i wish... for a soul bird

Todays 'i wish' has a Finnish theme to it to keep in line with my recent posts.

 {Soul Birds by Sanna Annukka}

Sanna Annukka has been on my radar for a while as I seem to keep seeing her work popping in lots of my favourite pretty places online. Half Finnish and half English, it is easy to spot the influence her childhood summers in Finland have had on her work. She has taken the folklore tales of the Kalevala and applied it to her work, including a print range for Marimekko.

 {Kanteleen kutsu fabric by  Marimekko}

Christmas pieces from Marimekko by Sanna Annukka

I really love the bold graphic style in her work and it translates so well from simple black and white, to vibrant colours (as favoured by Marimekko). Sanna has an online store where you can purchase the Soul Birds (the little ones are out of stock though). She also sells screenprints, including this spectacular city-scape.

{Archipelago}

{Magic Berry Bush}

{Call of The Cuckoo}

I certainly could find some wall space for these! Check out Sanna's website and online shop here and enjoy!

a forest of birch

One of my favourite Finnish 'things' is a forest of birch trees. There is something so elegant about the white trunks and they are equally picturesque in Summer when they are crowned with bright green leaves, as in winter when they are coated in snow. It seems I'm not the only when inspired by the birch tree. Here are some etsy treasures that pay homage to birch.

I love this view captured in this print from an original artwork by Dream Gallery. I love the blue sky seen filtered through the birch leaf canopy and can really relate to this view from my recent summer holiday in Finland.

This piece by Garry McMichael is another print from an original artwork. This time the brich tree is captured in pencil as the Autumn leaves are yellowing and thinning.

To round out the seasonal variations, this Winter image is a silkscreen print created by Strawberry Luna.

Both the above artworks are by Lucia Johnson. Top: 'daisy sun print' Bottom: 'birch grove in blue' I love the colour palettes of both these pieces - especially the bottom combination of a dirty blue with taupe and olive natural tones.

Rounding out the collection is this stunning woodblock print by Viza Arlington. For me this image captures the view I remember travelling in a car or train through the Finnish countryside in Winter. I think this is my favourite of all, but they are all wonderful!

more marimekko

Here are a few more pieces of eye candy from Marimekko.

The Oiva tableware range combines a graphic black and white pattern with bursts of colour on simple shapes. The pieces were designed by Sami Ruotsalainen and the patterns are the work of Maija Louekari. I like the shapes of the pieces. They feel somewhat organic with the simple shapes. I also like the way the print isn't perfectly centred like on the large black and white plate.

Don't they look great all stacked and mixed together? I saw these pieces quite often and really like when they are mixed back with simple plain plates.
Another favourite is the Kippis range. Kippis means cheers is Finnish and this pattern was also designed by Maija Louekari.

 I can see some reference to the classic Kastehelmi range of glassware from Iittala originally designed by Toikka in 1964. I like the idea of referencing a piece of classic Finnish design (which you see in many Finnish homes) in a new design piece.

false start

So perhaps I got off to a false start a few days ago when I bounced back to work and back to blogging from my Finland holiday. Despite best intentions and being literally overflowing with fabulous topics to blog about, time has eluded me and I find myself last thing Friday trying to make a promise to be back next week with some sort of regularity. Only time will tell if that can be.
One of the topics I want to get into is the wonderful world of prints. It would be impossible to come back from Finland, home of Marimekko, Iittala and Arabia, and not have found some amazing prints on fabrics and ceramics! So stay tuned for some posts about pretty prints...like these beautiful Vallila fabrics...

... so till next week