Marimekko: Finland at its best

I love love love these new dresses from Marimekko. They are a little bit too bold and modern for my taste really, but I still love them. And if someone should kindly give me one or two, I would dare myself to wearing them and I’m pretty sure I would love that too.

Ovela Dress, design Noora Niinikoski.
Print: Katala Pallo, design Katsuji Wakisaka.



Viekas Top and Kelmi Skirt Dress, design Noora Niinikoski.
Print: Katala Pallo, design Katsuji Wakisaka.



Juoni Dress, design Noora Niinikoski.
Print: Katala Pallo, design Katsuji Wakisaka.



Aapa Dress, design Mika Piirainen.
Print: Ruskaraita, design Fujio Ishimoto.



I really like these fabric prints too, designed by Fujiwo Ishimoto for Marimekko. I don’t know how big the squares are, but if they are quite small I think it would make for a perfect dress.



I don’t know why, but I have a weak spot for dresses that have got names, like these ones. It got me thinking maybe I should start naming mine, but then again: that would be an awful lot of names ...

summer shopping

So, just because I haven’t posted any pics of dresses in a while, certainly doesn’t mean I haven’t been buying them! These two lovelies I got just yesterday, and I am completely in love with both of them. I’m wearing this one right now, to work, and I plan to wear the other one tonight, going to a release party for my wonderfully talented sister-in-law’s new album (Firefox AK).



A photo like this does not give this pretty 50’s cotton sundress justice, take my word for it. It fits me perfectly and it’s got that everyday flair that I love the most in dresses, so it doesn’t make me feel like I’m playing dress-up, but still makes me feel special to wear a piece with history. If you know what I mean. I got this from a charity thrift store for 160 kronor (Stockholms Stadsmission, Nytorget).




This cutie I found first, in the same store, and I was agonizing a bit about trying them on since it was scorching hot outside and trying on clothes while being quite sweaty isn’t ideal. To say the least. I felt determined to walk away with something though, so I took a deep breath and got on with it. Which certainly paid off seeing that both dresses fit me perfectly and I knew I will wear them a lot.



Pretty puffy sleeves, I cannot get enough of you!



But it was the fabric I fell for first. I just adore the combination of geometric sharp shapes and soft flowers, and I’m still a bit obsessed with green too. This 70’s polyester cutie only cost 90 kronor, a bargain in my book, since it’s in mint condition. And even though it feels very summery, I know it will look great with tights and a cardy too, so it can keep me company all year round, thank you very much.

the decemberists goes in the sea

The Decemberists like whales, and so do I. I love how completely different these posters all are. First one is by Daniel Danger.



Emek.

Tara McPherson.



Ben Wilson.

Lucian Freud r.i.p.

With the great artist Lucian Freud’s passing and the papers writing about it, I am reminded how much I love his paintings. There is something hauntingly beautiful and naturally raw about them, and they are possessing an intimate closeness you can almost touch and smell. I think that feeling is particularly evident in these pictures.

The art world shall be smaller without him.







All pictures belong to the artist.

Thomas Paul

Via Design*Sponge I just discovered the genius of Thomas Paul, thank you very much! I love absolutely everything I see, but here’s a small selection of pillows available for online purchase to start with. Penguin and top hat.



Owl and bicycle.



Octopus.



Parakeet and pipe.



Sparrow and parasoll.



Pram and pigeon.



Stingray. One of the animals that fascinates me the most, I mean rays in general. I just love how they silently fly in the water, it’s incredibly beautiful.



Crabs.



Pufferfish.
Lovebirds.
Hummingbird.

pretty print

Today I have been lusting over this pretty printed dress from Ruche. At about 60 dollars it’s a bit more than my thrifted dresses, but actually not too bad at all for something new and this cute. I shall have to ponder this some more ...



I am in love with this print, I just can’t help it!

hot poster for lukewarm concerts

Since a few years there’s a lovely place in Stockholm to go see outdoors concerts during some summer evenings. They call it “A lukewarm on the grass”, which may sound really weird, and I promise you it sounds the same in Swedish. What it refers to is having a beer on the grass. At least that’s what I have always assumed ... Now that I think of it I realise I could be wrong. Anyway, nevermind the name! When I still had a band we played this scene one scorching hot summer afternoon, and it was a little bit magical, even though I actually burnt myself on my guitar sitting in the sun. The things you have to endure as an artist ... I haven’t been there for a while now, but plan on going at least one of the dates coming up if the weather is nice. I have got the worst concert craving ever at the moment! Also a serious craving for pancake cake with cream and blueberries, for some reason ...

This years poster is rather amazing I think, and it was made in a precious 10 copies of which 5 were sold. I was too late unfortunately, but am hoping they might print a few more due to public demand.

fire fire

For some reason right now I feel myself being drawn to really fiery oranges, just like the book covers I posted yesterday. Here are some gorgeous gig posters from designer Todd Slater that fit into that colour scheme too. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any orange clothes what so ever, and not really anything orange in my home at all. Maybe my life is just lacking of orange.







This sure gives me a much needed visual injection of Vitamin C though. Thanks Todd!

On another note, but on the musical theme obviously connected to these posters: I have the worst concert craving at the moment! My ticket to Bon Iver will just lie at home for another four months until I can use it, and I definitely need to see something before that. I guess I need to stop being so lazy and go out exploring the unknown once again, just check out whatever comes to town like I used to, many years ago. I’m pretty sure there are lots of lovely sounds I haven’t heard yet out there. Bring them my way, please.

particularly pretty penguins: orange

Penguin Classics have added a few beauties to their spectacularly stunning clothbound series. I think one day I will have to get them all, for my Penguin Classics dedicated library room. As before they are all designed by genius Coralie Bickford-Smith.







These devils are the cutest ever!

beard obsession

I’ve been feeling terribly uncreative for a long long time, and haven’t really felt itchy enough to just get something done, no matter what. Because I know sometimes it’s just getting over that first threshold that’s difficult for me, and once I get started it seems to flow by itself. I’ve been wanting to pick up my guitar for a while, but it sort of scares me because I haven’t done it in so long (about a year and a half, yikes!) and I fear it will be like starting from scratch again. That it will be like having to learn how to play again, and that all my songs that I have actually written will be lost somewhere where I can’t find them. Not good, not good at all. So rather than finding that out, I dust the guitar guiltily every couple of weeks or so, and pretend I will put it in my lap another day.

But this week, something happened. Not with the guitar, it’s still sitting quietly in it’s corner, but with my creative inspiration. Much to my own surprise what kicked it off was seeing a bunch of amazing old photographs of old Swedish men, and suddenly I felt an urge to draw them. I have never drawn old men before, hardly any men at all to be honest. Well, I haven’t really drawn that much of anything really, just sporadically in the last five years or so, since my teens. Anyway, I’ve felt calm and rather happy doing this the last three nights, not feeling any pressure about it, just letting it come by itself and enjoying it. I hope the feeling will last, and that there will be more portraits and other things coming up.

anthropologie dreams

If I had unlimited resources, I would snatch up these dresses from Anthropologie in an instance. You know I’d better hurry since Swedish summer can be over any minute now (fingers crossed it won’t be of course). I love the colour combination of this lovely creation especially, and the cut is just perfect. It ties in the back! I do not, however, love the pricetag. €268 is quite ridiculous if you ask me. Who pays that for a dress? Unless maybe it’s a wedding dress. My wedding sari was by far the most expensive “dress” I have ever bought, but it was still slightly cheaper than that.



This cute and cool thing is on sale, but still way too steep for my budget, that is used to dresses costing around 150 kronor in thrift stores ... Less than a tenth of this dress!



This adorable thing is a bit too posh for what I would normally go for, but since I’m not really going for it, just dreaming, it stays!



Finally a perfect piece of black, flirty summer dress that I have in fact been trying to find lately, but come up empty handed so far. It’s difficult to find what I have in mind it turns out, except this one that ticks most of my boxes. Of course it crumbles to pieces when it comes to the pricetag again. Oh, well, one day I WILL find one that matches this AND is wallet friendly. Until then I do have about 15-20 perfect summer dresses in other colours, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too sorry for myself ...

sweet short summer

Summers are short up here in the north, but oh so sweet. I always stress a bit about not being outdoors enough, really sucking everything in so to keep it inside me when winter comes back again. But at the same time, who am I kidding? I’m not an outdoorsy person really. My idea of a good holiday is definitely not going hiking. I love strolling around gardens though, and here’s what you can see in some of them around where I live.



















One day I would very much like to have a little garden of my own. But I would have to buy some green fingers too, because I do not think I was born with them.