People and places

I love crazy obsessive people even if I can't claim to be one of them. Well, I get obsessed for a while and then after a few weeks I tend to forget about it all. Maybe I'm just not that passionate about things or I have no special talent for being obsessed with something. A few people in the world inspire me to get ideas and run with them. For example, I'm trying to make this blog work and write regularly enough to satisfy demand (you know who you are). Others just amaze me with the obsessions.

Things have been a bit stressful lately due to the stupidity and complications of the German System of Life (more about that in a later post, I just need to get my angry hat on) and the emotional strain of moving here. That's why there hasn't been a post in a while. However, I've still had time to research my favourite subjects which include Finland, Scandinavia in general and style and design there.

When I go to cities (such as Berlin) I always do research into where I can find the hidden happening places. The places where alternative and real people hang out, shop, drink, gather etc. I hope you know what I mean. However, the research doesn't really ever pay off and I never get the experience I hoped for. I've been wanting to go to Helsinki ever since I started obsessively clicking on HEL LOOKS (for those of you who like this too, then there's an amusing postcard style site about Helsinki - just click on the image to look through the collection). I've been to Helsinki before with my parents, but I was too young to appreciate what the city had to offer, which is an amazing amount of coolness. The best way to find out where all the happening places are is to get information from insiders, i.e. people who live there. A great site by a blogger called suburbanqueen contains fresh tips about where to go and what's new in Helsinki. She even created a fantastic and guide complete with photos on where to find cheap second hand clothes in the city. I always imagine that the Finns give away brilliant things to second hand shops. I also came across 3 other little gems full of wonderful ideas published by the Helsinki Tourist Board. They created three flyers to cater for three of the many subcultures that exist in Helsinki. They all give one tip for each hour of the day. Never a dull moment! There's the Bohemian Nordic Oddity flyer for people who want to experience the alternative and authentic side of Helsinki, the Smooth Nordic Oddity flyer for those who want to chill out with the hot Scandinavians and then the Groovy Nordic Oddity flyer for everyone who loves art and design, wants to drink tea in quaint little cafes and wants to look like everyone from HEL LOOKS. All three are available to download here.

Oh and p.s. for all those obsessed with HEL LOOKS I found the blog of Liisa Jokinen who is one of the creators of the site. OK, so it's in Finnish...but I love the layout and design of her blog. There's also a link there to her del.icio.us page so you can see all the things that influence and inspire her too.

Created: 2007-10-09 18:49, Tags: design, finland, life, loves, Comments: 0