Ten things I love about being in Finland

Last time I‘ve been feeling myself like recharging from busy summer. I‘ve taken a short break from blogging and was doing nothing in particular besides of re-organising my studio. It‘s been almost half a year since we‘re living here, so today I‘m coming with ten things I love about being here.

1.

Nature – well,it‘s not that ground-breaking, but it‘s very different from anything that I‘ve known before. It has very, like really very strong presence here, maybe because of not so many habitants. But not only. It is powerful and very mannifold up to the least detail.

2.
Seasons‘ change – it‘s beautiful and strong and colourful. It may be late, but when it comes, it‘s always like very wholehearted.
3.
Silence - somebody told me, that‘s why finnish people are sleeping the whole winter, so they are loud all summer long with many festivals and so on. Nevertheless I find, it‘s easy to find here silence and peace, even being next to finnish people, they are never intruding. 
4.
Sun - it may be like finnish people – mostly shining, never over-heating, and I like the way it lights up the nature, both in winter and summer.
5.
Colours of nature. That‘s because the nature takes a considerable place here, it‘s stunning, how many different colours, shades, shapes can be seen while taking a simple walk around. It is inspiration pure.
6.
Arts and crafts, actually with much stronger emphasise on crafts. Crafts that may be time consuming and physical, and maybe because of long winter here – like wood cutting, tapestry, pottery, lace making.
7.
Surface design is another important issue. There are so many motifs all around here inspired by nature, both in shapes and colours, and I can better understand it now being here and seeing all the stunning juxtapositions in original – in finnish nature.
8.
Finnish language – I start to feel myself less lost, I still cannot speak well, and my understanding of spoken finnish is even worse, but it somehow gets familiar. Our teacher has told us, we can do it within a year and I believe her.
9.
Fabric stores - beautiful solid cottons, mixed fabrics, more structured, less structured. It‘s far away from what I‘ve admired in continental Europe as awesome american patchwork fabrics, but I like their subdued and less loud voice here. And there‘s Marimekko for explosive colours.
10.
Second hand – kirpputori – for anything from vintage napkins to old furniture.