive feature in
Finnish shopping is the slow shopping
phenomenon: taking your time and
wandering around.
Q: You wrote the book Shopping in Finland
in collaboration with your Italian
husband Luca Pipoli. The book features
31 shops in five Finnish cities. How did
you end up selecting them?
A: Our goal was to create a “Shopping
Street”, a symbolic route that takes
you to some of Finland’s most interesting
shops along the way. We wanted to
create a concept with different kinds
of cafés, grocery stores and shops that
sell fashion, electronics and design. We
included small entrepreneurs as well as
internationally known Finnish brands.
Q: If you had one day to shop in Finland,
where would you go?
A: I would start with a breakfast in
downtown Helsinki, then drive to
Fiskars, which is less than a hundred
kilometres to the west. There I would
buy some handmade ceramics and enjoy
the small boutiques in an atmosphere
surrounded by nature. If I still had some
time left, I would drive to Porvoo for a
cup of evening tea. A distinctive feature
in Finland as a shopping country is that
you can choose your shopping environment.
They range from lively downtown
Helsinki to the peaceful and idyllic small
towns with a historical atmosphere.
Q: What’s the most Finnish thing you
can buy in Finland?
A: There’s hardly a single household
in Finland that doesn’t use Iittala or
Marimekko products. A lot of them are
manufactured entirely in Finland, making
them especially domestic. The Mariskooli
bowl, Aalto vases and Moomin cups
are traditional souvenirs.
Q: What’s your opinion on No Shopping
Day?
A: Experience shopping doesn’t mean
you should always be buying something.
You can enjoy the atmosphere of
shops for free just as well. It’s good to
sometimes stop and think about your
own consuming habits. Organic and
Fair Trade products are recommendable.
I believe that everyone should have
a right to enjoy experience shopping,
but also occasional impulsive purchases.
www.shoppinginfinland.fi
Какой дом тебе
по душе?
Бревенчатый дом, сделанный из финской
древесины, экологичен, красив, надежен
и эффективно сохраняет энергию.
Деревянные дома Finnlamelli спроектированы
согласно законам природы. Зимой в них
сохраняется тепло, а летом - приятная прохлада.
Благодаря вентилируемой структуре, бревенчатые
дома обеспечивают здоровую жизнь.
Среди широкого выбора предлагаемых
нами моделей Вы всегда найдете свой
собственный дом!
www.finnlamelli.fi
Finnlamelli Oy
Simo Piiparinen
тел. +358 40 735 6817
simo.piiparinen@finnlamelli.fi
Finland

PHENOMEN A
LIVE2011.COM –A NEW WAY TO
EXPERIENCE CULTURE
Have you ever been to a mesmerising art
exhibition or dance performance, and wanted
to share the experience with someone
who’s been to it too? The people working on
Turku’s coming year as the European Capital
of Culture have an answer to this yearn.
Live2011.com aims at creating an online
Capital of Culture.
TEXT: ANNIINA KORPELA
72WELCOME TO FINLAND

2011 will be a special year for Turku, as
it will become the European Capital of
Culture. Thousands of cultural events will
take place in the city during the 12-month
period: photo exhibitions, opera, installations,
nature treks, media art...
Europe has had Capitals of Culture
since 1985, but Turku is the first
one to extend its domain online. The
digital Capital is a social network built
around culture, with incorporated web
and mobile services. It allows visitors
around the world to access Turku’s
selection of culture. You might not
make it to Turku in person, but you can
still enjoy the offerings—whenever,
wherever.
The Live2011.com site serves as a
mediator between the organisers and
the audience. It aims at creating new
forms of experiencing, participating and
doing.
“Of course, the internet can’t replace
an authentic, physical experience one
can have of culture. From our part, the
digital Capital of Culture simply means
an active, socialising and experiencecentred
online community. It will
present our selection both traditionally
and, above all, in a new digital way.
We do not want to just provide official
information of our events. Rather, we
want to offer a possibility for an active
participation in the events, and a
chance to create your own content. This
way the Capital of Culture will be for
example accessible from one’s mobile
phone,” says Jarmo Röksä, the project
manager of the site.
Social media is a buzzword of the
moment, but what does Live2011.com
offer in reality?
“We offer a chance to experience
culture broader and more deeply than
ever before,” answers Röksä.
In practise this means that visitors
can read event descriptions, news and
blogs, assess what they see, and discuss
the content with other visitors as well
as the organisers. By creating your own
profile, you can add your own pictures
and video clips of the events. Several
of the highlights of Turku’s year as the
Capital of Culture will be documented
online, some of the events even live.
The city has an initiative for activating
users: active online participation
earns points to your Live2011-profile.
The points will get you both digital
prizes and concrete benefits, such as
tickets to special exhibitions.
Live2011 collects various media content
to one place. Animations, movies,
games, demos, and other multimedia
art has been partially realised in collaboration
with Finnish media-related
schools. An essential part of the site is
Live2011 Grand Prix, the biggest media
art and new media competition in the
world. The competition aims at finding
innovative multimedia works that
expedite the spreading of culture. The
award-winning works will be presented
at EXPO2010 Shanghai next fall. Thus
far the competition success stories
include for example a mobile guide that
directs the user to the best cultural tips
in the city.
Live2011.com opens in June 2010 and
develops towards 2011. The site will not
close in the end of 2011, instead it aims
at serving Finnish culture far into the
future.
www.live2011.com
www.turku2011.fi
What is your
log house like?
A log house made of Finnish wood is
ecological, energy-efficient,
beautiful and strong.
Finnlamelli log houses function according
the natural environment. In the winter,
the logs store heat, and in the summer
they provide coolness indoors.
Thanks to the breathing structures,
log houses provide healthy housing.
You are sure to find a log house of
your own from our wide range!
www.finnlamelli.fi
Finnlamelli Oy
Simo Piiparinen
tel. +358 40 735 6817
simo.piiparinen@finnlamelli.fi
Finland

FIR ST PER SON
1
FEAR OF FLYING
I like to keep my feet firmly on the
ground; I am afraid of flying and I get
claustrophobic even when thinking of
diving. The problem is, I love travelling,
and flying is a regular part of it. So, I
decided to attend a course provided by
Finnish airline Finnair designed to help
people like me to get rid of the fear.
EXIT
I TRY TO RELAX. About ten people have
gathered around me—they are getting
ready to lift me in the air.
I hate this so much. I’ve been in this
situation before, more than 15 years ago
when I was still in school. I wasn’t able
to relax back then, and only learned to
dislike exercises like this designed to
improve my confidence in other people.
No, my body is my body and I like to
take care of it myself, thank you very
much. All of you, stay away from me, I
want to scream.
But I am a grown up now, attending
this course, designed by Finnish
airline Finnair, partly due to my job.
I am afraid of flying and this course is
suppose to help me get rid of the fear,
which keeps getting worse every time I
step on a plane.
I get a little confidence boost from
the fact that these people around me
understand my fear. During the two
days we have spent together, it has
become clear that besides the fear, we
also have another thing in common: We
like to be in total control of situations,
which makes it a bit hard for us to trust
other people.
Why is this the case? Each of us most
likely has a complex story behind our
fears and pursuits to control, providing
enough material for years of psychoanalysis.
But this is a 3-day course and
we don’t have enough time for that. The
approach is more cognitive. No dwelling
in the past, but learning to control our
fear now.
That’s the irony of the fear of flying
in a nutshell. In order to let go of our
fear, us control-freaks need to learn to
control the one thing we can’t control—
our emotions.
I noticed that my fear of flying was
getting out of hand, when every time
the crew onboard a plane I was on started
their preparations for landing. At the
same time I started staring attentively
at the digital map on the screen in front
of me and became worried whether the
pilot would remember to land or not.
Most times I really needed to concentrate
in order to stay on my seat and not
go and knock on the cockpit door to
remind the pilot of his little task ahead.
The other sign of my fear was that I
had started feeling slightly aggressive
towards other passengers. My concern
was if they were as ready to react in
a case of emergency as I felt I was. It
seemed to me they behaved in a way I
regarded careless and un-attentive. It
seemed my fellow passengers were telling
jokes and laughing, enjoying their
in-flight entertainment program and,
God save us all, playing digital games
on a console, while in my thoughts we
were all very likely heading towards a
major disaster.
The only time I fold my hands to pray
is when the plane takes off. If I didn’t,
I’d have a strange feeling of a possible
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI
74WELCOME TO FINLAND

2
3
punishment by God for not doing so by
blowing up the plane. Sounds weird?
It is. I don’t really believe it in myself,
even when I feel it. But I am not alone.
It is relieving to hear the stories of my
fellow classmates. We are not very
individualistic, I notice. Superstitious
thinking* is very common in people
who are put in situations that they
cannot control and feel fear due to that.
One of the men has special underwear
for flying. He simply won’t get on a
plane if he’s not wearing them. Some
people carry cuddly toys, some have
rings or necklaces that must be worn in
uncontrollable situations.
That is why it is very important for
me to let these people around me lift my
body and to put all my trust in them.
Even though this course provides a
valuable amount of information on fly-
ing and the laws of physics, teaches us
how to cope in an emergency situation,
and simply gives us a chance to ask all
the questions we ever wanted to ask
about flying, it is necessary for us to
touch the emotional side of our fear too.
I close my eyes, sweat and let them
lift me. It feels surprisingly good, and I
am ready for the next days challenge: a
flight to Copenhagen and back.
Just to provide an example of how a
mind of a person constantly prepared
for a disaster works, before the flight me
and some other women in the course
developed a totally new fear. This one
hadn’t even occurred in anyone’s mind
before: What if there was a terrorist
among us ready to blow up the plane?
After all, each one of us were allowed a
moment in the cockpit during the flight.
Now, even though it is hard to think
EXIT
Superstitious thinking is very
common in people who are put
in situations that they cannot
control and feel fear due to that.
4
of why anyone would want to blow up a
Finnair flight from Helsinki to Copenhagen,
we managed to assure ourselves
that this would be the course of the
events. As crazy as it now sounds.
What happened? We all stepped on
a plane; some crying, some a bit more
relaxed. We all got to visit the cockpit
during the flight, many of us women
returning giddy and giggling with excitement—myself
included.
I don’t remember how it looked in
the cockpit or if the sky was blue or not.
But I do remember that the co-pilot
looked very strong with well-developed
biceps and chest muscles, and that he
had completed his military service in
the Air Force. Some very primitive part
of my brain took over, some remainder
from the days we still lived in caves. I
was certain the plane could not crash.
And yes, I know it wasn’t the biceps and
the pectoralis that kept the plane in the
air, but a bit of superstitious thinking
helps sometimes.
75

POR TFOLIO
P O R T F O L I O
NIGHT TIME STORIES
M A R K U S H E N T T O N E N

POR TFOLIO
I WANT TO find stories in metropolises,
fictive or true ones. Night Time Stories
continues on the themes of my previous
work: the interactive relationship
of individuals and urban environments.
Only, the imagery of this series is more
refined. In Night Time Stories each
single picture tells a story, sparks questions
in the viewer and, in doing so,
works as a graphic short story that blurs
the edges of reality.
Big cities are full of opportunities, but they
can also shut off an individual completely.
The mood of the series is melancholic. I
shoot metropolitan inhabitants and the
people who have moved into the cities in
their most weak, intimate moments. The
pictures in the series portray human emotions
from loneliness to detachment and
frustration. Will people find what they’re
looking for in the big city?
Night Time Stories was awarded the
2nd prize at the Intenational Biennale of
Photography in Kalingrad, Russia in 2009.
After that the series has been shown in the
Victor Barsokevitsch Photographic Centre
in Kuopio and in Galerie Vanessa Quang
in Paris in February and March. Galleria
Uusitalo will show the series in Helsinki
2011. My work on the series continues.

POR TFOLIO
80WELCOME TO FINLAND

W ELCO M E TO F I N L A N D81

POR TFOLIO
82WELCOME TO FINLAND

POR TFOLIO
84WELCOME TO FINLAND

POR TFOLIO
86WELCOME TO FINLAND

SELECTED FEMME / HOMME STORES:
HELSINKI: ALEKSANTERINKATU 15
LAHTI: ALEKSANTERINKATU 24
TAMPERE: HÄMEENKATU 14
TURKU: SKANSSI
INFO: 020 747 4600 / WWW.SELECTED.COM
88WELCOME TO FINLAND

Summer
shopping

SUMMER SHOPPING
CREATIVE AND ENDURING
Finnish designer Vuokko Nurmesniemi
replaced her company’s plastic bags
with paper ones already in 1968. A few
years earlier she had created a dress
that was worn by Jacqueline Kennedy,
among others.
TEXT: KATI ALA-ILOMÄKI PHOTO: RIITTA SUPPERI
IN 1964, VUOKKO Nurmesniemi was
awarded with the Lunning Award, instituted
by Frederik Lunning, the owner
of Georg Jensen Incorporated. Nurmesniemi
had been working for Finnish
design house Marimekko for almost ten
years and was largely responsible for the
company’s success. She had her doubts
about accepting the recognition, granted
yearly to a designer for the advancement
of Nordic design. Even though
seven years earlier she had already won
the gold metal for glass design in the
Milan Triannale.
“Many of the previous awardees
were people that I admired greatly.
I felt I was too young and needed to
grow as a person to accept something
so immense,” Nurmesniemi tells me,
now at age 80, sitting in her bright and
spacious seaside home in Helsinki. The
house was designed by another Lunning
award winner, Nurmesniemi’s late
husband and one of the most famous
Finnish designers, Antti Nurmesniemi.
There’s a blue-coloured, sturdy
Pehtoori coffee pan he designed for
Wärtsilä on the kitchen table. Next to
it is a big, transparent piece of glass
art by another great Finnish designer,
Oiva Toikka. The three, Toikka and both
Nurmesniemis, are part of the generation
that took Finnish design abroad
and made it internationally known after
the World Wars.
Finland’s history in between Sweden’s
wellbeing and the enormity of
Russia is visible in Finnish design.
Urbanisation began after the wars, creating
completely new needs.
“Apartments were small, objects had
to be designed to function in limited
space. During the time Finnish industries
were doing well due to the war indemnity
payments to the Soviet Union.
There were plenty of jobs available,”
Nurmesniemi explains.
Unlike in cultures where the upper
class has long traditions, Finnish
design was born from practical needs
and developed into something majority
of the people could embrace as their
own. This idea was present even in the
shirt that Nurmesniemi designed for
Marimekko in 1957. To this day, the
Jokapoika (Everyman) shirt has held its
place among the distinguished classics
of the company.
Nurmesniemi has rab her own clothing
brand since the sixties, and her
exhibition at the Röhsska Art Museum
in Göteborg just ended. The museum
also featured simultaneous exhibitions
by the English Vivienne Westwood and
French Chanel. The Finnish Embassy
called Nurmesniemi the last great
modernist in the press release for the
exhibition. It would have been just as
appropriate to call her the first great
advocate of sustainable development in
the world of fashion.
Still sitting by the table, I ask about
her opinion on the current eco fashion
trend. She bursts into laughter.
“I was talking about protecting the
nature in 1968,” she states.
Her eyes were opened at her summerhouse
by the sea, when a Russian oil
tanker got stuck near by and leaked oil
into the water.
“The army showed up to wash the
shore with god-knows-what kinds
of poisons. Both the fish and the birds
died. That’s when I thought that the
entire Baltic Sea was in great danger.“
As a result of this event, Nurmesniemi
took some “steps backward”, as she
puts it herself, in running her company
Vuokko. This included replacing plastic
bags with paper equivalents. From today’s
perspective these were significant
steps forward, steps that a lot of companies
still don’t have the insight to take.
90WELCOME TO FINLAND

SUMMER SHOPPING
Finnish
FASHION BRANDS

ANNIKKI
KARVINEN
www.annikkikarvinen.fi
93

SUMMER SHOPPING
CTRL
www.ctrlclothing.com
PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKKO RYHÄNEN
94WELCOME TO FINLAND

SUMMER SHOPPING

www.vanhatapio.fi
TIIA
VANHATAPIO
PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURI ERIKSON
97

MARJA
KURKI
www.marjakurki.com
PHOTOGRAPHY: NINA MERIKALLIO

SUMMER SHOPPING
99

SUMMER SHOPPING
MARIMEKKO
www.marimekko.com
100WELCOME TO FINLAND

PHOTOGRAPHY: JULIANA HARKKI
101

SUMMER SHOPPING
HEL-LOOKS
hel-looks.com
102WELCOME TO FINLAND

103

SUMMER SHOPPING
PERFECT
SUMMER
DAYS
JACKET (LEFT) MEXX 149€ , JEANS DIESEL 180€, JACKET (RIGHT) RITVA FALLA FOR MARIMEKKO 299€, BLUE DRESS SE-
LECTED 74,95€, JEANS DIESEL 170€, BLACK SHOE DIESEL 140€, WHITE SHOE SUPERGA 83,50€, MOOMIN PAPER BOOKS,
AKATEEMINEN KIRJAKAUPPA
104WELCOME TO FINLAND

DRESS (LEFT) LANVIN 1790€, VIA MONTE NAPOLEONE, JACKET AJATAR LABEL 199€, AJATAR, SHIRT TIIA VANHATAPIO
170€, DRESS (RIGHT) RITVA FALLA 179€, BLACK SHOE MUXART 269€, ZIO, ALISON SHOE MARIMEKKO 299€ , MOOMIN
ROLL PAPER 1,90€, AKATEEMINEN KIRJAJAUPPA, BLACK AALTO WASE 46€ AND RED AALTO VOTIVE 18.40€, IITTALA, RED
MARISKOOLI GLASS IITTALA BY MARIMEKKO 28.80€
SALMIAKKI FAZER COLETTA CANDIES 1,50€ 'A
105

SUMMER SHOPPING
WELCOME
SUNSHINE
YELLOW DRESS CALVIN KLEIN 289€, JACKET TURO RED LABEL 239€, STOCKMANN, JEANS DIESEL 190€, BRACELETS
MARIMEKKO 16.50€, BELT 79,90 & SCARF 59.90 J.LINDEBERG, STOCKMANN, MARIMEKKO BIG BAG 189€ AND SMALL BAG
14,50€, KAJ STENVALL PAPER BOOKS, AKATEEMINEN KIRJAKAUPPA
106WELCOME TO FINLAND

JACKET RIL'S 229€, AJATAR, DRESS (LEFT) DIESEL 160€, DRESS (RIGHT) DIOR 2875€, VIA MONTE NAPOLEONE, BAG TED
BAKER LONDON 239€, STOCKMANN, LAKKA LIGHT LIQUOUR, ALKO, MOOMIN PAPER BAG 1,90€ AKATEEMINEN KIR-
JAKAUPPA, BAG GUESS 179€, KALEVALA STORIES, SHOE MINNA PARIKKA 239€
PRODUCT INFORMATION AND SHOPS: STOCKMANN TEL +358 9 1211 MARIMEKKO MARIMEKKO OYJ TEL +358 9 758 71
VIA MONTE NAPOLEONE TEL +358 9 6980 185 DIESEL TEL +358 9 4520 855 ZIO TEL +358 9 670 470 AJATAR TEL +358 10 4368 020
MINNA PARIKKA TEL +358 9 667 554 TIIA VANHATAPIO TEL +358 9 757 02 63 RITVA FALLA TEL +358 405 568671
IITTALA IITTALA GROUP TEL +358 2043910 SELECTED TEL +358 20 748 2554 MEXX TEL +358 9 2709 3400
SUPERGA TEL +358 400 959 371 AKATEEMINEN KIRJAKAUPPA TEL +358 9 1214322
107

SUMMER SHOPPING
MY HELSINKI:
KIRSI
PÄIVÄNIEMI
FOOD & DRINK
CAFÉ KASINONRANTA
A summer café by the beach in Lauttasaari.
Take buses 65A or 66A front of the Sokos
department store.
KASINONRANTA BEACH, LAUTTASAARI.
SHOPPING
MIUN
The dresses of Ilona Hyötyläinen are simply
adorable! There are so many must-haves
in the new collection alone. The best thing
is that the clothes are made in Finland.
UUDENMAANKATU 14.
LIIKE
A good selection of Finnish brands. There’s
a chance you’ll meet the designer if you
visit. YRJÖKATU 25.
PUNAVUOREN PEIKKO
Fun and useful things for children, such as
toys and clothes. Lesser known brands. A
place for impulsive shopping.
UUDENMAANKATU 15.
DESIGN FORUM SHOP
Products by a variety of designers (mostly
Finnish). Accessories, jewellery and decorative
items for your home. Drop by to admire
the finest in Finnish design. EROTTAJANKATU 7.
2 OR+ BY YAT
The flagship store of this Finnish clothing
brand. In addition to their own collection,
they also represent selected labels from
Finland and abroad.
EERIKINKATU 9.
COTELETTE ET CAVIAR
A small lunch café and deli in the neighbourhood
of Eira. Unbelievable salads. I
could eat here every day.
KAPTEENINKATU 24.
SIS. DELI+CAFÉ
Healthy and ecological. Delicious salads,
sandwiches and pastries. The terrace of
the cafe is located almost opposite to the
Stockmann department store.
KALEVANKATU 4.
HIMA&SALI
Full during lunch hours, but the service is
good and you never have to wait for a hot
meal. The salad bar is excellent and the grilled
salmon is always good. The easiest way of
getting there is by subway to Ruoholahti.
KAAPELITEHDAS, TALLBERGINKATU 1.
RAKU YA
A friend of Japanese food has to mention
at least one Japanese restaurant. This is a
stylish restaurant with excellent food right
next to the Kauppatori Market
Square. ETELÄRANTA 14.
KIRSI PÄIVÄNIEMI is a
designer for ChoCho bags.
— www.chocho.fi.
108WELCOME TO FINLAND

NIINA KURKINEN is
a model and entrepreneur,
who runs
her own Nina’sboutique
in Helsinki.
FOOD & DRINK
THE CAFÉ AT TAMMINIEMENTIE
A wonderful spot, especially during
summer. The cinnamon rolls with
vanilla sauce are delicious.
TAMMINIEMENTIE 8.
SILVOPLEE
A raw foods restaurant in Hakaniemi,
where I often have lunch.
TOINEN LINJA 3.
KABUKI
I ate my first meal in Kabuki back
when there were no other Japanese
restaurants in Helsinki. Nowadays
Helsinki has more restaurants, but I am
yet to find a reason to eat elsewhere.
LAPINLAHDENKATU 12.
VILLIPUUTARHA
I have fallen in love with the
milieu of this café in Kallio.
KAARLENKATU 13.
MY HELSINKI:
NIINA
KURKINEN
SHOPPING
NINA’S
My store. The collection includes
Manolo Blahnik, Marn and Dries
van Noten, among others.
BULEVARDI 13.
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
A second-hand shop in
Kruununhaka with a collection
of wonderful vintage clothes,
jewellery and hats.
RAUHANKATU 2.
WUNDER
A shop in Punavuori with
an excellent selection
of street fashion.
PURSIMIEHENKATU 5.
PINO
This is where I buy lamps,
notebooks, kitchenware and
other fun things for my home.
FREDRIKINKATU 22.
OTHER
HOTELLI KLAUS K
A nice hotel in which each room
is characteristically unique.
BULEVARDI 4.
ELVA STUDIO
This has been my choice for manicures
and pedicures for years.
UUDENMAANKATU 27.
109

SUMMER SHOPPING
MY HELSINKI:
JANNE LAX
FOOD & DRINK
NOLLA
Excellent music guaranteed. Great interior,
good food and Cosmopolitans.
POHJOINEN RAUTATIEKATU 21.
LILLA HELSINGFORS
A strikingly beautiful mural on the wall and
cheap beer. Great location close to the
Senate Square. The perfect place to start an
excursion to the Kruunuhaka neighbourhood,
and its the beautiful architecture. End
your walk with a dinner in Kolme Kruunua.
SNELMANNINKATU 13.
KOLME KRUUNUA
A restaurant famous for its atmosphere and
interior. Classic dishes and authentic service.
To be in this restaurant is to be in Finland.
LIISANKATU 5.
GASTONE
The best carpaccio in town and a recommendable
pannacotta. The competent staff
will guide you to the wonders of the wine list.
KORKEAVUORENKATU 5.
FARANG
Unbelievable Asian taste experiences.
Despite my seafood allergy I am able to enjoy
a fantastic dinner without symptoms.
AINONKATU 3.
SHOPPING
POPOT SNEAKERSTORE
A relaxed attitude and professional service,
lots of specialities in sneakers.
ISO ROOBERTINKATU 7.
GALLERY
A hefty collection of nice, relaxed
clothes. Street brands.
URHO KEKKOSENKATU 3-5, 5.KRS.
BEAM
Stylish specialities, both clothes and shoes.
Friendly vibes behind the counter.
EROTTAJANKATU 13–15.
DESIGN FORUM FINLAND SHOP
A good, versatile selection of Finnish design,
including gifts, shoes and accessories for
yourself or as a gift. There is also a nice café.
EROTTAJANKATU 7.
STUPIDO SHOP
A brilliant record shop, with an always
up-to-date selection. I still prefer
buying records rather than files.
ISO ROOBERTINKATU 23.
JANNE LAX is a
Helsinki-based
shoe designer. He
runs his own sneaker
brand St Vacant.
—www.saintvacant.com
PHOTOS: KARL VILHJÁLMSSON
110WELCOME TO FINLAND

IN COLL ABOR ATION
ILLUSTRATION: SAARA HELKALA
TIGER OF SWEDEN – A brand which saw daylight already in the early 20th century in Sweden and has
since become a major player in Nordic fashion. Tiger of Sweden has a great selection of relaxed but stylish
clothes for adults of any age.
SCHOFFA – A couple of years ago two young men, Joen Schauman and Markus Nordström, decided to
launch Schoffa, a shop which offers bespoke shirts for men. Nowdays Schoffa has established clientele,
and also sells ready-made shirts.
CELLINI – Cellini sells lovely clothes for women. It has a good collection of trendy Danish brands, such as
Munthe plus Simonse, Designers Remix Collection and By Groth.
DELLA MARGA – High fashion hasn’t yet really taken over Finland, but Della Marga has distinguished
itself in selling international fashion brands such as Sonia Rykiel, YSL and Chanel.
VALHRONA – French luxury chocolate brand Valhrona’s shop in Kämp Galleria definitely makes a day.
In addition to delicious chocolate, one can refresh by having a cup of coffee and enjoy a piece of chocolate
cake with it.
www.kampgalleria.fi

112WELCOME TO FINLAND

COLUMN
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
LAST YEAR THE American TV show
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart aired
an episode that has stuck with me ever
since. This is not unusual as such, since
The Daily Show combines current affairs
with smart comedy, and I love the show.
This episode, however, had a special
meaning for me, as it probably did for
every other Scandinavian living in the
U.S. It was called The Stockholm
Syndrome.
First a little background to help all
non-U.S. readers to understand the joke.
When the United States government
last year decided to distribute taxpayers’
money to failing banks and car companies
becoming thus a part-owner of
these companies, and on top of that had
the audacity to suggest a universal
health care plan, there was only one
question in the mind of many a
frightened American: What are we,
Sweden?!
‘Turning into Sweden’ is literally the
slogan that conservative commentators
use to instill terror into their audience
about America’s dire situation. Sweden,
the land generally liked for the blonde
ladies and the music of Abba, has
become a symbol of the ultimate
worst-case scenario facing the United
States.
For a happy citizen of a Nordic
country such as myself, this American
view of us (and by us I mean all Nordic
countries, since Sweden tends to stand
in for all of us in the U.S.) may come as a
surprise. Apparently, we are the most
unfortunate people on earth. This is
where The Daily Show comes in.
TWO MEN SIT facing each other. Taking
turns, they bombard each other with
words.
A: “Free health care.”
B: “Grey’s Anatomy.”
A: “Free education.”
B: “Pro Football.”
A: “Ingmar Bergman.”
B: “Twitter.”
A: “Midnight sun.”
B: “Baconnaise.”
That last one stops person A, the
Swedish Social Democratic politician
Leif Pagrotsky. What is Baconnaise, he
rightfully asks. It is a food product sold
in a jar consisting of bacon and mayonnaise,
explains person B, Wyatt Senac.
Senac is The Daily Show’s reporter, who
has been sent to Sweden to take a look
at the terrible future awaiting America.
Pagrotsky and Senac are playing a
game, in which Pagrotsky says one great
thing about Sweden (Free health care!)
and Senac counters with one great thing
about the United States (Grey’s
Anatomy!).
On his visit Mr. Senac sees factories
and Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus and tries to
elicit testimonies from the unsuspecting
Swedes about how horrible their lives
are. Without much success.
The show’s ironic take on American
view of Scandinavia would sooth the
soul of any Scandinavian. At least somebody
sees the absurdity of America’s
Swedophobia!
Because let’s face it, in my opinion
living in Scandinavia is in many ways
superior to living in America. This is a
topic for another column, but just to
make the argument, let’s go with Leif.
Free health care. Free education. Rye
bread. (My addition.)
So why do Americans fear Scandinavia,
and Europe in general, so much?
THE ANSWER WAS hinted at in a piece
by New York Times columnist Paul
Krugman and in the conversation that
ensued at the Times website.
Krugman argued that Americans see
Europe as an economic disaster because
Americans believe so strongly that if a
person is not afraid of ending up on the
streets, they won’t work as hard, and
that will cause the society to collapse.
‘Socialism’ is spat out as a cussword,
ANU PARTANEN IS A FINNISH
JOURNALIST LIVING IN
NEW YORK CITY.
‘Turning into Sweden’
is literally the slogan
that conservative
commentators use to instill
terror into their audience
about America’s dire
situation.
and it seems that no amount of pictures
of clean Scandinavian streets or tall,
healthy Europeans heading to work in
their successful companies can change
that.
Well, I can personally testify that I
have never, ever in my life felt as much
in jeopardy as I do living in the U.S. I
fear for my life (because of the cost of
health care) and I fear ending up on the
streets (because of the lack of welfare).
And I’ve yet to see this fear contributing
to my work ethic in any positive way.
I don’t know how Americans feel
when treading the streets of Europe, but
European, be warned. Once you enter
the United States, you’re in double
jeopardy: first because of the lack of a
safety net in America, and second
because of the existence of one in your
own country. Which peril is more real
– take your pick.
Bergman or Baconnaise?
113

COLUMN
NOT ONLY FOR THE KIDS
KYÖSTI NIEMELÄ IS A JOURNALIST
SPECIALISING IN LITERATURE.
THE MOST FAMOUS Finnish writer and
a continuous favourite of Finnish audiences
is one and the same woman: Tove
Jansson. Jansson (1914–2001) created
moomins, the famous white characters
with big snouts, which still manage to
mesmerise new generations of children
worldwide.
The first Moomin wbooks, Comet in
Moominland (1946) and Finn Family
Moomintroll (1948), represented
classic children’s literature with rich
and adventurous storytelling. The last
ones, Moominpappa at Sea (1965), and
especially Moominvalley in November
(1970), already targeted at a more
grown up audience with subtle and
wistful undertones. As a kid I remember
thinking that the later books were
slightly weird. My mother on the other
hand regarded them high.
After her moomin books, Jansson
wrote a bunch of brilliant novels for
grownups. This side of her career has
long been all too unrecognised outside
the Nordic countries. The True Deceiver
(1981), with a recent high quality English
translation, will hopefully spread
the word of this hushed secret.
It should be noted that Tove Jansson
represented the small but pertinent
Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.
At the moment only approximately 5
per cent of the population of Finland is
Finnish-Swedish.This is why Jansson
wrote in Swedish, and perhaps due to
this she is unfortunately sometimes also
considered a Swede, this obscene claim
can even be found printed in the back
covers of some translations.
The True Deceiver is Jansson at her
wildest. The most significant portions
of the book take place in a small seaside
village in the middle of a cold and
snowy winter. It is a story of the collision
of two very different women. Illustrator
Anna Aemelin is rich, esthetical,
passive and prone to philosophical
speculations. Katri Kling on the other
hand is poor, cynical, imperative, practical
and determined. The duality can be
heard even in the characters names: the
hard, aggressive Katri Kling versus the
soft, silent Anna Aemelin.
In the story Katri tries to scheme
herself and her sulky little brother to
become a part of Anna’s life, and being
the efficient woman she is, she manages
with ease. The encounter changes both
women’s life in an unexpected way.
One of the key moral themes of the
novel is honesty. How valuable is it to
actually know the truth, or to say it
out loud? The subtle and passive Anna
is intrigued and astonished by Katri’s
sincerity and candour, even though she
interprets it as lack of politeness and
social skills.
The theme is close to the hearts of
Finnish people. Finns consider themselves
especially honest. It is part of our
self-knowledge and affects for example
how we raise our children. My foreign
university teacher once said that when
British children are told at home to ”always
be nice,” Finnish children are told
to ”always be honest.”
Even the early Moomin-books drew
their enchantment from subtle moral
and psychological themes. They are remarkably
complex for children’s books,
filled with sophisticated and intriguing
One of the moral themes
of the novel is honesty.
How valuable is it to
actually know the truth,
or to say it out loud?
elaborations of life’s little complexities,
that can be too much for children to
grasp.
In The True Deceiver Anna says that
fresh meat makes her nervous, just like
flowers, because they demand your full
attention. It might well be that she says
this just to engage in a conversation
with Katri, who only brings her canned
food from the store. Jansson is particularly
skilful in her depictions of these
kinds of dilemmas and feelings.
The author’s other novels for
grownups are significantly more soft:
for example The Summer Book, which
is a charming, symphathetic childhood
portrayal and the intelligent artist depiction
Fair Play. But, all the same, they
are just as anti-sentimental and wise as
her beloved children’s books.
114WELCOME TO FINLAND

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