TOP 5: January’s fresh finds – the most inspiring new products of the month

Another trip around the sun, and here we are – a new year with its bag of surprises. However, there are a few constants in life, like the endless attraction of good design. Once again, Design Stories has curated this month’s most irresistible finds at Finnish Design Shop just for you. Check out our favorites and pick up yours!

Checkered mat

LAYERED's Chess wool rug kicks off spring in style – what else could this wool rug, adorned with sage green and off-white chess pattern, evoke but the gentle awakening of nature in its lush shades of green?

If you're losing hope for spring to never arrive, worry not: handwoven from genuine wool, the Chess rug has an incredibly soft surface that is perfect for lounging and relaxing on. So curl up and keep on hibernating, if you feel like it!

• LAYERED's Chess wool rug >
• All products by LAYERED >

Set the table with Moomin

Arabia's Moomin ABC mugs are decorated with adorable initials featuring various Moomin characters. The mugs' Moomin alphabet is based on Tove Jansson's hand-drawn initial capitals and lettering created for the book The Memoirs of Moominpappa as well as her maps of Moominvalley.

This spring, the adorable collection is completed with the letters A, D, F, I, N, R, S, and Y, all charmingly decorated in a Moomin style. As you sip your morning coffee, you may well wonder what words you could come up with in the Moomin letters!

• Arabia's Moomin mug, S >
• All products by Arabia >

Stylish Snoopy

Flos' cheerful Snoopy table lamp is both named and shaped after Snoopy dog from the Peanuts. Just check out the green shade of the lamp – doesn't it have a very beagle-like silhouette? The Snoopy luminaire was designed by Italian architect brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni originally in 1967, and Flos has updated it today with a modern touch sensor dimmer.

• Flos' Snoopy table lamp >
• All products by Flos >

Fun over perfection

“I’m not looking for perfection. I want it to be fun!” famous designer Oiva Toikka once said – and yes, indeed, the fun he has given us. The playful Helle plate is a great example of that. The plate belongs to the Helle collection which is decorated with colorful, vibrant patterns based on original sketches and drawings found in the archives of the legendary Finnish glass artist, providing joy to both day-to-day life as well as on special occasions.

• Iittala's Helle plate >
• All products by Iittala >

Spring up your kitchen

The final member of the January newcomers quintet also provides a refreshing update to the kitchen. The acclaimed Pritzker Prize-winning architect David Chipperfield and Michelin-starred chef Pietro Leemann have joined forces to create the simply elegant Convivio series for Alessi, including a cookware set that unifies the entire cookware collection at one. The set includes two pots of different sizes, a frying pan, a smaller pan, and three matching lids.

• Alessi's Convivio cookware set >
• All products by Alessi >

See also:

• What's new at Finnish Design Shop >

Text: Susa Pääkkönen Images: Manufacturers