Finnish Design and the Environment

Finns take design seriously (check out their bridges and the glass from Iittala), and they have a knack for creating things that are both functional and cool to look at.

A Finnish company called Think Today takes design even further by focusing on the use of scrap and recycled materials. My mom saw some of its products in a gift shop at the railway station in Helsinki.

The company makes things such as handbags, place mats, mouse pads, coat racks, coasters, and clocks out of scrap materials like wallpaper, laminate, and ceramic tiles. Using the materials helps make sure less is wasted. The cool design (often with a nature theme) of the products makes them a great example of upcycling.

You can check out the English version of Think Today's Web site by clicking here.

The Art of Nature in Finland

Nature has a strong influence on Finnish life, including the country's art.

Jean Sibelius, Finland's famous composer, took much inspiration from nature, and a lot of the art from the country is based on environmental themes and images.

When I was in Turku at the Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova Museum, I saw an exhibit by Finnish artist Kaisu Koivisto. Koivisto uses many different types of art, including photographs, sculptures, and video. The exhibit, titled Loud Silence, included photographs of Soviet Cold War buildings and missile sites that are being overgrown by nature.

Another piece, called The Absorption of Pollution, is made of cow horns. The piece is moved to different places around the world, sits outside, and collects pollution from those areas. It changes as more pollution is collected.

Reintroducing the Species is a part of the exhibit that focuses on the idea of bringing cows back to Staten Island, where they could be found on farms several decades ago. Koivisto made cows out of blankets, placed them around the area, and took photographs of them.

Koivisto also keeps nature in mind when creating her art. She reuses (upcycles) old materials to make her pieces. To see and learn more about her work, check out her Web site.

Etsy Bitsy

Online stores like Amazon.com have made buying mass-produced items from all over easy. However, an online market also exists for handmade, local products.

Etsy is one resource for local, handmade items. I first learned about it in a TreeHugger article on buying green products. Then, my sister shared with me some information about artwork she had purchased on Etsy. The art "upcycles" (adding value to by reusing in another way) dictionary pages by putting printed images over the top of them.

Last month, I used the site to buy a handmade, drainable soap dish that was made about an hour away from me.

It's good to see local people and small-scale production benefitting from the Internet.