At Balihai 

A couple of weeks ago I met mr. Du Qin and mr. Zhao Yu from well-known international Design 360^o magazine during their journalistic trip in Helsinki. That was their day 7/10 in Helsinki and already before our date they've had over 60 design-related meetings all over the metropolitan area! Including all the prestigious Finnish design institutes, corporate giants, the most interesting Helsinki based design agencies, collectives and illustrators.

That night their host Professor Tapio Vapaasalo from the Aalto University had convened a group of passionate people to have a get-together at Balihai and to discuss about the special sense of community you can feel in Helsinki among the small graphic design studios, design collectives and illustrators. Those vital vibes. 

Also, it's always very interesting to hear others' points of view and notes about Finnish design scene. Actually I found it VERY fascinating to spend some time thinking about our unique Finnish vibes and state of mind. Like update one's own mind every now and then in the best possible company according to topic (Kaarle Hurtig, Lotta Nieminen, Johannes Ekholm, Janine Rewell).

I'm really looking forward to see the coming soon Finland Design Issue for Design 360°. That was the reason of Sandu Publishing guys' Helsinki trip of course. Now let their minds and eyes browse over & over and inside out all their Helsinki materials – Books and notes, interview tapes and pics, they managed to carry home and create a killer issue about our creativity!