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Zabludowicz Design Collection Finland Trip: Day Two
8 July 2018
We headed to Helsinki’s Design Museum where we met up with the widow of Timo Sarpaneva, Marjatta Sarpaneva, and their son Polo. They gave us a tour of the Museum’s magnificent exhibition on Timo's designs – the purity of glass of beyond imagination
The old wooden casts were installed on the wall, creating an artwork
The table was set up with an army of glass - dazzling and divine digital noises were punctuating the air at the same time
Each work was a gem
We all had to sit and reflect upon the beauty we had just set our eyes upon
Next up, a visit to the Marimekko factory which was beyond the realm of my imagination. Chairman Mika Ihamuotila kindly escorted us through the whole visit
An old fashioned factory with ultra-modern machinery to create textiles keeping in tradition with the past
Ikko, Design and Architecture Curator at M+ in Hong Kong, was as happy as a cat that got the cream
Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator of Design, Architecture and Digital at V&A was enjoying her moment of Finnish revolution
Then we were treated to a Marimekko feast, an example of Finnish hospitality at its best
Then it was straight to the Arabia Factory where we met up with the masters! The artists very kindly invited us to their studios and showed us their magnificent kilns. Ikko with her old friend, designer Fujiwo Ishimoto
My favorite ceramicist of them all was Kati Tuominen-Niittylä
Helja Liukko-Sundstrom working away before proudly stopping to show us around
We also discovered the intricate tile works of Heini Riitahuhta
On the way to Sarvisalo we stopped off for famous Finnish coffee and cake in the old town of Porvoo
Everything was served on the piano in old Gustavian style, a great way to finish a busy day of traveling
