Nide Kirjakauppa

Both Hanna and I are in love with bookstores. We covered a few months ago wonderful Arkadia, and its second hand wonders. Now, as artists, we are going to talk about a very special art bookshop today : Nide, which means book binding in Finnish.

There are quite a lot of things happening at the moment in terms of independent book scene in Helsinki. For one thing, it's important to mention some really great small publishers (e.g. Kosmos, Poesia) and some great, more established ones (e.g. Siltala, Teos). There's also a really good literary festival, Helsinki Lit. They're doing their second festival this spring with some interesting literary evenings and poetry jams to look forward to. The independent bookstore scene hasn't been really that active for many years. One thing Helsinki especially lacked was good art & visual culture bookstores, but now Nide is here to fill in the gap.

At Nide, you can discover so many different kinds of books, so everyone can find something for themselves. To see and feel artbooks in your hand is very important, you cannot get that feeling if ordering from internet. Also when ordering from internet there's no possibilities for coincidence: when browsing your favourite art books from the shelf, you also may find something intersting and new, you didn't know about before.

We really appreciate that Nide opened it's doors on December 2015. After Kiasma and many other museum and book stores have closed down their art book section it was the perfect timing!

Nide started as a brainchild of Terhi Jääskeläinen and Joose Siira. Terhi was a founder of Kiasma Store in 1998, and has since been managing both Kiasma and Ateneum Bookshop as well as shops at Cable Factory and Korjaamo. Joose started at Like publishing house back in 2001. He has been responsible for Like Bookstore and Korjaamo Shop before shifting to Kiasma Store in 2011. 
In 2014, Kiasma underwent renovation and at the same time terminated the rental contract with their former employer Rosebud Books. After the renovation, they opened their own museum store. Terri and Joose lost their jobs at Kiasma and started planning their own bookstore, and searching for a suitable space in Punavuori area. Last September, they found a perfect spot in Fredrikinkatu, next to  legendary antiquarian bookstore, Hagelstam.

Books are their passion and you can feel it. They are in love with the books they sell. Being a small brick and mortar store, they offer more personal face-to-face consultation for customers. Many customers appreciate a place they can browse and enjoy books without rushing. Here, they have the possibility to find something new, something they didn't know about before. 

The most interesting books are selected by hand from different publishers, and the focus is mainly on art and design books by international publishers, as well as selected Finnish fiction and non-fiction. In addition, Nide sells art, design, fashion and lifestyle magazines, as well as high-quality paper products.

On the right installation for Punis - Sanna Mander’s and Andrei Huhtala’s new version of little red riding hood

=> Things to look forward to in 2016: 

 On February 23rd,  Raisa Porrasmaa, a translator of Takashi Hiraide and Haruki Murakami, will be a Nide guest. 

On February 27th, Napa Books will open their pop-up kiosk at Nide premises. 

On March 3rd, Helsinki Lit will announce their literary guests and program for the 2016 festival, and Nide will be working with them this spring as well. 

In addition, stay tuned for lots and lots more coming up in the near future :) . 

Further information:

Website: www.nidekauppa.fi
Address: Fredrikinkatu 35, Helsinki
Telephone: +358 50 460 0337
Email: info@nidekauppa.fi
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri 10am – 7pm
Sat 10am – 5pm

Purna Yoga

Purna yoga has a very special place here at Inside Out Helsinki. It’s one of my (Emilie McDermott) favorite spots in the city, and what keeps me coming back and loving living in Suomiland’s capital. I discovered the place when I had just moved to Helsinki in October 2013. At the time I was looking for a yoga studio that would help heal my weak right knee, and also get a proper workout. What I discovered was a lot more.

Located in the Kamppi neighborhood, Purna Yoga Helsinki, is not your average « come in, come out » yoga studio. Right away, upon entering the studio, you feel you are being taken care, both spiritually and physically. There is a sense of well being and utter peacefulness. The instructors take their time to talk to you, and you get a real authentic feeling of community.

What I love is the small number of students during the yoga classes. There are never more than 10 or max 12, and that is very important to me. I have bad memories of supposed yoga classes in Paris, where there were more than 25 students. Having a small class allows instructors to pay special attention to you, and also get to know you and your capabilities throughout their classes.

The class always starts with a special meditation and spiritual session, where we focus on redirecting our energy and on allowing it to flow. One of principles of Purna Yoga is to not make a distinct separation between body-mind-soul, but to work with all three of them. This is a very important part of the lesson, as it allows you enough time to get prepared for the more “physical” aspect of the yoga lesson, and leave your worries and everyday concerns at the doorstep. The second aspect of classes focuses on Asanas, and Pranayamas (breathing exercises).  The instructors I work with are always very attentive to our movements, and correcting us gently throughout the sessions to make sure we aren’t harming ourselves or misaligning our poses. My teachers are mainly founder Tove Palmgren and Nicola Moberg. Both are amazing. I particularly like Tove’s philosophy on yoga:

“No matter where you live, yoga is one of the oldest methods of self-improvement on the spiritual, mental and physical level. It has existed for thousands of years. Simply that should speak for itself. However, much today is called yoga, which more resembles gymnastics or other forms of physical activities. People confuse asana with yoga. Asana is only a part, a small part of what yoga really is.  Purna Yoga is special because it addresses all aspects of life. It consists of asana (the physical exercises) and pranayama (breathing exercises), a special dynamic meditation (Heartful meditation), nutrition and applied philosophy (adapted to modern life) and lifestyle.” 

After over twenty years of teaching Ashtanga yoga, Tove Palmgren’s path in Purna Yoga started when the studio she then co-owned ended up hosting Aadil Palkhivala (aka founder of Purna Yoga) for a 5-day workshop. About a year later, she left the studio to her business partner, and went to Bellevue, WA, USA, to start her teacher training in Purna Yoga. Upon returning to Helsinki she created Purna Yoga Helsinki. 

Practicing yoga at Purna Yoga Helsinki, has helped me not only completely heal my knee, but confront my first Finnish winter, and was one of the factors in my falling in love with this city.

=> Inside Out Helsinki “coup de coeur” :  instructor Nicola Moberg teaches special pre and post natal classes, where you can come with your baby :).

The last part of the classes are done on the yoga wall, and help realign your spine, and hips, and work without gravity. This part is very special, and extremely helpful as a dancer, when dealing with different body “issues” (e.g. lower back or knee pain).

=> Good to know : Purna Yoga also hosts teaching sessions. They will be hosting for example a 200 hour teaching session in June. The studio also hopes to complete the first ever 500 hour teaching session with founder Aadil Palkhivala and his wife Savitri in 2016.

Here are a few words from other co-founder Hanna Rast’s point of view on Purna Yoga:

« A few thoughts when I photographed Purna. It was such an intriguing experience to be an observer in Purna. Tove's presence and strength were empowering. The class started with relaxed meditation bound with memories to let go and continued to asanas. As a photographer, I found it in many ways to be almost like dance. The class took many good surprising turns and I found so many photographic scenes and images to capture. What was one of the best part was that I felt very welcomed. So even though I'm not as experienced as Emilie is in yoga, Purna would definitely be a place where I would go to if I would like to start to take classes - just based on the experience during the photo session »

Further information
Purna Yoga
Address: Purna Yoga Helsinki
Fredrikinkatu 67 E 42
00100 Helsinki
Website: http://www.purnayoga.fi/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PurnaYogaHelsinki
Contact: +358 50 3533970

Movie theater Orion

Helsinki with its mix of small town and urban atmosphere is a cinematic city as seen in films by Aki Kaurismäki and Peter von Bagh for example. Compared to many other European capitals, Helsinki has quite few cinemas, dominated by Finnkino, here as elsewhere in the big cities of Finland. There are, however, a lot of film festivals and events, e.g. Love & Anarchy and DocPoint. There are also audiences for the smaller, specialized events. A couple of new independent cinemas have opened recently, Kino Sheryl, Teatteri Union and Korjaamo Kino. 

Orion is a must go-to place for any cinema lover who lives or travels to Helsinki. Designed by architect Martti Välikangas, it is a beautiful one-screen cinema in the art deco style. It used to be called  "Bio Athena", and was founded in 1927.  Located on Eerikinkatu 15, people still come to admire its lobby with grandiose pillars (that give a faux sense of perspective) and the delicate details of its interiors. Orion is currently the oldest cinema in Helsinki.

What is special about the film scene in Helsinki is that people don’t compete with each other: newcomers are welcome and people try to help each other out.

The Finnish Film Archive took over the cinema over 30 years ago in 1984.  Before that, the film archive was screening films in different cinemas around the city. Nowadays the film archive is part of a larger organization called the National Audiovisual Institute (operating under the Ministry of Education and Culture), but the aim of Orion's programming is still the same: to show interesting films to all kinds of audiences and keep its film history alive.  Audiences come to see their old favorites, but also discover new films, forgotten gems, as well as films from all over the world.

You can really transport yourself to another era when you come see a film here. A couple of years ago all of Helsinki cinemas were digitized, so now, to the great joy of many, Orion is one of the very few places in Finland where you can still watch 35mm films. They still have new technologies installed as well, for screening new films and also screening digitally restored films.

=> InsideOut Helsinki "coup de coeur": Orion's wonderful staff is also a major part in what makes this cinema so special. Most of the ushers, ticket sellers, and projectionists have worked with them for years and are an integral part in creating a sense of community in the cinema.

Orion's aim is to keep the programming versatile. They are the only cinema that screens old films regularly i.e. classic films, rare masterpieces, retrospectives from major auteurs and also not-so-well-known filmmakers. Nowadays the cinema also brings in new films that don’t get distribution in Finland otherwise. And of course, sharing the Finnish film heritage with their audience is an ongoing task.

=> Good to know : In recent years, film events have become a major attraction in Orion, especially sing-along screenings, such as Sound of Music, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Grease. It goes to show that cinemas are not just places to see films, they are also places for people to gather and meet each other and experience things together. There’s a sense of community that you don’t get watching films at home on a small screen.

What to look forward to in 2016 :  

•  In February, classic comedy screenings, e.g. Buster Keaton
• The Agnès Varda retrospective, one of the first New Wave directors in France
• Orion's spring sing-along screenings
• A spectacular evening around Moulin Rouge, where the cinema is collaborating for the first time with burlesque artists. 
• The annual Fashion Film Festival Vintage in April, focusing on important costume designers.
• Programming of Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice.
• In April as well, there will be films from the French actress and filmmaker Musidora accompanied by an experimental orchestra formed by students from the University’s Department of Musicology.

=> InsideOut Helsinki recommends Orion's ciné-concerts, i.e. silent film screenings with live music.

How about summer programming? Finns don’t go to the cinema a lot during the summer, but Orion keeps its doors open. As part of its summer season, which starts in May, they are doing a tribute to the late great David Bowie.

=> Good to know: the cinema will be 90 years old next year—which is quite a legacy. Hopefully it will continue to be a safe haven for films and film lovers for many years to come. 

Further information: 

Elokuvateatteri Orion
https://kavi.fi/fi/ohjelmisto
Address: Eerikinkatu 15, Kamppi, Helsinki
National Audiovisual Institute: https://kavi.fi/en/

Tickets:
Adults: 6,50 €
Children under 12 years: 3 €
Club card: 5 €