finnish names - part one

From the traditional red cottages (many of which come equipped with saunas) to the more modern interiors with which we've become increasingly familiar, from the widely recognized architectural and industrial designers to more modern illustrators and bloggers, from the northern lights to the sweeping pine forests, Finland (Suomi) is rich with beauty and design. 

It's no secret that I have a bit of a penchant for Finnish names. We chose a Finnish word for the name of our second daughter, and this blog features the Finnish translations of pretty words on virtually every post I write.   So today I bring you the first in a series of posts on Finnish beauty and names. I'm not quite sure yet what pattern I'll follow in presenting the posts. I may interrupt them with other subjects and interviews, but any way we slice it, there will be weeks of Finnish names, nature, and design to come!

--Alvar Aalto (whose wife, Aino-- also an architect-- wore a very popular Finnish name for women), might be the most well known Finnish designer (along with Eero Saarien, designer of our St. Louis arch and the popular tulip, bubble and ball chairs). Alvar's designs (images 4-7 are his) are probably familiar to you. I love his simple stools and wheeled teacart. And the loose arrangement of  apples in his somewhat iconic sculpted vase strikes a really lovely balance--this photo was taken in his home, by the way, and you can see the full tour over at Apartment Therapy. His story is an interesting one, and his name has me thinking on the names of other famous designers from Finland, as well as some classically Finnish names.

--Also somewhat iconic is the black teapot pictured above by Arabia of Finland, a popular Finnish ceramics company. This particular piece was designed by Ulla Procope in 1953.   And the 1960 iron casserole dish with wooden handle by Timo Sarpaneva might be one of the most beautiful things ever invented for the kitchen. 

--The more modern interiors featured above, along with other beautiful Finnish home tours may be found here. I'm completely smitten with the deck of the lake house from the third image with it's cozy fire overlooking the water. Lakes are a big part of the Finnish experience because there are so, so many of them in Finland. 

--The final image is of a really special garden shed by Ville Hara and Linda Bergroth of Hel Yes! design firm, which should really be explored more here-- the remaining four walls are glass, so that some lucky dweller may lie on the large white bed inside the sweet, little garden lodge and gaze upon the forest and lake surrounding it. Can you imagine?  

Here is a list of names of popular Finnish designers, from architects to textile designers. Some of them may be revisited in another post as I give their works a closer look.  Interestingly, many of the architects are married couples, and they collaborated with their spouses a lot in their work!

Finnish designer names:

Female:

Aino Marsio Aalto (wife of Alvar)

Esteri Tomula (designer for Arabia of Finland.)

Kaija Sirin (wife of Heikki)

Käpy Paavilainen (wife of Simo)

Martta Ypyä (wife of Ragnar)

Maja Isola (textile designer for the popular Marimekko)

Raili Pietilä (wife of Reima)

Salme Setälä

Signe Hornburg (first professionally trained female architect in Finland)

Ulla Procope (designer for ceramics company Arabia Finland) 

Vuokko Nurmesniemi (textile designer for Marimekko)

Wivi Lönn (born Olivia Mathilda)

Male:

Alvar Aalto (husband of Aino)

Eero Saarinen

Eliel Saarinen 

Heikki Sirin (husband of Kaija)

Juha Leiviska

Kaj Frank (ceramic artist, designed for Arabia of Finland)

Mikko Heikkinen

Ragnar Ypyä (husband of Martta)

Reima Pietilä (husband of Raili)

Simo Paavilainen (husband of Käpy) 

Tapio Wirkkala

Timo Sarpaneva

Viljo Revell

 Ville Hara (Vee-lay modern designer with Hel Yes!)

Waldemar Wilenius

More traditional Finnish names that really catch my eye: 

Girl:

Aino

Aamu

Aune

Esteri

Helmi ('pearl')

Henni

Hilma

Inari

Inka

Ilona

Irja

Liris

Maiju

Minttu

Mirja

Mirjam

Mirju

Nea

Nomi

Pirkko

Rikka

Runo

Satu

Suoma 

Suvi

Talvikki

Tilde

Venla (Ven is such a sweet nickname)

Vilma

Boys:

Aapo

Aleski

Aku

Arttu 

Arrturi

Eero

Eetu

Hannu

Ismo

IImari 

Joona

Jorma

Juhani

Miro

Nilo

Olavi

Onni

Oskari

Paavo

Reku

Saku

Santeri

Seppo

Silvo

Taavi

Teppo 

Tolek

Tulley

Veeti 

Viljo

Any favorite names? Any designers you admire? Would you consider naming your child after a designer? Is there anything you would like to see covered in this series? 

In the coming posts, I'll focus on Finnish naming practices, Finnish nature names and word names; and of course, much more design, nature and Finnish beauty--stay tuned! 

(images: first red house here;  white room, deck/fire/lake house, and black house in the snow here; aalto tea cart here; aalto white house here; aalto stools and infamous vase here; black arabia finland teapot here, black garden shed here)

you're my fave - part one

I was planning to start 2012 with something I'm pretty excited about-- the first post in a series on Finnish names, blogs, homes and artists (including an interview!); but I've decided to put it off till later this week (stay tuned.)

In stead, I want to take a post (maybe two) to have a look back at Marginamia's 2011, selecting my favorites from each post: my favorites in the comments from my brilliantly creative readers, my favorite picks from the designers who participated in Ask,  my favorite name pairings from post to post, and the names I'm simply most partial to from all the names I've featured.... along with some new name pairings, of course. 

For part one of my 2011 faves list, I'm showcasing my favorites from our Ask interviews and my favorite contributions from you, the readers, from within your lovely comments. 

The images above are from each of the Ask series of designer interviews. This was a great year for Ask! (and yes, we'll be getting back to it regularly very soon-- I'm so excited about the coming interviews!) I want to extend another big thanks to all the wonderful designers who participated this year. This is absolutely such a special part of this blog; it wouldn't be Marginamia with out it!  Here are my favorites from our Ask segments--

single name favorites from Ask (in order of dates featured):

Celosia (Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camile Floral Design and Little Flower School)

Edith (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Potter (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Honora (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Dahlia (Amy Merrick of An Apple a Day)

Vine (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Cedar (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Aves (Jennifer Wong of Wongoers)

Kazu (Natsuko Hagiwara of Me & Arrow)

Rie (Megan Neilson of Design Diary)


name combo faves from Ask:

Dahlia Elspeth (Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camile Floral Design and Little Flower School)

Cotton Lela (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Marigold March (Amy Merrick of An Apple a Day)

Autumn Bell (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Halcyon Teak  (Jennifer Wong of Wongoers)

Hoshi Alela (Natsuko Hagiwara of Me & Arrow)

Phillipina Johana 'Pina' (Megan Neilson of Design Diary)

Another element of this blog that's really special to me is it's readers, not just in that it has readers, but in the particular readers and commenters I have had the pleasure of interacting with this year. I have been so touched in receiving such lovely emails from you, from the letters centered on funny name anecdotes to those full of beautiful, personal stories--thank you for sharing!  I'm often well entertained and inspired to simply link back to your own blogs through the comments, and I feel so proud to have such a lovely, creative bunch gathered here.  

Suffice it to say, y'all have left some amazing comments, and I'm so grateful for your thoughtful contributions- a giant Thank you to my readers!

Here are some names and name combos that really shine from your comments (in no particular order):

Sundew (from Nook of Names)

Momo (from Lucy of Merdenoms)

Hoshi (Japanese for 'star', from Ebirdie)

Iska (from Nook of Names)

Esha (from Lucy)

Clemency (also from Lucy )

Azusa (Japanese, from Mandy)

Palmira (from Jessie May)

Forsythia (from eBirdie)

Fuchsia (from Nook)

Georgina (from Jessie May)

Honey (from eBirdie)

Hermione (from Jessie May)

Robinet (from Lucy)

Cloud (from Lucy)

Georgia (from Modern Crush)

Boheme (from Äiti)

Ibis (from Eponymia)

Myrto (from Jessie May)

Bedivere (from Midwinter names)

Fergus (from Nook)

Oski (from Nook)

Inigo (from Nook)

Nell (from eBirdie)

Belia (from Midwinter names)

Fernanda (also from Jessie May)

Pomerine (from eponymia)

Cleonie (from eponymia)

Eimi (from Anna Emilia)

Brontë (from Nook)

Pepperberry (from Midwinter names)

Murrelet (from eponymia)

Fairuza (from Cristina)

Bay (from T.)


and my favorite name combos from your comments (in no particular order):

Alma Lark (from eBirdie)

William Pear (from Jessie May)

Olive Frances (JM)

Fig Ava (JM)

Emerald Moseley (from Nicole)

Ulani Francesca (JM)

Rosalind Roma (from Nicole) (this would be a perfect 'Ro' name)

Edith Honey Rose 'Eadie' (JM)

Frances Winter (JM)

Seneca Agnes (from Nicole )

Julep Henriette (mine)

Concordia Enid (from Midwinter names)

Lona Mavourneen (from JM)

Joesephine Dahlia (from T.)

Beatrice Bluebell 'Bebe' (from Nicole)

Marguerite Constance 'Daisy' (from T.)

Tallulah Reve (from E.)

Bramble Bellamy (from names for real)

Cloud Marceline (from P.J.)

Oscar Tobermory (from Lucy)

Lucia Frost (from Nicole)

Silvestra Snow (from eBirdie)

Juliet Ophira (from British Baby Names)

Jasper Deco (from British Baby Names)

There you have it, the best of all your lovely contributions in one place. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now I want to do some new combos from the two singles lists from today (Ask-designer singles and commenter singles), so that the designers and readers may join forces to create awesome combinations!

Designer/Commenter combos:

Celosia Boheme

Potter Inigo

Honora Cleonie 

Cedar Bedivere

Fergus Vine

Sundew Rie 

Clemency Aves

Georgina Kazu

Next up? more favorites, I think: mine and yours! 

Happy 2012! 

(images: one by nicolette owen, two from wiksten blog by jenny gordy, three from an apple a day by amy merrick, four from honey of a thousand flowers by sarah windward, five from me & arrow by brandon harmon, six from myrtle avenue bird town, seven from megan nealson's design diary by brett dierolf.)

Ask: Wongoers, Myrtle Avenue Birdtown

That's Wongoers-- Jennifer Wong and Daniel Goers-- above. They did this awesomely cool thing in Brooklyn back in 2010 called Myrtle Avenue Birdtown. They used their design, engineering, carpentry, and social skills to build a bird sanctuary (which also became a community sanctuary) by putting up fifty plus bird houses in Fort Greene.  They attracted local residents to get involved with the birds and their spaces by offering a birdhouse building workshop!  The project was a way for art, nature, and community to intersect.

 The idea came to Jennifer after Daniel made a few birdhouses for her. She saw a call for submissions for a project of this nature and thought that the birdhouses would be a perfect way to unite community around nature and art.

LOVE it when beautiful, meaningful ideas intersect. I wrote to them immediately when I read about this project, even though it's no longer up, because I just had to feature it.  I mean--birds, birdhouses, design, community... so, so cool.

a giant thank you to Wongoers for taking the time to answer some questions our Ask feature today!

That's Jennifer (above) making birdhouse kits for the workshop.

Jenn has a website about her many projects and creative endeavors, called Mochi Machine (love it! the name and the namesake!)  Jenn is also a photographer.  Here are some of her beautiful photographs:

(images)


And Daniel is currently working on a new business, Autumn Workshop, featuring some of his new designs; as well as a project called Scrap Ecology at Brooklyn's Saffron:

(image1, image2, image3, image4)


Interview time!  Let's hear from Wongoers!


1. In your birdtown description you say that Wongoers is 

--a collaboration between a stuffy engineer and an eager designer. 

 So, who is who?
In that description, I am the engineer and Daniel is the designer.  Most people assume that Daniel is the engineer, which I expected since society typically assigns gender roles to careers.  It's always fun being able to bend people's expectations.



2. What other projects do the two of you have going on now or in the future? Any more collaborations for public consumption?

I don't have plans for projects in the future at the moment.  I'm currently dabbling in upholstery and jewelry making, and hope to pick up screen printing. Daniel is mostly working on his own company, which you can read more about here and here:  

3. I love the thought behind Birdtown. I think my favorite element is that of unifying nature and  city living. Did you have a favorite aspect of this project: teaching, community, the birds, design, working with your hands?

My personal favorite aspect was that of community.  Watching people in the neighborhood check out the birdhouses then proceed to have a conversation with strangers about them was exciting for me.  I love the idea that art can bring people together.  I talk more about all that here.

4. Any tips for people who might want to arrange a Birdtown in their neighborhood-- where to go to find out about grant opportunities and how to apply?

 Tips for people who'd want to do a similar art project is to be active within their community.  Opportunities pop up all the time and the best way to find out about them is word of mouth, community newsletters, and non-profit websites.

5. For others wanting to make their own bird houses from found materials, any advice on where to look for materials for the project?

Go walking around on the streets the night before garbage day!  People throw out tons of awesome old materials you can use for birdhouses.  Or try to find a friendly neighborhood carpenter/woodworker/designer.  They may have some scrap wood that they want you to take off their hands.  :)

6. Your three favorite birds:

 I have favorite families and genera of birds, rather than species.  I love crows and ravens and many birds from the Corvus genus, hornbills and toucans from the Bucerotidae and Ramphastidae families, and kingfishers from the Halcyonidae family.  But I also love many birds of prey, pelicans, owls, and hummingbirds.

7. Anything to say about the importance of integrating the natural world with our day to day lives?
I think that it's important that people integrate the natural world with their day to day lives in order to better appreciate our humble beginnings and the importance of preservation.  However, my feeling is that preservation rather than integration is most important.  Loss of natural habitat for plants and animals is happening at an unmeasurable rate all around the world.  The more this happens, the less chance future generations will understand and experience the natural world as it should be.  My hope is that integration of the natural and urban world helps breed respect for nature and ultimately leads to preservation! 


8. Name game time!
Please help me create two names by answering the following questions:


Name number one:
1. For the first name--What is a bird whose name you love as much as birds, themselves?

Aves (the name of the bird class - I've always loved the sound of it) 

2. For the middle name-- the name of a person (first, middle or last) who spent a great deal of time or energy helping you guys make Birdtown so fantastic.

Bluedorn (the last name of one of our interns)

3. For the second middle name-- a word from the world of carpentry/architecture that you find beautiful in sound or meaning.

Joinery

Name number two:
1.For the first name-- another bird whose name you love as much as birds, themselves?
Halcyon (the genus of tree kingfishers) 


2. For the middle name-- another word from the world of carpentry/architecture that you find beautiful in sound or meaning.
Teak (a type of wood)


3. For the second middle name-- another person (first, middle or last) who spent a great deal of time or energy helping you guys make Birdtown so fantastic.

Willow (the last name of our contact at the Audubon Society)

Two beautiful names!
Aves Bluedorn Joinery 
Halcyon Teak Willow

Thanks, Wongoers! I had such a great time talking to you. We can't wait to see future projects and best of luck to you both in all of your current endeavors!


names from today's post:
Jennifer
Daniel 
Myrtle
Bird
Autumn 
Saffron 
Carpenter
Raven
Corvus
Hummingbird
Kingfisher
Teak
Joinery
Aves
Bluedorn
Willow
Halcyon

Additional favorite combos from today's names:
Saffron Carpenter
Teak Corvus
Autumn Aves
Myrtle Joinery
Daniel Kingfisher

I'm very excited about Wednesday's post, you guys! There will be some delightful surprise news and more lovely, chirping art. Stay tuned!

 Any favorites from today's lists? Any combos you'd like to see out there?

Aren't these birdhouses fantastic? What's the last thing you built?  Have you ever made anything from found materials? What are your favorite ways to bring the outside world into your home environments?

Happy Monday!

yoshimi battles the pink robots

What do these beautifully Zakka mugs,

This craft/sewing book, 

                                                           

and this  country house  have in common?   (image1, image2 is mine,  image3)                                                 

I think they all illustrate elements of a beautiful style, one that is perfectly echoed by the sounds of the names from the same country - Japan!

 I am going to try really hard not to blab too much on this post. But it's going to be hard for me. very hard (being pithy is not a talent of mine on any issue, much less one surrounded by such love and excitement).


Suffice it to say, I love many things Japanese. Our second daughter could have so easily ended up being called Umi Luelle, had it been as fitting for her. I often went by Kiko, myself, as a child.  

You guys, I love Japanese names!

Lullatone's music

was listened to often in my hawaiian mountain home while pregnant with Nona and name dreaming - all windows open, white curtains a blowin', the smell of flowers and rain pouring in.  They also have a lovely, personal, family-life sort of  blog. I love how their family life and their art each inspire the other. 

I have a soft spot for Yoshitomo Nara. The very first time I went to a museum in Hawaii was to see his exhibit.

Hawaii is absolutely filled with Japanese culture, particularly in my old neighborhood - it's one of the things I miss so terribly much about living there. image

 I first really got into Katsushika Hokusai's art in Hawaii, as well, because it was just all over the place.

  

But I took the time to really dig into it during a trip with my husband to Maui (we lived on Oahu) while staying in a beautiful guest house. The home was peppered with his stuff throughout -  prints on the walls, on the coasters, and a book on the coffee table. After snorkeling and eating, I'd take my sushi-stuffed, salty bod on the sun porch, pop my headphones in and stare at the images until I fell asleep (pre-children, of course.) (images)

Do you like Japanese sewing and craft books?

How fantastic is this kid's style? It can all be made right at home, too. 

I'm a Japanese craft book nut, as apparently are many others. There's this podcast about it. and this flickr group dedicated to it.

How about this art from Childlike Wisdom of Osaka, Japan!

isn't it lovely?

One of our absolute favorite movies around here is Akira Kurosawa's Dreams:

The photo above is from my favorite segment of the film. Beyond being stunning to behold, Dreams is made up of harmonizing shorts, about 15 min each, which I enjoy sharing with my kids sometimes.  Admittedly, there are some that aren't child appropriate, but I love that I get to read the translations and give them something soft, slow and beautiful that sparks their interest in travel and art. I think children really appreciate beauty and quality. I mean, of course they do!  and on that note...

This morning I woke up to June sitting quietly on our bed, staring up and pointing at this photo on our wall

It's by this student at University in Kyoto. I put it up in our room last year for June's birth and first weeks, so up it goes each summer now, somewhere where she can reconnect with it.  

I don't exactly remember how I found Terunobu Fujimori's work, as I found it during the insanely sleep-deprived era of Nona's first 18 months,  but I remember how it made me feel when I first saw it: elated, dreamy, and totally inspired.

(images1courtesy Dwell, image3 )

This song by Shonen Knife,

is one I used to sing to my kitty cat, Cassius,'Cas'. 

Mushishi is my new favorite nap-time pleasure on Netflix Instawatch. Each episode is about 24 min long. Sometimes I watch just to hear the song at the beginning (nerd!)

Some more of our favorite movies?  Hayao Miyazaki's - Nona was Kiki last Halloween. And I love this scene from My Neighbor Totoro. 

The ever lovely Miho Hatori with her ever lovely name!

Like Brazilian music? Check out this collaboration of hers with Smokey Hormel. (image)

 this lovely lady in Japan writes this pretty blog, called Life in the Slow Line, with super photos and links:

and to end beautifully before our list, check out Osamu Yokonami's photography (ahh, I adore it):

The name of this last photo is Kiki.

And on to the name list - because this post could easily be ten pages long. Perhaps this will become series here on Marginamia.

One of my favorite things about these names, beyond their admirable sounds, is that they all mean something beautiful, signifying the important role of meaning in names. I plan to talk more about their meanings in subsequent posts. I love the idea of setting beautiful intentions for your child in the picking of her name - gifting her with a beautiful quality you hope she enjoys on her journey.  

So from today's inspirations and musings, as well as some additional favorites of mine:

Sakura (cherry blossom)


Ume (pronounced Oo-may, means plum)


Umeko (plum blossom child)


Umi


Kiko 


Kiki


Kioko 


Kiku


Suzu ('bell')


Yoko


Niko


Koemi


Maemi


Mei


Satsuki 


Yoshimi


Sumi


Suki


Nara


Osaka


Reiko


Sachi


Yuki 


Yumi 


Yuri


Nui


Miho


Amaya


Rika


Ritsuko


Emi


Atsuko


Mana


Etsuko


Michie


Yuna




Midori (green)


Moe


Rin


Ren


Naoko


Sora


Nao


Riku


Ryo


Yoshi


Osamu


Yoshitomo


Katsushika


Terunobo


Akira 


Akeno


Maro


Tomeo


Torio


Toru


Hiroshi


Hiro


Isao


Yuto


Hiraku


Kaito


Kenzo


Noboru


Yori


Ginko

Don't you love Japanese names?  Did I leave out a favorite of yours? 

I won't do this hardly ever here on Marginamia, but lastly, if you want to help the people of Japan in continued efforts to recover from the tsunami, along with several of the links already provided which offer relief options, there are also these relief  options.  Those are lot of options - thank you Huffington Post!

and one last song for a happy summer weekend, because how can we not end with Yoko!