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.

Finn-tastic fabrics

It comes as no surprise that I have returned home from Finland with a re-ignited passion for fabrics. One of my favourite Finnish habits is the changing of home decor to match the seasons. Helped by clearly defined and very different seasons, I really like the idea of having decor that changes along with the outside world. It is also a great excuse to change things around and really play with different colours and make the most of the incredible fabrics available. On one of my last days in Finland I found the Vallila range of curtains with prints designed by Tanja Orsjoki. New curtains has always been on our 'to do' list for home, but now I have become a little bit obsessed - if only I had measured up all our windows before I went away!
Today I thought I would celebrate some great seasonal Finnish decor.

Here are a few of the prints I love from the Vallila Spring Collection. These were available as ready made curtains, as well as bolts of fabric.

 

I couldn't do this post without a splash of colour and bold prints from Marimekko. These vibrant prints are part of the summer 2010 range. For a great example of the way the Finns swap around design and decor based ont he seasons, compare the summer range (here) to the more muted tones of autumn (here). It' perfectly understandable that you would prefer deep navy, green or ochre colours to frame a window overlooking the flaming colours of Autumn.

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

Back to life

So I've landed back to my real life with a bit of a thud. I had a truly spectacular 3 weeks in Finland. The weather was amazing and most of our time was spent relaxing with family and friends under green trees and blue skies and either along-side or, even better swimming in the lovely lakes. I can't help but smile just thinking about it and will be hanging on to these memories for a long time.
For now though it is back to work and a wintry Sydney (though I hear we missed the worst of the cold) and back to my daily search for something creative and fun for me to wrap my arms around.
I've decided to celebrate my return to blogging with a Finland theme through some of my up-coming posts. Today it is all about a great online poster shop I have found - Come To Finland. We are going to be buying a poster from this shop any day now to bring a little piece of my husbands homeland into our home.

I actually spotted this Finland tourism poster from 1948 on the Poster Team website, fell in love with it, then noticed the price was $800 USD (ouch!). Obviously an original. Luckily for me I didn't have to despair for too long as within a few minutes I found the Come To Finland poster shop where I can purchase a great reproduction for a bargain price - 19euro (plus some postage and handling).
There is a also a great story behind the website and coffee table book of the same name. The guys behind it all, Magnus Londen, Joakim Energen, Ant Simmons, call themselves Poster Hunters and they have put together a celebration of  Finnish Travel Posters from 1851 - 1965. After hunting through archives they have dusted off old posters that had been hidden away in archives and put together a book. You can view it here online (free) - it's truly a labour of love.
As I mentioned we wanted something very 'Finnish' for our walls and this piece of classic graphic design is perfect. Here are some other gems they have available:

 

This poster is especially close to my heart as I have spent some amazing time on Lake Saimaa - it truly is the loveliest in Finland!

mid year break

Thanks for stopping by at embrace the pretty. I'm off on a lovely holiday to Finland to catch-up with my second family, see friends and generally relax! If this is your first time visiting please browse through my previous embraces of loveliness out there in the world. If you've been before why not check back in on some of my favourite finds over the past year.

 Check out pretty inspiration for.. well inspiration. This is where I keep work from talented people out there such as the sublime Yellena James and many more artists.

Drop by my pretty purchase section for some virtual retail therapy. It's like my personal wishlist for objects I would love to own such as this bernabeifreeman fragment tray. I do have a soft spot for homewares, but you will also find jewellery and fashion in amongst there.

You might also start to notice some trends/obsessions, like my pebble-love recently ingnited by the Delica etsy shop.
Also check our some themed weeks I have had on embrace the pretty, like Sex and the City and Alice in Wonderland.
Have a look around and tell me what you think and I look forward to coming back early August and sharing all sorts of pretty things from Scandinavia!
x elsa

kismet with pincushions

I've just had one of those lovely kismet moments - about pincushions of all things! My hubby was searching our button collection to replace some missing from about 3 pairs of shorts (he's been well trained!). While showing him the button collection and sewing kit, I was dismayed to see my pincushion well and truly on it's last legs. This is my original pincushion I have had since I was a little girl (maybe 7 or 8) when I received my first sewing kit. It (once) was a red satin dome surrounded by little chinamen around the edge holding hands. Just like this one over on Flickr. The sawdust stuffing is coming out and there is barely any fabric left to hold the pins in place - kind of making it a little redundant as a pincushion!
The kismet moment came when I popped by etsy and found, right there on the homepage, the lovely pincushions from minusOne.

Each of the pincushions are made from reclaimed fabrics and topped off with a vintage button. They are also filled with polyfil, so now more leaking sawdust for me!
Check out the great range of patterns that have been given a new life. The fabrics previous lives range from vintage cotton sheets to a 1940's picnic table cloth.
Check out the etsy shop here.