Joanna Laajisto » News

Edit Lamp press release

Joanna — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:39:16 +0000

Edit Lamp by Joanna Laajisto Creative Studio

It was through years of searching for a small and simplistic pendant to suit her projects that led interior architect Joanna Laajisto to design and create her own.

“When the idea of designing a light fixture started to form in my mind, I knew what it had to be: expressionless but interesting, and classic but modern all at the same time, which is true to my design aesthetic.”

Although Laajisto knew what she wanted, the design process was not easy.

The name ‘Edit’ was born through countless hours of designing, revising and editing. The result is a clean and minimal design that effortlessly lifts any space. The lamp is available in pendant and wall mount versions.

“The idea that the light could be fixed to the wall was especially intriguing to me. Wall lamps create a very special ambience”, says Laajisto.

The Edit Wall Lamp, attached to the wall with a simple metal bracket, provides task lighting over a table or next to a cozy chair. The classic and simple design makes it a decorative feature on its own.

The delicate size of the Edit Pendant Lamp allows for mounting in clusters over a table, yet works just as well as a single light, when the classic form really comes to life

Available in a range of finishes from black painted steel to a combination of black and either brushed steel or brass, the lamp has the ability to suit an array of interior styles. The lamp is handmade in a small workshop in Estonia, ensuring that from concept design to production, the lamps are created with care and attention to detail.

The Edit lamp can be bought from selected retailers and Formverk webshop
Download the catalogue here.

The fine print/ Edit Wall Lamp:

Wall bracket: Height 300mm, width: 200mm

Shade: Height 110mm, diameter 200mm.

Material: Black powder coated steel wall bracket, metal shade in all black or combination of brass/black or steel/black with a 4m black textile cord.

Light source: E27, max 60W bulb (smaller “golfball” recommended) or max 11W low-energy bulb.

The Fine Print/ Edit Pendant Lamp:

Size: Height 110mm, diameter 200mm.

Material: Metal shade in brass, steel, black or brass/ black combo with a 4m black textile cord.

Light source: E27, max 60W bulb (smaller “golfball” recommended) or max 11W low-energy bulb.

Joanna Laajisto Creative Studio

Joanna Laajisto Creative Studio is a Helsinki based design firm that, in addition to product design, specializes in creating commercial interiors and brand identities for the retail and hospitality fields.

Joanna Laajisto, the founder of her namesake studio, is a Helsinki based interior architect and designer who believes in creating environments that will last more than a passing trend.

Driven simultaneously by functionality and aesthetics, Laajisto’s philosophy is not to clutter the world with unnecessary things, but to find and enhance the hidden beauty of each space through creative solutions.

For more info and hires image request:
info@joannalaajisto.com

Pinata office in glorian koti

Joanna — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:06:27 +0000

The Animation Studio Pinata, which I have designed few years back, is featured in the May issue of Glorian Koti.
The main design concept of the project, an inspiring and home like office environment, is ponted out in the article well.
You can read the article (in Finnish) here.

Madame living

Joanna — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:41:37 +0000

The German magazine MADAME has just issued a special edition MADAME Living.
This issue is about design trends, architectural projects and international hotspots.
Here is a little feature of me and Bar and Co on the travel section. You can brouse through the beautiful magazine on MADAME´s home page. If you understand German, you can read the article here.

northern delights

Joanna — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:24:11 +0000

The established German publishing house Gestalten and one of the most popular interiors bloggers in Scandinavia, Emma Fexeus from Emmas Design Blog, have done a great collaboration.
An amazing book about Scandinavian design was just released few days ago. In addition to presenting iconic designs, the book focuses on the work of young talents who are consciously building upon local sustainable design traditions and further developing them in a way that is consistent, intelligent, and reflects an unerring sense of style.
I am very honored to be featured in the book among many great designers. You can read the interview here.
You can purchase the book here.

(5x) the secret of my style

Joanna — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 06:32:49 +0000

In the April issue of Finnish fashion and life style magazine Olivia, I reveal the key ingredients to my wardrobe.
You can read the article here.

kitchens and bathrooms

Joanna — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:05:58 +0000

I am featured in the newest Australian Kitchens and Bathrooms Quarterly magazine, which came out just few days ago.
In the article, called Global Designers, 4 international designers talk about their design sensibility as well as their style and thoughts about kitchen and bathroom design.
In addition to my self, Kelly Hoppen, Martin Brudnizki and Matthijs Van Cruijsen are featured in the article. I have great respect for all those designers and I feel very honored to be in their company.
You can read the entire article here.

Bar & Co in Australia´s belle magazine

Joanna — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:14:24 +0000

Bar & Co is featured in the March issue of Australia´s Belle magazine. We are very honored to be in the company of such great bar designs around the world.

testing testing..

Joanna — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:40:34 +0000

Here is a material palette for a project we are currently working on.
The image might look a little unclear to you, but it is photographed at sunset with dimmed incandescent lighting – in the actual lighting condition these materials are eventually going to be seen in.

This palette is going to a rewamped back rooms at one of Helsinki´s most popular bars – Grotesk. The lounge will re-open on Aprill for some fancy coctails and lounging.

internet famous

Joanna — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 11:41:42 +0000

We have been getting quite nice internet coverage lately. It is truly amazing how fast things spread around the web. I still get very exited everytime I see a project of ours on a webmag, blog or even on some one´s pinterest.

This is a snap shot of my office desk at the time I found out that Minna Parikka Flagship Store is featured on the front page of FRAME ´s web magazine yesterday. That is truly an honor, since Frame has been a favorite and a great source of inspiration for me for a long time.

Nordic Green Building Conference

Joanna — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:55:35 +0000

Last Thursday and Friday I spent at the Nordic Green Building Concil´s annual conference. This year it was held at the old Cable Factory in Helsinki. There were over 30 speakers from European Commission officials to architects, engineers and building owners. The message was clear: The number of new buildings in the nordic countries has recessed so the renovation of existing building stock is inevitable. These renovations have to be done smartly and eco-efficiently. These renovations have to be durable, flexible, timeless and built to last.

The most interesting lectures and workshops for me were about sustainable offices and future work spaces. The convetional workspace with closed offices, fixed workstations and large formal conference rooms is beng challenged by the young employees wanting flexibility, collaboration and mobility. At the same time the office space needs to promote health and wellbeing of it´s employees. Natural light, clean air, good accoustics, nontoxic finish materials and nature/house plants are key factors to a comfortable work environment. With smart planning, these offices can be much more efficient and even smaller in size then the conventional offices.

These are topics I have been talking about with my clients for years now. If you understand Finnish you can read my thoughts about smart office design in the Talouselämä magazine article here.

bubbles for the blues

Joanna — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:29:06 +0000

One Tiny Champagne bar has had very succesfull first couple of months! This shows that Finnish people don´t mind a little luxury between shopping or after work on a regular day (the bar is open only during Stockman’s business hours).
The tiny bar is featured in January-February issue of Helsinki This Week magazine so the visiting tourists can find it too.

Closet visit

Joanna — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:22:24 +0000

In the latest Anna magazine I am talking about my style,
but this time it´s in relation to fashion and clothes.
The interview is in Finnish but the main message is
that I like to look classic and casual at the same.
Too much effort never looks good to me.
Kind of like a mixture of elegant Parisians and relaxed and hip New Yorkers.
I invest in pieces that get a lot of use, such as bags, shoes and jackets.
Like classic design furniture, I would like these pieces to last a life time.
And even for next generations.
The photos were taken at two of my latest projects, Minna Parikka store and Bar & Co.
You can see the article here

grey floorboards

Joanna — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:43:32 +0000

We are moving to our new home in two weeks! I am so exited I can hardly sleep
At the moment the original wooden floorboards are being refinished.
After sanding they will be getting new paint coats.
This time it´s not white, like in our current home, but light grey.
Although we love white floors, we wanted a little more depth and warmth to this home.
The color that was chosen is Farrow & Ball´s Cornworth Grey. Its is still fairly light and slightly warm grey. I believe it will work well against bright white walls.

The reason why we chose Farrow and Ball is because, in addition to the great colors and paint quality, they are also water based and ecofriendly.
So suitable for a home with small children.

photos: Living etc, Appartment Therapy, Farrow and Ball

home remodel part 2

Joanna — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:37:59 +0000

Recently we purchased an appartment in the same building that we are currently living in. This pleace has great bones (balcony, lots of windows, more space..) but was in terrible condition when we bought it.
So here we go again: walls are moving, original floor boards and other details are being discovered under many layers from previous renovations and new bathroom, toilet and kitchen are going to be installed.
Right now we are in the most miserable phase, demolition, when it looks like this will never be liveable again. But I have fait! It will be great!
Here are some instagram shots I have taken and a loose material board for the remodel.

One tiny moment

Joanna — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:35:10 +0000

Early this morning we did a photoshoot for One Tiny Champagne Bar.
This is a leftover shot, which didn´t make it to the final selection.
But I love the mood in this picture!
The city on a rainy October morning can be quite poetic when you look at it through lace curtains .
Photo by Mikko Ryhänen

Minna parikka shop

Joanna — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:57:27 +0000

The project that I am most exited about at the moment is the new shop for the fabulous shoe brand Minna Parikka.
Design development and construction documents are now done and the place is under construction. The design concept for the shop is inspired by Minna´s SS13 collection, which I can´t share here yet. But I can tell you that the look is colorful, playful, sophisticated and luxurious all at the same time.
The site is located on Aleksanterinkatu, one of the busiest shopping streets in Helsinki, just few stores up from My o My, which I have also designed.
This haven for shoes, bags, scarves and gloves will open in November.

one tiny

Joanna — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:47:41 +0000

One Tiny Champagne Bar is one of the projects I have been working on lately. The location of this tiny bar couldn’t be better, on the exterior corner of Stockmann, Helsinki’s most prominent department store.
To suite it’s surroundings, the design concept borrows elements from Parisian cafés and the Art Nouveau period. But again, done in a contemporary and up to date way.
The color palette is light and fresh (soft mint green, cream and grey) unlike in a typical café from that period.
Some furnishing and fixtures will be designed by myself and some are from Nordic design companies, such as the new Form pendants from Design House Stockholm.
Champagne corks will start popping here in October!

fabel

Joanna — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:19:20 +0000

Fabel is a Helsinki based creative design agency, specializing in brand identities and visual communication. This agency is also behind my new visual identity – the website, logo, business cards and so on.
The process, which started early this year, was all the way inspiring and enjoyable. We always had a good espresso and chit chat during our meetings, alongside getting the work done. This is the way I like things to be done!
During one of our sessions I snatched a sheet of their business cards waiting to be cut. I thought the custom made print on the back side of it was so intriguing so I got it framed by a professional framer. And voilà!

crazy classics

Joanna — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 06:57:22 +0000

I am a big fan of bold classic patterns such as animal prints and ikat. People who know me know that I love to use them in clothes and accessories. But why not in interiors as well?! The more classic the print the more vivid and crazy the color combo can be without going over board. SS10 was a big season for Ikat in fashion (Dries van Noten left, Gucci on the right) and Louis Vuitton had bold animal prints in the SS11 collection. Few days ago I was fabric shopping for a private club interiors and came up with this combo. There is no harm in mixing seasons is there!

Copper sconce

Joanna — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:51:06 +0000

I know that warm metals such as brass and copper have been a trend for a while now, but in my opinion they just make perfect accents to certain interiors and I will probably continue using them in the future as well. Here is a candle sconce I designed for the Bar&Co bar/ bistro opening shortly in Helsinki. The design of the sconce is very ‘Form follows function‘, simply made of copper pipe and sheet by a local blacksmith. The dripping candle wax adds an extra touch.