We love Café Koko! You simply have to visit this charming little coffeehouse! :)

Some pictures of nice atmosphere, great coffee and yummy cake:

They love changing the messages on this board rather frequently by the way! It's pretty cool and original.

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So awesome to know that Helsinki has a Sakura Natsumatsuri too, during Spring Time! ^-^

 

I'm always fascinated by how positive the relationships of Finland and Japan are. Their cultures are pretty close, I must say.

 

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Yesterday while checking out the Hakaniemi Market Hall, I chanced upon this really cute shop named "Figulus". It's essentially an arts-and-craft supply store. 

Figulus--The Shop Front!

I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't expect a wholesale-and-retail store at all--with really affordable beads/craft! Usually, if I do find such stores in Korea, Japan or Singapore, the prices would be jacked up like crazy. But the prices here are really affordable, with a galore of vibrant designs and colours, and the whole collection is generally so cute!

 They have really cute felt beads like these.

 And true to the spirit of omotenashi--Gosh, they do sell really pretty hand-made wrapping papers too.

I could buy a lot of things in the shop, if not for the fact that I'm in the process of moving house.Had to pinch myself to control...

What I was most surprised by is that most of the beads are sourced naturally and ethically--that is to say, no plastic! I found this concept intriguing, because while being environmental-friendly, there is something very charming about the pieces of jewellery.

You see the middle spike like thing? It's actually a fruit, and some beads are made naturally from its seeds. Pretty cool right? I don't even know beads can be made like that!

Heehee I love the buttons. It'd be perfect for crafts and notebooks!

I LOVE THIS BEAD! It has random words on it in latin alphabets and is close to comic-style, so I term it a bead with such character. :-)

Figulus does sell hand-made jewellery, paintings, and ceramics too!
All of those are hand-made by the same family who started Figulus. Essentially, Figulus is a family business, and I love how they operate according to the philosophy of being ethical and supporting the livelihood of women. I am also awed by the fact that every bead or jewelry sold in the shop has its own history, charm and story. If you think about it, the existence of the craft itself has a story.

Anyway, do check Figulus out here! They have a webstore. And here's their facebook page. You can find their brick-and-motar shop at Hakaniemi Market Hall, Level 2. It's pretty close to Marimekko!

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This is a uber-super picture-y post about OHMYGOSHASUPERCREATIVESHOP.

Yes, Sinelli! 

People who personally know me know that I'm super particular about paper quality. When I first came to Finland in January this year, Tiimari announced that they are bankrupt, and ran 70% sales for the longest time. But being Finnish-illiterate, I have no clue that the whole shop was on sale for a limited period of time, and therefore did not hoard paper. Biggest mistake of my life!

After I finally realized that they are going to be gone for good, I was depressed for a while, because I thought that the whole of Helsinki would not house nice paper anymore. Until I found Sinelli.

Such love!

I honestly love shops that heart paper. Such love cannot be described.

It goes something like-- OMGOMGOMGOOMGOMGOMGOMG.

People who talk in terms of 190gsm? 70gsm? 220gsm? kraft paper? gloss/matt? YEA! I love such folks.

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Draft No. 1 of book cover!

...Of my book "Moi Helsinki: A Gift for the Curious"!

It is the first draft of the cover, and I intend to revise it 10 times at least before it is published. I have issues with the font but I am uber happy with the design. Thanks so much to my designers and photographer! *.*

The very initial plan around six months ago was to do self-publishing for a small group of friends. However, this group seems to grow larger and larger with time, and I never expected so many Asian friends to be curious about Helsinki. It was therefore only recently that I considered getting a Finnish publisher.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions I get on a regular basis:

"Where are you going, Wan Wei? Sweden?"-- some would ask. Or,
"What's in Helsinki, Wan Wei? Just Santa Claus right?"-- Or,
"Hm but isn't there nothing in Helsinki? Just snow?"

And after talking to MORE curious folks about this book, they started to get really interested, and asked if I could host them in Helsinki. Off-hand over the last six months, I have hosted 3 Singaporeans and 1 Japanese family from my network, just by telling them that Helsinki is more fun than Sweden.

LOL.

Anyway, I digress. My point is that I realized from this experience that the group of curious Asians is HUGE, and I am convinced that they would LOVE Helsinki if only if they knew where to go, what to do, how to go...effortlessly! Currently, the Helsinki Tourism Board's budget for Singapore/South-east Asia tourism market is a grand total of zero, for instance. My Singaporean mom thought Nokia is Japanese. What's new?

But I do understand the tourism board's constraints very well, and because I love Finland, I hope this book kick-starts a whole wave of interest in Helsinki with much love from Asia. And via my recommendations as a fellow Asian shopaholic, I hope my book makes it easy for fellow Asian cosmopolitan travelers to navigate in the city. Currently, I'm exploring the opportunities for publishing with a Finnish publisher because I feel that Finns should read my book too.

I really hope this book can be sold at major Finnish bookstores. Because this is a book on Suomi afterall. =) It'd probably take 1-3 years to write but I hope it can be worth it!

I feel so happy writing this book, because I feel that Finns really love their country and flag. I hope all Singaporeans can one day say with 100% pride and conviction that we love our country and flag! Singapore is after all such a young country and our culture is constantly being moulded and remoulded!

Never knew my friends were such book worms 8-)

This draft cover garnered over 130likes on facebook within 12hours with 38 comments, so I am really happy about people liking the idea of this book!

Okay I gotta run, talk to you guys later. But feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment about this draft cover. I read and appreciate every comment, because essentially, this book is written for you!!

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If you are big on eco-friendly and sustainable products, this post is for you! We are featuring Nudge today! ^_^ Helsinki is actually a really eco-friendly city; Finns regard sustainability as a non-negotiable way of life and Nudge and Rulla is the best evidence that Finns do actively practice what they preach.

 

Yet--I wouldn't call Nudge a brand or a store--Nudge really is a way of life. The whole existence of this store signifies the possibility of living in style without compromising sustainability and ethics. We should have more stores like this everywhere in the world! Nudge offers a lovely curation of positive, nature-friendly products.

 

Nudge is a one-stop cozy area which houses trendy and ecological fashion wear and accessories for men, women and children. They have offerings which range from interior decoration and natural cosmetics. Also in store is a cafe named "Rulla", which has really fresh food! (More on that later).

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Today I am going to introduce the gem of a mall--Myyrmanni! ^_^

Myyrmanni--pronounced as "mue'er-man-ni"--is my favourite mall in the whole of Helsinki region. The main reason why I am doing this post is because I'm moving from Vantaa to Espoo, and my visits to Myyrmanni are thereafter limited. T.T I'd visited Sello thrice thus far, and Jumbo over twenty times, but the feeling I get from both malls is entirely different from Myyrmanni.

I hope readers of The Hieno Shops visit Myyrmanni at least once in Helsinki, because it really is a cozy and awesome mall. Sello and Jumbo are really good malls too of course, but they somehow aren't as cozy as Myyrmanni.
  

I therefore treat this post as a form of tribute to Myyrmanni-- for being the one-stop shopping centre that is always there to comfort me during the harsh Finnish winter, when I'm half dying of cold. And remember I told you Myyrmanni, that I always felt that it is a bit funny that www.VisitHelsinki.fi listed Jumbo as part of their shopping centres, but not you?

Well, this post will be archived forever in the online world, so tourists will be able to see how awesome you are as a shopping centre too!

I think I am mad. I'm talking to you, Myyrmanni, as though you're my best friend!!!

Okay dear friends, when you take the VR train, get off at Myyrmäki station. Myyrmanni is just ten steps away!! ^-^ Myyrmäki is in the Vantaa region, so be sure to pay the "region two" fare. Failing which, you might incur a 80Euros fine and still have to pay the region two fare anyway.
 

By the way, Myyrmanni has a direct bus number 51 to the airport. So you see, the argument of promoting Jumbo as a shopping mall because Jumbo is closer to the airport is not really valid in all sense of the word. Because if you are to stay in a hostel/hotel in Helsinki City Centre, it actually makes more sense to stop by at Myyrmanni for a last minute shopping spree--you can just take the VR train to Myyrmäki, and subsequently bus 51 to the airport!

Jumbo is in this place entirely inaccessible by train, so I really have no idea why tourists staying in Helsinki would want to travel to Jumbo, just to do last minute shopping?? I understand if they want to visit Flamingo (part of Jumbo too) for spa and clubbing, but otherwise, it makes more sense to buy your Fazer chocolate souveniers at Myyrmanni. I'd show you where to take bus 51 later.

Free reliable WIFI at Myyrmanni.

When you first enter the mall, you'd be greeted by the sweet inviting aroma of SUBWAY toast! They sell adrenaline-boosting cookies as well which make absolutely everyone happy. Yummy.

K-Citymarket at Myyrmanni is HUGE. They have absolutely everything--from clothes to food to furniture. And just a sidenote, somehow this K-citymarket always have free Fazer bread samples, which means that you can try these samples before you buy a big loaf of Fazer bread, often in different flavours. How thoughtful!

I love Stadium. I once bought 5 Tee-shirts for 2Euros each from Stadium at Myyrmanni. Super durable as basics!

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Rachel Zoe once said--"To me, accessories are more important than the clothes." I couldn't agree more! Imagine my excitement when I was looking through the Helsinki's Pop-in-the-store campaign, and found Juju Jewellery listed. They are a Finnish cozy jewellery boutique with really cool designs.

So I visited them yesterday! I love how they make everything look so exquisite.

This post is a teaser...because in the NEXT post, I'm going to interview the creators behind Juju Jewellery!

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