FORM FUNCTION FINLAND
No. 1, 1981
Eeva Siltavouri [Editor]
FINLAND. Eeva Siltavouri [Editor]: FORM FUNCTION FINLAND. Helsinki: Finnish Society of Crafts and Design, No. 1, 1981. Original edition. Text in English. Slim octavo. Thick photo illustrated perfect bound wrappers. 90 pp. Illustrated articles and period advertisments. Cover image by Oiva Toikka. Wrappers lightly worn, page edges uniformly sunned, but a nearly fine copy.
7 x 10 magazine with 90 pages well illustrated in black and whit with some color throughout. “Published in English, Form Function Finland specializes in Finnish design, architecture and the visual arts. Its Finnish and world-wide readership includes the general public, design experts, professional designers and decision-makers interested in Finnish culture. Founded in 1980, Form Function Finland is read in some 70 countries around the world.
“Form Function Finland is issued on a quarterly basis with specific themes related to current events and phenomena in design. We present top-level products in industrial design, as well as unique crafts pieces, classics, and new names, the people behind the design, and latest research. Our contributors are experts in the field - and expertise guarantees quality and reliability.”
- A trip into the child's world by Marja Kaipainen
- Toys as tools by Tutta Runeberg: manufacturers include Liinukka Oy, Oy Juho Jussila and Aarika Oy,
- A Finnish day care center is simple and cheerful by Marja Turkka
- Opinion by Tapio Periäinen
- New dimensions of product design by Eero Palaheimo
- Time without grace by Eeva Siltavuori
- Finland Designs—exhibition by Tuula Puisto: includes work by Anna-Maria Ospov, Maisa Turunen-Wiklund, Vivero Oy, Kaj Franck, Oy Wartsilä Ab, Maaria Wirkkala, Nöykkiö, Timo Sarpaneva and Iittala among others
- I love senseless things, a feast of color by Ulla Pallasmaa
- Design '81
- A cry from the bookstore shelf by Marja Kaipainen
- Counterpoints in Tapio Wirkkala's output by Pekka Suhonen: 6 pages with 19 black-and-white illustrations
- Design organizations in Finland by Tapio Periäinen
- My choice by Annika Rimala: includes work by Marimekko and Kaj Franck for Oy Arabia Ab
- Our organic heritage by Kaj Franck and Eeva Siltavuori: includes work by Tapio Wirkkala, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Muurame Oy, Alvar Aalto and Kalle Virtanen
- I never tire of watching a gull's glide by Eeva Siltavuori: overview of work by Dora Jung [6 pages with 14 illustrations, 7 in color]
- Finnish design in a big TV series, Pro Arte Utili by David Hasan
- 12 stops on a cultural tour of Finland
- A Finnish-French dialogue: It is a way of life, the soul of a country by Barbro Kulvik
- Stylism and theory, art and innovation by Barbro Kulvik
- Departments include Books, News and views, Exhibitions and Products and projects by Ritva Laureus [includes work by Timo Sarpaneva for Iittala, Göran Hongell, Oy Rukka, Kaj Franck for Oy Wärtsilä, Rudi Merz for Vivero and Marimekko
From the Design Forum Finland website: The Finnish Society of Crafts and Design was founded in 1875, when Finland was still under Russian control. The founders of the society were a group of influential people in the cultural arena and captains of industry. Examples were sought among Europe's foremost schools of industrial arts and crafts.
At first the society maintained a school which taught manual skills and assembled a collection of international industrial arts and crafts. On the initiative of a founder of the society, Professor of Aesthetics Carl Gustaf Estlander, a major new construction project was carried out together with the Finnish Fine Arts Association. The building which resulted from this, the Ateneum, became a museum and institute of education for Finnish fine art and industrial arts.
Gradually the school grew and won an established place as the leading Finnish college in its field. In 1965 it became owned by the Finnish state and it later became a university, the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Today it is the School of Arts, Design and Architecture of the Aalto University. The society also founded the Museum of Art and Design, which after an eventful history became owned by an independent foundation in 1989. Today it is called Design Museum.
The history of the society also includes the famous Finnish sections at Milan Triennales in the 1950s and '60s, the golden age of Finnish design, when many prestigious designers won awards and international fame with their products. The society also actively arranged touring exhibitions of Finnish and Nordic design. The best-known of these toured the USA in the 1950s and Australia and Asia in the 1960s. International activities have therefore always played an important part in the society's work.
After divesting itself of the school and museum, the society turned its efforts in a new direction. At the end of the 1980s, a new, international name was adopted, Design Forum Finland. The core business was to promote design among small and medium-sized industry as well as international operations. Operations settled down in the form of exhibitions in Finland and abroad, publicity and communications, publications, competitions and awards.
In 2015 the Society faced great changes. Design Forum Finland got a new strategy where its activities were mainly aimed at enhancing the use of design in SMEs.