Colorful blocks from The Small Object

I discovered these wooden blocks on The Small Object blog. And they will be available soon! Cute, aren't they?

(all images from The Small Object)

Anu Tuominen

As I told you in my last post, I adore the works of Finnish artist Anu Tuominen. I saw some of them in the Museum of modern art in Espoo called EMMA this summer.

Her artwork is so full of joy, colors and humor. Her pieces seem to tell us to pause for a moment and notice the beauty in our everyday lifes.

Visit her portfolio and be inspired.

I also found a good article about Anu Tuominen on the site of Helsinki's museum of contemporary art KIASMA.

Artworks shown:

Mehuja / Juice; 2003

Fleur De Sel; 2002

kirjan sivu / book page; 1998

red + yellow + blue + black + white (crocheting); 2003

Real Colour Circles, Atelier 340 Muzeum, Brussels; 2005

(All images from Anu Tuominen's portfolio)

Stockholm and Helsinki souvenirs

What is a trip without little things you bring back home with you? Are you curious what I found?

Image above:

• the cute cross-stitch is a vintage find from the lovely store Under in Stockholm

• the wooden earrings and the pouch are also vintage. I found them in Helsinki in the second hand stores UFF and Fida

Second image:

These are some finds from Stockholm.

• the cute guy on the left followed me home from a shop named Oma, unfortunately I can't find a website

• the book Stockholm's Love Apartments was on my wishlist for a long time and when I saw it at DesignTorget I had to have it :)

• the little purple pencil case on the right is from Ordning & Reda

• the green necklace I found in Helsinki at a antique shop called Vinttikamari

• I love my new tea towel I brought from Stockholm, it's from Almedahls and you can purchase it also online at New House Textiles

These are all from Helsinki:

• the postcards I bought in the Museum of modern art EMMA in Espoo, a city next to Helsinki. The postcards show works by Finnish artist Anu Tuominen. I adore her work. The card on the bottom right shows an installation made out of potholders. I want to start my own collection and display them on my kitchen wall (Mieke & Veronik and Elisabeth were also inspired by her).

• the vintage grey potholder is the first one of my collection. I found it at Fida

• the bird is a brooch by You Complete Me, I bought it on an art and design market in Helsinki

Last photo:

Last but not least I found some fabrics.

• on the left is the fabric Aarre by Maija Louekari for Marimekko

• the fabrics in the middle and on the right are vintage.

I hope you enjoyed my finds. I wish you a great weekend!

I'm back

Hi, I'm back from Scandinavia (Stockholm and Helsinki). Our time in Stockholm was great. We enjoyed the city very much. And my stay in Helsinki was relaxing, it was all about meeting family and friends over there. In some days I will show you some pictures from our Stockholm trip. I still have to go through all the photos...

This is a nook of our living room, the cushion on the right is new. It's from Marimekko. I bought it in Helsinki in the Marimekko outlet for 5 euro. Great! The fabric is designed by Fujiwo Ishimoto Marimekko seems to have taken it out of production. The cushion on the left is also from Marimekko, I bought it last year. It shows the pattern Purnukka by Erja Hirvi.