I tried to prepare for my DDW trip by emailing to my Dutch friends asking for some Eindhoven tips. These most kindest and liberal people from Amsterdam had suddenly unusual tone in their answers. They had never been in Eindhoven and almost couldn't care less. I sensed some kind of understatement.

Dutch Design week's programme with its Eindhoven hype turned out to be a bit overdone and I got the Amsterdamsters' point. Eindhoven = Lahti.

But what I don't like, is this kind of juxtaposition between the cities. Stupidity. Automatically Amsterdam people seemed to prefer themselves more cooler, more creative, smarter and better in every ways. But that's the deal in every country, I guess.  

Ha. But Coolest Eindhoven creatives didn't give a shit. They enjoyed their freedom and didn't have any interests to play this Hot or Not game. So over it. No big city complexies. 

Party at Le Piek Noir gallery – I felt at home there. An exhibition in a warehouse setting which presented the work of like-minded artists and designers who live and work in Eindhoven.

My well respected Finnish company considered the quality of the art works entertaining and magnificent. At the same time you could feel the laid back spirit and happiness.

And if there is happiness, there is always the Swedes – I met some random Stockholm art school friends at Le Piek Noir, and we had couple of skåls together. Fun night.

La Piek Noir party, Kleine Berg 28, 17th October

The brightest star of the night was definetely illustrator Rop Van Mierlo. Actually, the brightest star of the whole DDW!

Design Academy Eindhoven is one of the Aalto University bench mark schools. Top rated Design school in Europe.

Educational system of the school is very different comparing to other systems of design education. At the end of the first year students choose one of eight design departments. All departments together form all human activities in relationship to design. Each are headed by important players in the field.

•Man and Living
•Man and communication
•Man and well-being
•Man and leisure
•Man and mobility
•Man and identity
•Man and activity
•Man and Public space

In their Graduation Galleries 09 exhibition during Dutch Design Week I felt that people are really concentrating on right things, real things, humanitarian needs and they really have found the relationship to design in right places. New and fresh perspectives. 

In view of this, my BA programme in Helsinki and Stockholm feels sadly outdated. There is and was design, form, good conditions to create, But is there a relationship? Any guidance to think and see design in relationship to something? Humanitarian or human activity design drivers? Support for problem solving from any other than visual point of view? Mission? 

Yes, lot of unique award-winning design and world wide recognisable styles and strongest of strong expression comes maybe from school of Helsinki and is spread out to the world. Nice surfaces, blocks and other elements organized with good sense of style creating contrasts and harmony. Illustrated magical soul landscapes from north, nordic oddity, personal interpretations. That BA could be called Man & High society.

Precious tear – designing funeral

Accessories that collect and treasure tears. The fragile glass rings are hollow, for sorrow and grief. The collected tears are kept in the ring until they evaporate, and only a salty white mist remains. The series also includes rings and necklaces with a plume of soft bamboo yarn, with which you can discreately brush away your own and another's tears. There is a transparent glove with a thickened top to the index finger to wipe away a tear. 

Precious tear, Man and Well-being, Roos Kuipers

Vaccinaid

Being vaccinated – frightening and painful. Charlie Guda found a solution in vaccination plasters, or 'band-aid'. The active ingredient is contained in the the gel reservoir, and is taken in via the skin without damaging or puncturing it. Vaccinaid is painless and fully satisfies the medical requirements. Each vaccination in the programme has a different colour that is linked to the age of the child. The smiley in your own colour not only makes the plaster easy to identify, but is also super cool on your upper arm. 

To follow the whole field – events, festivals, clubs, club concepts – print materials of different happenings around us. Important tools in everone's personal inspiration toolboxes here. A very natural way for us to keep pace with this rapidly changing world.

Many good ideas and real talents in our sector are found right FROM that field. No doubt.

One of the unique visionaries is Edu Kehäkettunen. After his genius documentary film project Edumania, Edu is back with a new club concept Rock-paper-scissors. During his visit to Philly he got this idea of Rock-paper-scissors club & tournaments and decided to import and dismount this winning format to We Got Beef – friendly venue for him to test and run new concepts. 

Board games – last season. Rock-paper-scissors it is! Live Jan-Ken-Pon, commentator in the house, playing records for you and your people. Fun. 

From 16th to 19th October I'm attending Dutch Design Week (DDW). Around 1500 designers from NL and abroad will show their work in more than 60 locations all over the city of Eindhoven from design disciplines such as industrial design, concept design, graphic design, textile & fashion, spatial design, fooddesign and design management & trends.

Eindhoven will for one week turn into a jungle of design activities – numerous lectures, workshops, fashion shows, seminars, and exhibitions including Graduation Galleries of Design Academy Eindhoven.

At the moment Eindhoven and Helsinki are the only two cities left, awaiting to be honoured as World Design Capital 2012. With a nomination in mind, Dutch Design Week presents a wide range of design.

My primary task is to represent Grafia. Each year, the Finnish Association of graphic designers (Grafia) and the Confederation of Finnish designers Ornamo pay tribute to their most distinguished members. With the award and the publication Finnish Designer Awards’08, we honour the importance and versatility of the area of expertise of designers.

Grafia awarded illustrator Klaus Haapaniemi, and Ornamo industrial designer Tuuli Mattelmäki, fashion designer Anssi Tuupainen, artist Virpi Vesanen-Laukkanen, interior designer Esa Vesmanen, and textile artist Kristiina Wiherheimo. 

Next weekend I'm leaving Helsinki Werklig posters, Bulgaria Collective's A book about Helsinki, DFF's Finnish Design Yearbooks 08-09s and Grafias PPT presentation in my trolley. Helsinki promo with love and HC networking. Can't wait. 

My DDW pick

• The celebratory opening of Dutch Design Week / Finnish Designer Awards’08 opening

• Nouvelle Vague Concert

• Graduation Galleries | Eindhoven's school of design is one of the world's top rated design academies with their super interesting Man and Humanity MA in Humanitarian design and sustainable style. I'm going to check that out and see the much anticipated graduation exhibitions of around 140 works from the bachelors and masters courses. My think tanking and 'Man and Humanity' notes can then – after DDW trip – be read at www.ok-do.eu. Article / interview will be my debute contribution there.

Fashion Promise

• Modebelofte 2009 (Fashion Promise 2009) | The highlights in fashion design from all the academies in the Netherlands and Antwerp in one exhibition! An exhibition that successfully zooms in on newly graduated fashion talents. Under the direction of talent scout Carlo Wijnands of HTNK fashion recruitment & consultancy – In the fashion sector, HTNK is the most eminent fashion recruitment and selection bureau. During the opening on Saturday, 17 October, second-year students of the ABKM Maastricht will perform ‘fashion moves’. This is the only occasion in the year that the outfits of these talented designers are exhibited.

LEAD Magazine

• LEAD Magazine Launch | Visualising creative industries: LEAD magazine. Design bureau Edhv launches the first all-round magazine about the creative industries in Eindhoven

Dutch Invertuals

• Dutch Invertuals | A group of professional designers graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven, present their latest work during Dutch Design Week. After the successful exhibition at the Salone del Mobile 2009 in Milan, the Dutch Invertuals are now going one step further. In this exhibition, the cooperation with Lead magazine plays an important role. In addition to the launch this magazine, the Dutch Invertuals are going more deeply into the concept of Lead magazine by using a ‘lead’ from one of the main interviews as a source of inspiration for their latest designs. 

Desing On Wheels

• Design On Wheels 2009 | Sustainability and electric driving. The ATC and the Province of Brabant show how the combination of technique and design can make car driving in the future more sustainable, how automotive design is created, and what roles Dutch designers play in this field of expertise. 

Paper Zoo

• Paper Zoo | Exhibition 

The world deeply appreciates the quality of Finnish illustration. Thanks to Agent Pekka and Napa illustration, more and more new Finnish talent and names have been seen lately in international context and interviewed by international mags. Maximum visibility.     

In Finnish architecture 'born in 1970s' winds are blowing. New wave. Project Newly Drawn presents 9 credit winning offices in form of a mini seminar, an exhibition and a book. The book was released last week with a proper festivity in Artek. 

What about newly drawn Finnish Fashion? So much great stuff drawn lately in that field as well! Helsinki Fashion Week? Not in a million years! Any books out now? Events? Promotion? In public debate there has been seen headlines such as 'Textile revolution' and 'Young designers can save Finland' something they think could even replace traditional forestry in future.

Compared to that, I think there is (and should be!) a way to find a whole punch of support for Young Finnish fashion designers somewhere in creative industries structures – ministries and different trade unions.

The most interesting young, upcoming Finnish architects, their latest projects, visions and ways of working in one cover

Everyone who's been alive the past ten years should be aware of TED. It's an expanding non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. TED brings together people from the world's of Technology, Entertainment and Design. And those people share their absolutely amazing ideas and insights through their through-the-roof presentations. In addition to the two TED main events, local events are happening around the globe as well. Gladly, one of these local events called TEDx, is being organised here in Helsinki. The x signifies an independently organised TED event. 

Alex Nieminen, founder of N2, took the initiative with other commendable people and they are proudly organising it in Helsinki 22 October. Max kudos for making it happen.

According to TED site the presenters lucky enough to be asked to speak at TED are given 18-minute slots maximum, some are for even less time such as 3- and 6-minute slots. But it's not only the burden of time management. There are ten TED commandments for the presenters as well.

(via shoplifwindchimes)

Novelist Amy Tan described the arrival of the TED Commandments as “something that creates a near-death experience; but near-death is good for creativity…”.

You can check Amy's TED presentation here.

You can apply for a ticket here. 

There was a party in 20 rue Dupetit-Thouars yesterday and Ahonen & Lamberg were invited. No doubt, one more perfect match: Ofr + Ahonen & Lamberg!

It's not a guide to the new cafe or club. It's a very unique way of discovering different parts of the city. "It's like a very personal love letter to Paris" Chi Chi

In each city photographer Ami Sioux asks 50 locals to hand-draw a map to a place that is special to them personally, for any reason. Then she uses the maps to navigate to each location and take a photo to represent each spot.

The °Books project is a series of books. Reykjavik 64°08N 21°54W was the first to be released, Beautiful Paris 48°50N 2°23E was released yesterday. New york 40°43N 73°59W is in the planning. Project was born in East Berlin already in 2003.

Ami Sioux works as a freelance photographer in Paris and is a regular contributor to Self Service Mag, i-D, Jalouse and many other. She is currently working on her second album of music. 

Art direction and design by Anna & Katariina

Concept & logo by Tuomas Tofferi

Monthly @Siltanen. 

read more 

GROUP

EVENT

Via Timmion
http://www.myspace.com/yonalou

Our peaceful courtyard and autumn itself has inspired us and brought bags of nostalgia and melancholy to our Friday tunes – very sentimental playlists are about to play now.

Apples, lilies, woolen beanies, semi all-nighters, and lovely Yona. That's the spirit.

Mixing Folk, Jazz, Schlager and modern urban music Yona found her way to our hearts. That songbird! Yona's debute album will be released in December by Timmion records and it's produced by Didier Selin.

Some dare to call it shit music Friday! Ha.