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The Pulse of Family Business: Designing The Family Enterprise Award

In the video made by OneMinStory, glass artist Sini Majuri reveals the symbolism and inspiration behind the award piece as she shapes it in the historic surroundings of Suomenlinna.

It was a great experience to design an award for the Finnish Family Business Association. The choice of using mouth-blown glass as the material for the award resonates with the heartbeat of family entrepreneurship. Glass, a globally rare art form with a nomination pending for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, echoes the delicate balance of strength and fragility. It’s a dance of temperature and timing, much like the steady pulse that sustains a living being. In each glassblower’s breath, there’s a rhythm that shapes the material, paralleling the heartbeat of family-run businesses that throb with passion and dedication. Each generation brings its unique breath to the process, infusing the business with fresh ideas while maintaining the warmth of tradition.

sydän palkinto palkintoesineen suunnittelu, palkinnon suunnittelu, mittatilauspalkinto helsinki, lasipalkinto, mitalli, pokaali, mittatilauspokaali
Hearth is not just an organ that sustains life. It’s a universal emblem of love, passion and enduring strength – qualities intrinsic to the soul of family entrepreneurship – lifeblood of commitment and the pulse of generations working harmoniously.

Since the establishment of the award in 2004, and its renaming in 2012 as the Peter Fazer Award, the award celebrates the symbiotic relationship between tradition and innovation. This year’s recipient, MSK Group Oy, stands as a testament to this idea. As a multifaceted high-tech family enterprise, they exemplify the heart’s resilience – pulsating with a blend of heritage and modernity, echoing the continuous rhythm of progress.

lasitaiteilija, palkintoteos, mittatilauspalkinto, design palkinto, tilauspokaali, pokaali, mitalli, palkinto, lasi, contemporary glass, nykytaide, scandinavian design, helsinki, suomenlinna
Blowing the Glass Award for Family Businesses in the Historic Suomenlinna Glass studio Hytti.

The creation of the glass heart, a process rich in tradition and precision, was a narrative beautifully captured by Antti Sipilä and Samppa Fjäder from OneMinStory‘s team. Their documentation brought to light to the artistry of glassmaking. It’s interesting how the development of lenses, a milestone in human history, was predicated on the mastery of glass, illustrating the profound influence this material has had on our perspective of the World. Similarly, family businesses embody a cornerstone technology within the social fabric.

In every family business, like in the breath-controlled art of mouth-blown glass, there’s a steady, rhythmic beat of adaptability. This glass heart reflects the enduring spirit of these enterprises. It’s not just a symbol of recognition; it’s a metaphorical echo of the heartbeat that drives family businesses. In the core of every endeavor, there lies a pulse, a steady throb of identity and passion, pulsating towards a future that reveres its past while boldly embracing the new.

The video of the process is by OneMinStory.

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Exhibition in G12, Helsinki

lasitaide lasiveistos nykytaide
Snake-shaped chandeliers that weep tears, symbolize the complexities and struggles of domestic life. Snake is a symbol of rebirth and transformation, and a metaphor for the primal, animalistic urges that lie dormant within us. In many cultures, snakes are seen as both symbols of healing and destruction.

Homes are more than mere structures that we inhabit. For they serve as reflections of our innermost thoughts, emotions, and concealed identities. Sini Majuri’s latest sculpture series delves into the non-physical dimensions of our existence.

Sini Majuri’s glass exhibition is open in G12 Gallery in Helsinki from April 22 till May 11, 2023. Pieces blend the tangible and intangible, the old and new, and the handmade and digital. By blurring the lines between art and science, Majuri hopes to capture the ever-evolving nature of art and the human experience – and challenge viewers to consider is it possible that technology could unlock new depths of creativity – Or will it ultimately lead to a loss of authenticity and soul?

The glass sculptures portray layers of feminine countenances of the human psyche. By toying with ugliness and beauty, these works invite to think about the intricate nature of human perception and the multifaceted dimensions of aesthetics. Similarly, the image of a woman with layered faces represent the different roles that women play in society, as well as the complex nature of femininity itself.


Majuri’s work portrays homes as both a sanctuary of comfort and a site of trauma, using symbols like the weeping serpent and layered women to represent the nature of our subconscious. Glass, with its transparency and fragility is a metaphor for the human mind, which is complex and multifaceted. We may curate our homes to reflect a certain image or ideal, but behind closed doors, there may be hidden struggles and complexities that we keep hidden away from view. Antimatter series is showcasing both the light and the dark aspects of domestic life. While Finland ranks as the happiest country in the world, domestic violence remains a significant problem. The transparency of glass reminds us that what we see on the surface may not always be the full story.

lasinpuhallus lasitaide nykytaide veistos
Antimatter series mirror the theme of Homes, how they are the vessels of our being, the repositories of our memories, for they are more than mere structures that we inhabit. Sculptures also offer a reminder that healing and growth are possible, even in the face of trauma and adversity

Glass as a medium highlights the idea of transparency and the power of seeing through barriers. In the same way that glass reveals what lies beneath its surface – sculptures invite viewers to explore the hidden layers of our own consciousness and the stories that we often keep concealed. Transparency underscores the importance of vulnerability and honesty in our relationships, both with ourselves and with others. Glass is a material that is both fragile and strong, transparent and reflective. These qualities are a metaphor for the contradictions and paradoxes that we encounter in our lives.

Sini Majuri’s Artist Meet 4.5 at 12.00 in G12 Gallery, Annankatu 16.

Listen Sini Majuri’s interview in Radio Helsinki from here.

Images by Juha-Matti Vahdersalo

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New York Fashion Week

FLYING SOLO

Infinity Vessel boldly steps onto the catwalk at New York Fashion Week on February 2024. The Flying Solo fashion show, which is held annually on the roof top surrounded by skyscrapers, gathers a global coverage of current fashion. Infinity vessel is exhibiting an eight-piece collection of wearable glass sculptures, such as crowns that explore femininity and the state of society. Glass crowns can be made-to-order from the master craftsmen of the Infinity Vessel project.

The Flying Solo show is one of the most cutting-edge fashion events during New York Fashion Week presenting a wide array of womenswear, menswear and accessories. Every season, Flying Solo discovers new talented independent designers from across the globe. The show has been featured in Fashionista, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Vogue, Marie Claire, Nylon, and Harper’s Bazaar.

Glass crowns exshibited in the NY Fashion Week Flying Solo catwalk show are handmade in Finland
Scandinavian design
Scandinavian design crowns are made-to-measure pieces
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ROBOBALLET in Helsinki

Roboballet Finland

When a machine looks back at us, what does it see? Join us on February 1 – 2.2023 at the Suomenlinna sea Fortress in Helsinki to see how dance artist Mira Ollila interprets the shades of humanity while dancing with Boston Dynamics Spot robot. Roboballet is a new chapter in the Infinity Vessel series by glass artists Sini Majuri and Marja Hepo-aho, where contemporary glass is intertwined with dance and technology. THE ROBOBALLET SHOWS ARE FULL.

Dive into the interactive hologram piece and sculpture exhibition which will spread out in Tenalji von Fersen hall. Exhibition will be open for two days: February 1 – 2. The intensive ten minute dance performances are held at regular intervals. The exhibition and show are open and free to the public.

The ballet’s music is composed by Petri Pulkkinen and Janne Jääskö the holoprojections and interactive art of the work are produced by Craneworks Oy. The choreocraphy of the dance is by Heidi Lehtoranta and Mira Ollila. Robotics has been implemented in collaboration with Aalto University’s robotics department.

THE ROBOBALLET SHOWS ARE FULL.

The exhibition space is located on the upper floor, which is accessed by stairs. Those who need a lift are asked to register in advance so that we can arrange staff to help.

Roboballet Finland
Mira Ollila dances with a Boston Dynamics Spot in the Roboballet

In Finnish

Kun robotti katsoo meitä, mitä se näkee? Tanssitaiteilija Mira Ollila tulkitsee ihmisyyden sävyjä tanssiessaan Aalto Yliopiston robotiikan laitoksen ohjelmoiman Spot-robotin kanssa. Teos on osa lasitaiteilija Sini Majurin ja Marja Hepo-ahon Infinity Vessel-kokonaisuutta, jossa klassiset taiteen alat sekoittuvat nykyteknologiaan. Interaktiivisen teoksen musiikin ovat säveltäneet Petri Pulkkinen ja Janne Jääskö. Teoksessa laulaa Hanna Wendelin. Craneworks Oy vastaa kokonaisuuden holoprojisiosta.

Tanssiteos kestää 10 minuuttia (järjestetään tasatunnein) ja on osa Tenalji von Fersenin saliin levittäytyvää veistosnäyttelyä, jossa hologrammi taide yhdistyy klassiseen lasiin ja ihmisten ilmeisiin keinoälyn välityksellä reagoivaa musiikkimaisemaa.

Esteettömyys: Näyttely sijaitsee Tenalji Von Fersenin salissa, jonne on käynti portaita myöten. Hissiä tarvitservia pyydetään ilmoittautumaan etukäteen, jotta voimme ohjeistaa rakennuksen sivustalla sijaitsevan hissin käytössä.

roboballet finland helsinki
Roboballet has two event days in Helsinki Finland

Schedule

Dance Show

February 1. 2023 FULL

17.00, 18.00 and 19.00 PM

February 2. 2023 FULL

15.00, 16.00, 17.00 and 18.00 PM

Exhibition

February 1. 2023

15.00 PM – 20:00 PM

February 2. 2023

15.00 PM – 19:00 PM

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Infinity Vessel productions in Venice

Communication installation by glass artists Sini Majuri and Marja Hepo-aho was exhibited at The Italian Glass Week’s HUB exhibition arranged in the Palazzo Loredan in Venice on 17 – 25 September 2022. The exhibition consisted of design objects by Majuri and Hepo-aho. The deeper message of the installation was to evoke discussion about the state of the contemporary glass and the artist’s responsibility as a reflector of time. The HUB installation is connected to Infinity Vessel production which was not accepted in the glass week’s program. How ever the rejected project mirroring the state of the society was welcomed to the Berengo Studio in Murano. Read an article about the exhibition at Savon Sanomat Newspaper.

In Finnish mythology and culture a swamp has a strong meaning. It is an intermediate space between water and earth, the present and the hereafter. It is where unwanted babies and misfits of the society were drowned to. In the Communication production the swamp represents the taboos of the society as well as glass field. Photo: Juha-Matti Vahdersalo

Artists gave a lecture in the Hotel Saturnia to open the unique challenges and characteristics of the field from the perspective of Finnish and international glass. Glass artists are often asked to exhibit safe, beautiful, Scandinavian objects – as the contemporary glass, which deals with society’s taboos, is in a challenging situation in front of financiers and industry institutions. These actors define the field and what kind of art is accepted.

The images by photographer Juha-Matti Vahdersalo mirror the theme of the Communication and Infinity Vessel productions – how artist must take the responsibility to highlight the taboos of the time. Scandinavian design objects rise up from the swamp – as the topics that are not to be talked about. The United Nations International Year of Glass 2022 has a significant meaning, as the endangered craftmanship is also being arranged to the Unesco’s World heritage listing. 
Paradox – Noa Milo is a part of the Infinity Vessel project exhibited in Murano. Glass vessel can be seen as a womb, a surface between an individual and the society. Fetus is the potential and hope sheltered by the insubstantial skin. Artists are using ornaments from Finnish and Ukrainian tradition. Golden hand painted pine needle is a symbol of bravery as the serpent is a protecting element. Bronze cast: Arto Hyyryläinen. Glass blower: Kari Alakoski. Photographer: Francesco Barasciutti, Venice 2022

The Communication project is connected to the Infinity Vessel production that opened in Berengo Studio in September 17th 2022 – outside the official glass week program. The triptych with an exhibition, show and a treasure hunt combine glass with multiple innovative technologies. Augmented reality and holographic art are mixed with glass that reflects the lovelessess in society; what happens to an individual when humanity and emotions are disconnected from the surrounding community. The project started when the artists decided to comment on the War in Ukraine, pandemics as well as the women’s rights.

The live glass blowing show in Berengo Studio had Teemu Nurmelin from Finnish National Theater as the visual designer. The starting point of the show is to contemplate the glassblowing demo as its own unrecognized art form. In the article of Savon Sanomat newspaper it is written, that “the experience of the glass show turned out to be powerful on many levels. A strong sense of trust was created between the audience and the artists when the hot glass mass revealed the details of the work as part of the storytelling. Some of the audience wanted to share their feelings after the show, some even cried”.

The Infinity Vessel project has more than 20 professional from different fields of technology and art in the production team. The holographic projection is by Craneworks Oy. The Infinity Vessel production is supported by Asko Foundation.

The third part of the triptych, a hunt of valuable glass artifacts hidden through the city of Venice and Murano island as a real life adventure. Visitors were encouraged to seek out sculptures and discuss the topics of the project on social media. In the treasure hunt, artists wanted to shake off the stigma of elitism from glass art, so they offered thousands of euros worth of unique glass to the public on the principle of “the finder gets to keep”.

Infinity Vessel contemporary art project pushes the limits of the ancient art of glass. A documentary about the birth and reception of the Infinity Vessel is also being made, directed by Ditte Uljas. The project is part of Corning Museum of Glass’s collection in New York.

The next Infinity Vessel show will be arranged in Detroit 2023 as the movie will be premiered in the Glass Art Society’s annual conference. The Noa Milo sculpture is also exhibited at Art Miami at the Berengo Studio’s booth in November 2022.

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Orinnoro Collection is Now Customizable

Would you like a small piece of art to adorn and enhance your home? The Orinnoro collection now offers customization options for its petite glass jars, which comes with a lid and cast broze pinecone. Customers can select their preferred glass colors for both the jar and the lid to match their personal tastes. To commission your piece, either call, send an email, or effortlessly connect through our contact form at the link.

The bronze pinecone is cast from studio-made bronze, ensuring meticulous attention to detail and unmatched quality. Alongside jazzing up the colors of our petite Orinnoro pieces we also offer the option to order grander pieces from the collection, featuring intricately integrated bronze/glass chandeliers. They’re a bit more of a project to put together, but so worth it. Fancy knowing more? Just hit up Sini, she’s got all the answers.

contemporary art helsinki
Every petite Orinnoro is crafted by hand in Finland, signed and numbered. Choose from our spectrum of colors, including two opaque opal options and seven clear shades, to adorn both the lid and the base. When you’re ready, reach out to usIn the image there are Opal turquoise lid and pink base glass.
nykytaide contemporary art helsinki finland
It’s crucial to note that glass, being a dynamic medium, doesn’t adhere to a static color spectrum. Lighting conditions can significantly influence the appearance of its color. Therefore, it’s essential to appreciate that the colors of artworks crafted from glass are invariably unique.

Begin by exploring our diverse color range with two rich opal shades and seven vibrant transparent colors for your choosing. Once you’ve curated perfect combination for both the jar’s lid and base, simply contact us through phone, email, or our online form to place your order. After confirming every nuance of your request, we will meticulously craft your personalized jar. Soon, a distinct Orinnoro piece, echoing your chosen aesthetic, will arrive, ready to enrich your space.

Orinnoro is a tribute to the Orinnoro gorge of Leppävirta in my home region in Finland – symbolizing the depth, resilience, and timelessness of nature. It mirrors the world of glass: a material, like a gorge, is shaped by time, pressure, and artistry. The pinecone, a seemingly modest harbinger of nature’s quiet yet profound mysteries has been emblematic of the mathematical intricacies inherent in our universe. Each delicate scale, harmoniously arranged in nature’s precise algorithm, whispers tales of age-old wisdom and the intrinsic patterns that dance silently yet potently through all existence.

Each customized small Orinnoro item is set at €1350. Please note that this price does not include VAT and shipping costs. For a comprehensive quote encompassing all fees and to inquire about the current lead time, do not hesitate to reach out.

The grand Orinnoro pieces

Within the larger Orinnoro pieces, a delicate balance is masterfully achieved as weighty bronze crystal chandeliers and sculptures are seamlessly integrated within the glass. These grander items, with their intricate details and pronounced presence, serve as statement pieces for any space. Contact Sini to hear more about the large Orinnoro objects.

Contact

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Design Helsinki

Welcome to Design Helsinki! Sini Majuri will exhibit at the International Design Pavilion at Kasarmitori, Helsinki. During the two day event 24 – 25.8 you can meet Sini at the booth B17 and see her latest collections of contemporary glass! Join the show and get your entry ticket from here.

Sini Majuri will exhibit her award winning collections of glass, for example the Pikku vase made in Suomenlinna, Helsinki.

With expansive global reach spanning architects, interior designers, dealers, retailers, specifiers and more, Design Helsinki will be Media 10’s first Nordic event and will showcase leading Finnish and international interiors brands presented in a series of showroom events, exhibitions and specially commissioned installations around the city centre. Taking place 24-25 August, Design Helsinki will highlight the profound influence that Scandinavian design and its commitment to sustainability has on the architecture and design industries.

Featuring an unmissable programme for design, the two-day festival will bring the area to life with festivities to match. Immersive installations will line the streets, a curated exhibition will showcase the latest contemporary design products, delectable food and drink partners will offer a variety of discounts and deals, topical talks will highlight the industry’s most pressing issues within the city’s famed Design Museum and much more. The event will celebrate the area’s local design showrooms who will welcome architects, designers, dealers, retailers and more through their doors with a jam packed programme of events. 

Design Helsinki will be a fun-filled design festival consisting of 1 international pavilion featuring 40+ leading brands, 40+ resident design showrooms, engaging installations, topical talks with leading creatives, hundreds of programmed events and tantalising deals across Helsinki’s restaurants and bars.

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FRESH- Contemporary Glass From Finland, Venice Glass Week

Sini Majuri is the founder of a project that takes Finnish glass to The Venice Glass Week in September 2021. FRESH – Contemporary Glass From Finland presents eight glass professionals; artists with decades of experience as well as new talents. Each with a unique, recognizable style in using glass as a medium for their artistic expression. The FRESH exhibition at the Bel Air Fine Art gallery will take place from 4 to 12 September 2021. The unique works of art included provide an exquisite cross-sectional view to contemporary studio glass from Finland. The FRESH team also arranges multiple glass demo’s in Berengo and Wave Studio in Murano as well as lectures during the glass week.

The artists of the FRESH team are: Camilla Moberg, Sini Majuri, Marja Hepo-aho, Anna Schroderus, Helmi Remes, Anna-Kaisa Kukkonen-Madi, Paula Pääkkönen and Anu Penttinen

FRESH – Contemporary Glass From Finland exhibition presents a harmonious aesthetic of the North, which meets a delicious use of materials and weightless expression. Created in the artists’ studios, the works have been born of universal themes such as time, memories, emotions and nature. At the same time, they convey a laid-back and happy, playful even, approach to glass as a traditional artistic material. The artists all share a passion of producing high-quality Finnish studio glass objects, inspired by a fresh and bold new approach. The exhibition is an aesthetic and fragile, yet abundant and open-minded ensemble that complements the overall program of the Venice Glass Week.

FRESH is quality of expression. FRESH represents new contemporary glass art from Finland. The works have been made in well-known Finnish studios: Mafka&Alakoski, Lasismi, Glass Studio Hytti and Lasikomppania Glass Cooperative. The FRESH group also arranges multiple demonstrations, lectures and online events during the glass week.

My sculpture Antimatter will be exhibited at the glass week.
The Cell-series will be both in Bel Air Fine art as well as in The Venice Glass Week HUB in Palazzo Franchetti

The Venice Glass Week is the international festival that the city of Venice dedicates to the art of glass, with a programme that includes exhibitions, demonstrations, guided tours, online events and more. The fifth edition will take place from 4th to 12th September 2021.

EVENTS

Exhibition opening. Bel Air Fine Art. September 4th at 17 PM

FRESH – Contemporary Glass From Finland exhibition. Bel Air Fine Art, Dorsoduro. Dorsoduro, 728 – Dorsoduro I-30123 Venice. From September 4 to September 12

Demo in Wave Studio, Murano: Sini Majuri, Marja Hepo-aho, Paula Pääkkönen. September 4th. From 10-00 AM – 14.00 PM. Wave Murano Glass Srl – Ramo da Mula 5/1 – Murano

Lecture: Graal: Visual Poetry. Sini Majuri. September 5th. From 13 PM to 14 PM. Hotel Saturnia International, Conference room.

Lecture: Marja Hepo-aho. September 5th 2021. 14.00 PM to 15.00 PM. Hotel Saturnia International, Conference room

Demo in Berengo Studio: Sini Majuri. Etiäinen. Berengo Studio. Murano. September 6. From 15 PM to 16 PM. Berengo Studio, Fondamenta dei Vetrai 109/a, 30141, Murano, Venice

Demo in Berengo Studio: Marja Hepo-aho. Eternal and fragile. Berengo Studio. Murano. September 6. From 16 PM to 17 PM. Berengo Studio, Fondamenta dei Vetrai 109/a, 30141, Murano, Venice

Demo in Berengo Studio: Paula Pääkkönen. Delicious delicacies. Berengo Studio. Murano. September 6. From 17 PM to 18 PM. Berengo Studio, Fondamenta dei Vetrai 109/a, 30141, Murano, Venice

Guided tour
FRESH – Contemporary Glass from Finland
September 7thFrom 14 PM to 15 PMBel Air Fine Art, Dorsoduro

ONLINE: LIVE From Riihimäki
20th August 18.00 PM (Venice time), 19.00 Finnish time
https://youtu.be/rQOzEbVU_cY

ONLINE: Live From Nuutajärvi
26th August15.00 PM (Venice time)

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Bumpy for DutZ Collection

Sini Majuri designs a collection of glass vessels for DutZ Collection. Bumpy vases are created in blue, gold and grey color. The collection is awarded with a Silver A’Design Award from Italy in 2021.

Collection plays with contrasts. High quality meet rough glass shards that look as ornaments when placed on the rim of the vessel. Calm Scandinavian color palette brings harmony to the studio made vases that are inspired by the textures of melting ice. The concept of the design is to flirt with organic shapes and poetic glass medium.

The collection is inspired by the melting ice. The icy texture in every vessel has it’s special charisma.
The shape of the vessel is oval. Every piece is mouth blown and shaped by hand.

Bumpy vases are mouth blown and shaped by hand.

Bumpy vase finds its place on the windowsill, side table or as a gorgeous centre-piece on the dining table. This model is suitable for just one flower branch, but it is also beautiful with nothing at all in it. Unique Bumpy vase fits well in every interior.

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Flow collection brings 3D perspective into abstract brush strokes

The Flow edition gains inspiration from the elegance of the movement of liquid glass that is frozen into a stasis that is fragile yet forever. The rhythm of the glass making process ensures that every vessel has unique splashes of color that mimic the dance of brush strokes of abstract impression. Every vase has their own breath. It’s a methaphor for a soul of a piece that makes it more than mere interior object. Flow is a 3th edition of Sini Majuri’s Jungle series that has been awarded with a Golden and Silver A’Design Award.

The Flow is a 3th edition of Sini Majuri’s Jungle Collection. Every vase has it’s own color play inside a thick glass.
Every vessel is studio made in Finland and shaped by hand.

Flow collection mixes Scandinavian cool with capricious Finnish glass blowing techniques that allow color flow freely within the glass layers. Collection has three shapes and the design is available in green, blue and purple. Studio made vases are signed by hand and numbered.

A simplified shape can become multi-dimensional in glass medium; There is the visual layer of glass: how does the glass reflect, how will the colors look in different light. Above all there are also the historical layers of glass, the origin of Finnish glass making and the rare knowledge behind the craftsmanship.

Inquiries of the Flow Collection via email. Manufacturing time of orders with more than 10 objects is 2 weeks. For international orders, please ask for a quote with shipping fee.

Flow Collection is made in wide (20 cm tall), small (9 cm tall) and tall (23 cm tall) shape.
Every piece is an unique artwork.
The process of the Flow Collection ensures that every vase has a unique color play inside the hand shaped glass. Made in Mafka&Alakoski studio, Riihimäki, Finland.