the town of fiskars

crafters, gardeners, or even those that have a particular affection for scissors (and maybe knives) may be familiar with the brand fiskars.  they make a wide range of products for the aforementioned group, but probably few realize that not only is it a finnish company, it is also named after the town of fiskars in finland.  its' history reaches as far back as 1649, where the company began by manufacturing a variety of iron products.  since then, it has changed hands several times evolved considerably into the international company it is now.

today, fiskars is a cute little artisan town, with cafes, restaurants, and many shops featuring unique artisan products.   you can also visit several artisan workshops, such as a blacksmith and a glass blowing studio.   it is an easy day trip, only about an hour and a half drive from helsinki.   this was my third trip to the town, and it was a chilly, cloudy day- a nice respite from the sunny, semi-hot days we had been experiencing.   between and after lunch and a coffee break, we leisurely perused familiar shops, studios, and an art exhibit.

i have horns.

i bought a 5 euro book about fiskar's history, and learned some interesting information about their signature orange handled scissors.  apparently, the color was chosen quite by accident.  the company had recently produced another product and was left with an excess of orange pigment, which was then used as a prototype for the scissors.   later the color was put to a vote, and the orange color was here to stay.  

good choice, i think, since orange is my favorite color!  

do you use fiskars products?  did you know that it was named after a finnish town?
did you also know that the company nokia was named after the town of nokia?

marimekko unikko skirt

i have a tendency to buy multiples of clothing and shoes i am particularly fond of.  after making my marimekko samovaari elastic waist skirt (which, btw, had a dye-wash mini disaster... a story for another day), i thought it'd be nice to have two.  i whipped up one using marimekko unikko fabric and black elastic before we left for our trip to finland.  it seems so fitting to flounce around town and the cottage (as pictured here) in such a nationally recognized fabric.  for those of you unfamiliar with this pattern, it has been in print in different color and size variations since the 50s.  

these photos were taken in the woods by the family cottage (in finland), and is a very typical scene in finnish nature. i am always particularly struck by the beauty of birch trees.  i think they may very well be my favorite type of tree. 

so tall and sleek! it's difficult to say whether the finnish countryside is most beautiful at the height of summer or in the dead of winter... although i'd choose the summer temperatures over the winter in a heartbeat.  

land of the midnight sun

there is something nearly magical about finnish summer.  the hours of daylight linger on and on, never quite fading in some parts of the country, even in the dead of the night.    here, i am standing at midnight, on the pier of the family cottage.   it is the perfect place for quiet introspection, for joyful reflections, or melancholy brooding.

runaway elf!!

MISSING: small christmas elf

physical description: adorable smiling finnish elf in red, donning a traditional red pointed hat.  he is approximately 2.5 inches tall (to the tip of his hat). he enjoys the smell of spruce trees and sipping mexican hot chocolate. 

last seen: hanging out on the christmas tree with his other elf buddies.  he went missing while all the others were preparing for their 11 month hibernation. elf in question most likely ran away, grieved by the idea of once again leaving his happy christmas home, however, elf-napping is also highly plausible. 

please contact me, clearlytangled, should you run across an elf fitting this description.  it is likely he is enroute to the arctic circle in finland, where santa lives, and christmas trees are up year round.  he answers to the name, "tonttunen".  his safety is of utmost importance!!!

globetrotting adventures - finland iii - marimekko

downtown helsinki is relatively small. you could probably walk through it in 30 minutes. maybe more, maybe less, depending where you start from and where you think downtown ends. regardless, it's not large. yet, there are three marimekkos downtown (there used to be four). two are even on the same street. aside from their stand alone stores, their products can also be found at all the department stores, and even at the local grocery store. marimekko is the only brand i have ever come across where it's possible to find the same design on your clothes, bedding, mouse pad, coffee mug, umbrella, tv, paper napkins, upholstery, purse... the list goes on.

with such a presence in the market, it's no wonder that marimekko goods can be found in nearly every finnish home. marimekko, like some of the other finnish brands such as iittala/arabia (also one of my favorites) is fully ingrained into finnish culture. and as i am sure you are fully aware of by now, it has completely sucked me in.

pictures from one of my several visits during our trip below.

oooh.

ahhhhh.
eek.
i broke down and bought one of these bags (the big one toward the bottom). don't worry i had a gift card.

!!!!!!

o.m.g.

i. spent. a lot. of. money.

happy new year!

globetrotting adventures - finland ii - christmas star pastries

one of the most traditional foods during the christmas holidays in finland is the "tähti torttu", or star pastry. the husband and i have always called them christmas stars. it is basically what an american would call a danish, with jam (plum) in the center of a puff pastry. with ready made ingredients, this is a very simple and delicious treat that finns enjoy during coffee time between christmas eve and boxing day.

to make these tasty treats, all you need is ready made puff pastry from your freezer section and some plum jam (and an egg for an egg wash). plum jam is something i have never come across in the u.s., but many other jams would make an appropriate filling, such as apricot, blackberry or raspberry. in finland, this pastry is so common that you can buy the puff pastry in pre-cut sheets with instructions on how to make the pastry on the box.

merry christmas

merry christmas from finland! hyvää joulua suomesta!

photo taken in tuusula, finland

globetrotting adventures - finland i - christmas markets

since the husband and i do a fair bit of traveling, i thought it might be fun to write blogs on some of our globe trotting adventures. this series will be about our current trip to finland. i say "series" because i am hopeful that i will write a few entries during our stay, but this could just be a case of me being overly ambitious (again).

anyway, seeing as i am an etsy shop owner, it is almost needless to say that i really enjoy visiting crafts markets. and in another life, when the husband and were living in finland, i was able to visit different craft markets with some frequency, as they were/are pretty abundant.

two of my favorite markets in finland occur during christmas time, and they are the tuomaan markkinat (st. thomas' market) and wanhan joulu markkinat (old student house christmas market), both located in downtown helsinki with a couple of blocks of each other. i was really happy that we were able to arrange our finnish winter holiday to include time for these markets (and yes, we actually chose an earlier departure date just to ensure i wouldn't miss out on them).

at st. thomas' market, each vendor has their own cute little red "house", lined up together in two neat rows facing each other, down this mini park strip in the middle of downtown helsinki, known as the "esplanade". the middle part of the market spreads out in to a circle and then slims back down into the rows. the vendors sell all kind of things, ranging from ready to eat hot food, jams and honey, baked goods, salted and pickled herring, wet-felted goods, needle-felted goods, hand-made soaps, lotions, christmas ornaments/decor, clothes etc. i really enjoy tramping up and down the esplanade peering at everyone's goods, although it's difficult to be thorough when it's 10.4F (-12C) outside.

below: my one purchase at this market, a jar of sea-buckthorn berry jam. this berry is only found in parts of europe and asia. alone, the berry is supposed to be extremely tart, but as a juice or jam (meaning with lots of sugar) it is DELICIOUS.

the old student house christmas market is held in an building that is owned by the university of helsinki student body, and used to be the student union. the administration has since moved to a different building, but they still use this one for various events, such as this annual christmas market. i personally prefer this market over the st.thomas' one, partially because it's indoors, but also because the goods are a little more design oriented. there are a lot of metalsmiths, felters (finns do love their felting), knitters, sewers, and many other kinds of artisans. LOOK at all the different vendors!

i purchased a christmas ornament, a "christmas fairy". i already have one from my brother-in-law and his girlfriend from a couple years ago from this series. the artists does something new with the series every year.

this was an impulse purchase, but my most prized one yet- a wrist pin cushion, by muumuru.com. their website is pretty empty at the moment, but they were super kind and added a bow on my pincushion's head at my request, and also named her for me. her name is gunhild the grey. i know this sounds ridiculous, but i LOVE this pincushion. she is SO CUTE.

i fear that in the next two weeks i will shop so much that i will single handedly be responsible for a spurt in the finnish economy. good for them, not so good for my wallet. i have a tendency to go a little shopping crazy while i'm in this country. must be something in the water...