Made in Helsinki 1700–2012

Neoclassical silver cream holder made by Helsinki-based Henrik Johan Sohlberg in 1791. Sohlberg worked as a master artisan in 1766–1791.

Master Henrik Johan Sohlberg’s stamp set on a silver cream holder. The letters i2 stand for the year of manufacture, 1791. The three crowns in the middle comprise the Swedish official hallmark and the boat shape is the city stamp for Helsinki. The last stamp is the master’s initials, HSB.

Square piano made of mahogany veneer by piano manufacturer Johan Christian Wancke. Wancke worked in Helsinki in 1839–1844.

Neo-rococo dresser made by master carpenter Erik Österman. The mahogany veneer dresser was made in the 1840–1850s.

Detail from a neo-rococo dresser made by Helsinki-based master carpenter Erik Österman in the 1840-1850s.

A mourning hat made by Eva Andersson’s fashion boutique in the early 1900s.

Eva Andersson’s fashion boutique stamp in the silk lining of a mourning hat from the early 1900s.

The name of Helsinki Steel Furniture Factory, established in 1932, was almost immediately shortened as Heteka, which also became the common name for a pipe-framed, netted bed.

Scarlet walking dress sewn by Helsinki-based fashion salon Ika. The tight-fit woollen cloth dress was made during the 1930s.

Children’s clothing design from the 1970s. The turnover jump suit and the wind cover by Helsinki-based EasyBeasy were big hits at contemporary playgrounds.

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Free entry

The Made in Helsinki exhibition presents Helsinki products and manufacturers from the 1700s to the present day. Master artisans in Helsinki manufactured sofa suites, mirrors, pianos and silver articles for wealthy bourgeois townsfolk. Toward the end of the 1800s, the development of mass production started to introduce everyday amenities and little luxuries for the working class as well.

With factories, design was born. The first steps were taken during the 1930s with the trademarked Heteka steel spring bed, which was the best-known contemporary design product in Helsinki. When Finnish design became world famous during the 1950s, Helsinki became the design capital of Finland. Companies such as Arabia and Marimekko pushed Finnish design around the world and the internationalisation efforts covered even designer clothes for air hostesses.

More information

Minna Sarantola-Weiss
Head of Research
Helsinki City Museum
Tel. +358 9 3103 6488
minna.sarantola-weiss@hel.fi

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Made in Helsinki 1700–2012

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