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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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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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Exhibition in Suonenjoki

My exhibition Etiäinen reflects the beliefs and customs related to visiting traditions in Northern Savonia, mixing these with the pandemic experience. The dreamlike works are created from mouth-blown glass in Riihimäki, Suomenlinna and Nuutajärvi. Etiäinen, which premieres in the Kellarikalleria art gallery in Suonenjoki, is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Join the Virtual 360 exhibition by Rautalampilehti from here.

Cell-series. Join the virtual exhibition by clicking the image above. Pic by: Markku Leskinen, Rautalampilehti
Orinnoro series. Pic: Tuire Punkki, Savon Sanomat. Click the image above to read the entire article from the Savon Sanomat newspaper.

The exhibition also highlights the cooperation in the field of Finnish studio made glass. I have worked with Kari Alakoski and Marja Hepo-aho from Riihimäki for years now. They specialize in the creation of massive sculptural glass. For example the voluminous Cell and Orinnoro series are blown by these master glass blowers. The Miekkavesi sculpture also has a special mixture of two very different mediums: fish skin and blown glass. Designer and cobbler Tytti Porvari from Mikkeli has made a fish skin belt for the glass sculpture. There are also multiple layered graal sculptures blown by me in Lasistudio Hytti ry, in Suomenlinna island. The exhibition venue, Kellarikalleria also has a special role in my journey as an artist. It is the very firs place I have seen art as a child.

The Mayor of the town of Suonenjoki, Juha Piiroinen opened the exhibition in Kellarikalleria gallery. Pic by Olli Kokander.
Tytti Porvari finishing the Miekkavesi sculpture that combines blown glass and fish skin belt. Pic by Jari Ikonen
See a video from the exhibition by YLE by clicking the image above. Pic: Marianne Mattila, YLE

I have collected material for the exhibition through newspaper ads as well as local social media, asking what sort of customs people have in their family. For example, coffee drinking has a rich tradition. It is very precise which cup is offered to the guest or how when after the invitation it is appropriate to go to the coffee table. Also, if the spoon, a knife or a fork falls to the floor it can predict weddings, male or female guests.

In some families, Grandma knew to make coffee before the guests arrived because she had Etiäinen. The footsteps walked inside and sat in the living room for coffee. The quest soon walked in. Etiäinen, the name of the exhibition means an impression of a person, that walks before us, doing everything we are about to do before us. It’s in a way a living shadow of a person.

One important story in the exhibition is by a 17 years old woman that was planning a small wedding party with her sister during the first months of the Pandemic. She wondered if soap bubbles can spread the virus; How something innocent and beautiful can become frightening. This theme is mirrored in the Cell-sculptures of the exhibition.

Kahvi-sculpture mirrors the coffee drinking traditions, etiäinen-omens and pandemic experience as a dream like scene. Pic: Tuire Punkki, Savon Sanomat. Read the article from the link

The exhibition is open in Kellarikalleria, Suonenjoki 2 – 24.6.2021. After this it will continue to Gumbostrand Konst&Form in Sipoo and Art Museum Eemil in Lapinlahti.