DIY: Wooden curtain

After Suomen Kaunein Koti (the Most beautiful home in Finland), we got quite a few questions about the wooden curtain in the living room, concerning the measurements and how it was done. Therefore, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit an old blog post from 2013. So, the "curtain" was originally made when we were still living in our old apartment, but surprisingly few modifications were required to fit it to the living room windows in our current home.

Wonderful play of light and shadow

So, if you would like to make one it is pretty simple. First, you need some round wooden sticks (ours happen to be pine and have a diameter of about 10 mm) and screw-in hooks.

The simple essentials

Then, the hook is screwed in. The "mouth" of the hook was spread open a bit, so that it would be easier to attach the hook to through a ring.

A hook with a wide mouth

Finally, the sticks were hung to a regular curtain rail, hosting a required number of sliding rings. To make the sliding rings, we removed the curtain clip part from a regular curtain clip - sliding ring complex, just to be able to reuse something what was already available instead of shopping for anything new. Most probably you are able to buy just the sliding rings without curtain clips, which of course would be quite practical saving the step of disassembly.

Hanging in there

Finally, the only thing left to do is to hung up the sticks cut to the desired length and to organise the sticks to a preferred rhythm! Easy, quick and an excellent option if you want to try something else than curtains made of fabric!

Himmeli

As if there would not be enough to do with completing the world before the Holidays, also DIY spirit seems to magically strengthen during that time. In the beginning of December 2016, Minna got and idea to make a himmeli (FI), a traditional mobile decoration made of straws. So a few nights before Christmas, Minna and her cousin Anu had a small himmeli workshop. Neither with prior experience on working with delicate straws, a relatively straightforward model was chosen to start with - Ostrobothian (Pohjalaanen) Himmeli, from Eija Koski's book Himmeli (highly recommended, if you master Finnish).

Instructions for Ostrobothian himmeli (by Eija Koski)

In addition to great instructions and a lot of enthusiasm, a pile of straws cut to measure, long needles, some soft bamboo string, mulled wine and chocolate were the key components of this project.

Materials and mulled wine

The first minutes felt slightly challenging but in the end, it was easier (and faster) than expected. Yes, some invisible tape was needed to fix a few glitches here and there, but surprisingly it was not too complicated. The trickiest step was to combine six diamonds together to create the basic shape. 

Six diamonds

Careful, careful!

It was a great night! Craftwork, good company and very satisfactory end result. A perfect way to switch off from daily routines. Altogether four Ostrobothnians were made. Kindly enough, Anu donated one of hers to complete the series of three, which now hangs from the living room ceiling.

Three Ostrobothians

Inspired by the initial success, the Himmeli team has already agreed on the next project. Also, the downstairs guest room has an empty corner which is just screaming to host a himmeli...

DIY bamboo blanket

A few weeks before Eino was born, Minna was visiting a yarn store with her mother. Maybe it was the hormones or just the years spent with Pekka the craftsman, but then and there, inspired by a ball of bamboo yarn, the idea of crocheting suddenly sounded fantastic to her. As the most ambitious piece so far she had crocheted in grade school was a small pot holder, an obvious choice was to hit the other extreme in the form of a 135 x 155 cm blanket. Given Minna's limited experience the pattern needed to be something really simple, and that something was found from a blog called Prinsessajuttu (in Finnish) - thank you, Mira!

Blanket made of bamboo yarn and Franco Albini ottoman

The yarn was actually a birthday present from Minna's mother. She also witnessed the very start of the project and rightfully wondered about the completion time - would a year be sufficient? But lo and behold! Seven months later the prestigious blanket was finished.

Miracles do happen

The bamboo yarn (Blend bamboo from HjerteGarn from Denmark) feels really nice and soft. Eino loved it right away, and while we were taking the pictures he continuously kept trying to reach the blanket and stuff it in his mouth. As he was not allowed he quickly found comfort with the two middle fingers instead.

Testing haptic features

Knowing how Urho loves to hide under a pile of blankets and destroy them in doing so there is a foreseeable risk emerging if Minna's "masterpiece" is left unsupervised for example on the living room sofa. We have learned not to trust this innocent looking creature. In many occasions, Urho has proven to be much, much more devious than suggested by his innocent looks. So ruling out the sofa and the bed the final "Urho-proof" location remains to be decided...

If you'd only know what I'm thinking

Upcycling 1970's bed sheet

The other day Pekka's mother Merja came for a visit and kindly asked if there was anything she could do to help. Recognizing where Pekka has inherited his skill of craft, Minna had a perfect project in mind. As little Eino is now moving more and more in his crib, the sides of the crib need something to prevent Eino's legs and arms getting jammed between the bars.

Crib cushions in the making

So, the plan was simply to turn an old sheet from Pekka's childhood into fun crib cushions for Eino. The crazy green fabric took us flying back to the seventies. If you are a Finn, you may recognise the "Nukkumatti" ("Sandman") character. Based on a quick google search, the Nukkumatti fabric still seems to be commercially available, so if you fancy a design which in addition to a sandman hosts a cow's behind (What on earth was the designer thinking?), check it out here at least in brown and blue!

Sandman and a cow from 1970's

Not only was the fabric old, but so are Minna's sewing equipment, a sewing box and sewing machine. The wooden box was a birthday gift from Pekka, who naturally found it from some auction. The sewing machine, Husqvarna Automatic 21, used to belong to Minna's great aunt. Apparently dating back to 1960's there is not too much information about it available online, but via Spinning a Yarn blog by Jessicah one can find a scanned copy of the original user manual. Quite a cool read, thank you Jessicah for sharing! Despite it's mature age, the machine works like a charm and sews beautifully!

Husqvarna Automatic 21 and a sewing box

To make a long story short, two hours later we were really pleased with the ready cushions. They fitted perfectly to Eino's crib, which also is old - it has been in the family for about 50 years. Somewhere along the way the bed has just been given a bit fresher look by replacing the ends with some Airio Art graphics.

Eino's cushioned crib

The last piece of the Sandman fabric was just big enough to make a small bed sheet for a baby duvet. Perfect!

End user approved

So the risk of stuck arm or leg in between the bars has now been greatly reduced, and old bed sheet with a great sentimental value has been given a new life. Thank you Merja so much for driving the most effective and fun sewing session! Eino seems quite happy with the improvements as well, at least he has been sleeping better than never before. Knocking on wood, the slightly sleep deprived parents cross their fingers for this to be a permanent change...

How we buy Vintage Design

One of the topics we are asked to write about is how and where we buy vintage design pieces. To answer this question we'd like to share some of our thoughts and favourite links regarding this topic - so hopefully you find the following helpful and perhaps even inspiring!

The "how" part - the way we most often approach it - has already been discussed in one of the early posts called "The HPD Model" (Hunt, Detect, Purchase) in 2012. Briefly reviewed, the process goes like this:

• HUNT: various sources are screened via internet. Some items can be found quite easily, but in the more difficult cases it can be useful to browse sources from a country where a given item was originally designed and manufactured. The goal is to find a few options to choose from.
• DETECT: options are locked and communication with a seller begins. Endless number of emails are usually required to dig out more details, as well as to negotiate the price. The goal is to select the item which has the price / value ratio. Remember, there is almost always room for negotiation!
• PURCHASE: The price has now been already agreed (or won, if it is an auction), so next it is  crucial to organize transport. This can sometimes be quite tricky, and if you are not careful also quite expensive. 

But perhaps the most interesting piece of knowledge to get effectively started with HUNT is the  "where". In the abundance of online resources, where do you go to? We can of course only answer from our part, so below is a short list of our key sources we continuously follow, both actual physical auctions and internet favourites.

• Auction House Helander (Helsinki, Finland). One of our favourites taking place on a monthly basis. We have made some really good finds here with a good price. They have a very good internet listings one can review before the auction. The items can also be viewed on site beforehand. 
• Hagelstam & Co (Helsinki, Finland). Interesting as well, prices tend to rise a bit higher vs. Helander. 
• Bukowskis Market. Has showrooms both in Finland and Sweden. One of their greatest benefits is an effective, reliable and affordable delivery network between the showrooms, which is especially handy when purchasing bigger items. The online site is also very easy to use. 
• Huuto.net (in Finnish). Mostly private Finnish sellers. Occasional great finds, but caution in all interactions is needed as there is no formal administration.  
• Tradera (in Swedish). Very similar to Huuto.net, mostly private Swedish sellers. 
• eBays in various countries (e.g. US, Germany).
• Lauritz. Auction houses in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Germany, possibility to bid online. Extensive selection.
• Bruun Rasmussen (Denmark). Possible to bid online. Extensive selection. 
• RetroStart. Very useful vintage design portal with links to different design stores across all Europe.
• Design Addict. Good source of information with an active discussion forum.
• Deconet. Both private sellers and dealers.

So there is a lot to choose from and keeping track of everything to find what you are looking for can be a bit time consuming. Therefore, you really need to enjoy the process (like Pekka does) to find the time to do the necessary research, develop a good understanding on pricing, to be able to identify a real deal from a fake and to recognise when to trust a seller and when it is better to walk away. And nearly always, when something sounds too good too be true it almost certainly is.

Finally - we always remind ourselves that one should not be too disappointed to miss a good deal or lose an auction. There will always be something new and often better around the corner - just be patient!

DIY noticeboard

We really like the Tulip table by Eero Saarinen in the dining room. It is visually light, yet it is extremely spacious proven to host 10 adult dinner guests. But thus it is also a perfect junkyard for clutter with a varying degree of importance: keys, phones, toys, mail - you name it. Not only a beautiful table is regularly turned into a chaos, but in the worst case, the important stuff gets lost, forever.

So, very simply - we took one of the Konto acoustic panels used to build the downstairs slat wall and hung it up with sheet metal screws on a kitchen wall to serve as a noticeboard. And all the excuses for not being able to locate an important piece of paper suddenly fly out the window! Of course, this leaves a certain owl looking for a new location...

One of the many uses of acoustic panels

Creating storage space

This summer has been sunny and hot. Perfect time to spend in a cool bunker!

Now, with the bunker concrete floor being sanded and painted and the granite washed and protected, one of the projects we really wanted to complete during this summer was to build a shelf system in the bunker. We are desperate to get organised as the original storage room was knocked down during the downstairs demoliton and also the garage remains full of boxes since we moved in two years ago.

As the floor space in the bunker is limited, we preferred to build the shelves on top of the uneven granite to utilise the space as effectively as possible.

Defining the position of the supporting structure

First set of shelves up

The shelf system was not only optimised to complement the form of the granite, but also to fit a maximum number of Smart Store plastic boxes. We had chosen three sizes, and the shelves would host 14 large, 28 medium and 12 small boxes in total.

Following the form of the granite

And they fit perfectly!

When building on an uneven surface, the preferred way is to start from the top. Pekka had an idea of using threaded rods to form a supportive structure, which was attached in to the ceiling with concrete anchors. Further, it was adjusted to hold each shelf in the correct position with a nut on each side. This way, the supporting structure would take a very little space and help to maximise the shelf space.

Supportive structure

Hanging down from the ceiling

Once again, one of the essentials the project would have not succeeded without was the laser attached to an adjustable camera stand.

Hama stand proving itself a must-have

It took three days to build the entire system, but we really consider the time, sweat and sunny days wasted worth it. Sofi also found climbing the granite quite exciting, and was not an unusual sight visiting the bunker wearing her pink earmuffs.

Pekka at work

Rock climbling

And, finally it was ready! In the corner, we left a space for an extra freezer, and there will be some additional storage solutions added in the bunker, but the biggest and most laborious part is now done. We actually think that given it is a storage shelf located in the basement, the system has an interesting, elegant look and feel to it!

Ready for boxes

DIY: Wooden Curtain

A while ago we promised to post  DIY story about the wooden curtain. This "curtain" was originally prepared for our old apartment, but as a pleasant surprise only very minor modifications were required to fit it to the living room windows in here as well.

Behind the Eames

First, you need some round wooden sticks (ours happen to be pine and have a diameter of about 10 mm) and screw-in hooks.

The essentials

Then, the hook is screwed in. The "mouth" of the hook was spread open a bit, so that it would be easier to attach the hook to through a ring.

A hook with a wide mouth

Finally, the sticks were hung to a regular curtain rail, hosting a required number of sliding rings. To make the sliding rings, we removed the curtain clip part from a regular curtain clip - sliding ring complex, just to be able to reuse something what was already available instead of shopping for anything new. Most probably you are able to buy just the sliding rings without curtain clips, which of course would be quite practical saving the step of disassembly.

Hanging in there

Finally, the only thing left to do is to hung up the sticks cut to the desired length and to organise the sticks to a preferred rhythm! Easy, quick and quite pleasing to the eye!