Arena creamer and sugar bowl

Oops, she did it again.

Two years in a row Minna's cousin Anu has nailed it with our Christmas surprise. Our Arena tableware was complemented by a creamer and a sugar bowl, two beautiful essentials. Thank you Anu, you are so very thoughtful!

Arena reflections

Despite of the silence in the blog, we haven't thrown in the towel, quite the contrary. The darkness of the Finnish winter is just not a great time to take neat pictures. The guest room is 99% finished and received preliminary approvals. The test users have risen some minor missing points, such as a door, functional lighting and door handles in cupboards. But overall, the experiences have been positive. More about that soon.

Sofi's room has also been updated a bit. More wall art, say the least. We may just be raising a picasso.

Happy New Year!

For the few days of Christmas, we got lucky. The snow came right on time, the day before Christmas Eve, and stayed for about a week. Perfect timing, for a perfect, relaxing, White Christmas. Now on the first day of the New Year of 2015, the refreshing whiteness is unfortunately nearly all gone.

White for a while

Apparently we had been behaving, as Santa was very kind to treat us with presents. There was a specific one, however, which caught us completely by surprise, and just needs to be brought forward here in the blog. For about a year, we have been collecting Arena tableware, and have been desperately short on tea cups and saucers. As the Arenas are no longer in production, they are not the easiest ones to find. But Minna's cousin Anu, who shares our interest on design, had picked up our need, and found two additional sets. Where - we have no idea, but what a wonderful, extremely pleasant surprise! Thank you so much!

Two new Arena sets

We also want to wish you all very Happy New Year, and once again sincerely thank you for your keen and continuous interest. Our New Year's resolution in terms of the Olive Green is that the story will go on and develop: the ups and downs of renovation and restoration will of course continue, so there will be a lot to write about. Currently, we are also working with a story regarding to a recent interview with Osmo Lappo, the architect who has designed our apartment. Additionally, as mentioned before we will be exploring some new avenues in a form of a small business in the future. And last but not least, updates on the blog visuals are on the way - quite exciting!!

So, with the words of Michael Josephson: "Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities." Both of these we foresee and gladly welcome, and hope you will be there to share those with us!

Some more Arenas

Remember the Arena tableware by Stig Lindberg we found in a local auction in September? The initial set was quite comprehensive with 34 different pieces, but at the same time it was short of some  essentials, for example tea / coffee cups. Ever since, Pekka has kept his eye open for those missing parts. Eventually he was, of course, successful.

Three cups of Arena

The recent find consisted of three tea cups with saucers and six smaller plates. Actually, the tea cup is the very piece of the Arena collection we originally fell in love with. And not only they are really beautiful, the size is also quite practical and thus the cups can be used for both coffee and tea.

So, as far as tea cups are concerned, three down, nine more to go. And of course some more plates. And perhaps a creamer...

Arena by Stig Lindberg

For a long time, we have been debating an important issue. The tableware.

The set we currently have is not really a set at all, but a collection of leftover pieces from the years past. Those have served us well, but eventually there comes a time when having a maximum of three similar plates makes setting a table up for six with matching tableware simply impossible.

So, the other day the solution suddenly presented itself in the form of quite an exciting auction find. Pekka came across with tableware called Arena, designed by Stig Lingberg for Gustavsberg (1973-1978). Lindberg was one of the most prolific designers in Scandinavia, and his eye for sculpture and proportion is evident in his ceramic forms from the 1950´s and 60´s. Lindberg worked at Gustavsberg pottery from 1938 to 1980, then moving to Italy to establish his own studio. When we saw the beautiful Arena set in a local auction this past Saturday, we immediately knew this was what we had been looking for.

Pieces of Arena

The Arena tableware set we found has 34 different pieces. We really love the burned orange and dark brown colours and the timeless design. It is also quite unique but yet not too rare, as we are still missing some pieces and eventually some broken pieces need to be replaced. It has a bit of an retro twist, but it is not too glaring and can thus still be combined with for example additional white or brown tableware.

Gravy boat

Juice pitcher

All the pieces are in excellent condition, no scratches, dark spots or cracks. In addition to the plates, there are several trays, bowls and pitchers which (according to the manufacturer's label) can be washed in the dishwasher and put in the oven, despite of their age.

Thirty-four pieces of Arena

The set is, however, still missing something. At the moment, we are looking for tea cups, some more smaller plates and maybe coffee cups. Any leads and tips are welcomed - or maybe you have a few odd Arena cups in your possession just waiting to find a new home? In that case, please, let us know!