Amelia’s Magazine | Q&A with Finnish fashion designers Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label

R/H Label by HollyMae
R/H Label by HollyMae.

You’ve read a bit about Finnish fashion designers Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi, viagra 100mg now here’s my Q&A with the R/H Label girls.

R/H Label by Sam Parr
R/H Label by Sam Parr.

How did you guys meet? Come on now, drugs tell the truth!
We met at the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 2003 – we studied at the same class for six years and became good friends. While doing our Masters studies we realised that we wanted to do our MA theses together and in doing so created the base for our label R/H. Both of us have always dreamt of having our own label and what could be better than putting all our skills together to create a fashion label.

R/H Label by June Chanpoomidole
R/H Label by June Chanpoomidole.

What’s best about working together? (and worst)
We have been doing very well for a label that has existed less than a year. The reason for that is that together we are stronger; we have the same motivation to build R/H up to become a solid fashion label. We create our own ways of working and the environment we like to work in. We always trust one other and support each other when needed. This is a tough business and it’s good to have someone to share the responsibilities and worries with otherwise it could be quite lonely. Of course we need to work well as a team and be able to put R/H the label before our own needs and visions. R/H is us but at the same time we like to think that it’s the third person in our company. For example while designing we always question each other whether it is ‘R/H style’ and think about the R/H girls and women who buy it and what kind of style we like to offer to them.

RH Label SS 2011RH Label SS 2011 dress
R/H Label S/S 2011.

The worst is that as close friends we might spend a bit too much time together talking and gossiping – sometimes it affects our working days so that the work that we are supposed to do gets held up. Of course sometimes we do not share an opinion about something that affects R/H and then we just have to discuss together and come up with the best possible solution. We definitely have our own, sildenafil personal design styles that we combine in the design process and that’s how R/H style is made at its best! Hanna has a more feminine and black style where as Emilia’s style is wilder with more colours and of course prints. There are similar aspects in our styles too. We both share the visual need to bring a rougher edge to the design. So in R/H garments the soft and beautiful is always mixed with rough details. R/H always comes with an attitude!

A/W 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou
R/H Label A/W 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou.

How do you split the work up and who is best at what?
We both do everything. It’s a small two ladies company at the moment so we have to be able to do whatever it takes to make R/H work. We share tasks with each other according to our interests and skills. There are always some tasks that are no-one’s favourites but we both try hard to take care of everything. Hanna is very good at taking care of the production process and contacts and Emilia is in charge of the PR meaning social media, magazines etc. Of course we have some people helping us out with certain tasks which we appreciate enormously!

RH Label SS 2011 mood
R/H Label S/S 2011.

When it comes to designing the collection, we definitely design together. The only thing that we have divided is that Hanna is in charge of making sure that the collection sustains its major theme and style in the cuts, the silhouette and the core design. Emilia designs all R/H prints and creates the colour world of the collection. Designing the collection is always a random group of unique situations so it’s hard to say who had the first idea. We sometimes have the same ideas, maybe because we spend so much time together. It can be that another one comes up with an idea that the other one then continues. We both design first by ourselves and then start to combine the ideas together. We like to play with the contrasts of masculine and feminine through mixing soft materials with rough details. 

RH Label SS 2011 moodshot
R/H Label S/S 2011.

What’s your biggest sources of inspiration?
We get our inspirations from different fields of life. It can be a picture in a local newspaper, a certain mood in a movie, colours combined together and seen somewhere, people you might meet and their style, atmospheres in the city at different times of year, from each other, different historical eras, artists, female anatomy, photography, music and musicians. Very often music actually!

RH Label SS 2011 leggings
R/H Label S/S 2011.

What are your favourite materials to work with?
We like to use fine materials such as silk, silk-cotton, bamboo jersey, wool, cotton and ecological reindeer leather. Most of the materials that we use in our designs are natural and the reindeer leather that we use in R/H garment details comes from Lapland of Finland. In R/H jewellery we use materials like silver, ceramic and birch wood. We produce our jewellery mainly in Finland but also in the UK. All clothing production is done in Tallinn, Estonia. The factory is very close to us and makes great quality garments. This way it is ecological and at the same time very convenient for us. Working with a quality factory that is close to where the label retails is definitely an ethical choice.

R/H Label A/W 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou
R/H Label A/W 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou.

What was the best part about our trip to Moscow? What was the most important thing you learnt?
We loved the trip to Moscow! It was so educational and at the same time so much fun. We got so many new friends and got to know a little bit of Moscow. Everybody was friendly and warm and everything was so well organised. The most important thing that we learned was that there are many fantastic designers in the world and they all share the same kind of passion and problems that we have been facing. Toby Meadows‘ lecture about the fashion business in general was very important for us.

RH Label AW 2011 black dress
R/H Label A/W 2011.

Where do you go and what do you do to relax?
We both love to travel. We also share a love for the sun as it is a rare luxury up here in Finland. We love to do picnics in the summer time in Helsinki by the sea and in the winter we go to sauna to relax. We listen to a lot of music, read books, draw or go to see a good movie. We spend time with our beloved ones and travel to our summer cottages to relax. We drink wine with our friends and have long analysing discussions about different fields of life. We both love to laugh and dance!

R/H Label A/W 2011
R/H Label A/W 2011.

What are you working on next?
We just opened the R/H Label webshop and now we are working on the R/H Spring/Summer 2012 collection. We would love to do some collaborations with different kinds of companies – not particularly fashion – so that is something that we would like to start looking into as well. We are also looking for a place to run a little shop in the centre of Helsinki. So we’ll keep you guys posted about that. 

Finally, who would your ideal stockist in the UK be?
We are still looking for one to find us! 

Read my previous article about R/H Label or visit the R/H Label website and R/H Label online shop. Keep an eye on these girls! I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of them in the UK soon.

Categories ,Emilia Hernesniemi, ,Estonia, ,finland, ,FInnish, ,Hanna Riiheläinen, ,Helsinki, ,HollyMae, ,jewellery, ,June Chanpoomidole, ,Lapland, ,Michalis Christodoulou, ,Moscow, ,R/H Label, ,Reindeer, ,Sam Parr, ,Tallinn, ,Toby Meadows, ,University of Art and Design Helsinki

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Amelia’s Magazine | R/H Label, fashion design from Finland: meet Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi

Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi RH Label
Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label.

I met Hanna Riiheläinen and Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label on my trip to Moscow, click where they came by train (very jealous) to pitch their brand to a panel of experts for feedback, website of which *ahem* I was one. The girls studied together for six years at the University of Art & Design Helsinki, and have forged a strong partnership which made them a delight to hang out with during my stay in Russia and I was utterly charmed by their playful style, for which they are the best ambassadors. In the first of two blog posts here’s a summary of what R/H Label are up to.

RH Label by Fawn Carr
RH Label by Fawn Carr.

R/H Label was named for a combination of the girls’ surnames, and was founded only last June in Helsinki after being in the planning for way longer, both girls having studied and worked in fashion at home and abroad after graduation – I actually met Emilia a few years ago when I borrowed clothes from Agency V, where she worked as a PR. Small world eh? They took this time in the industry to learn about the commercial sides of the business and analysed what they could do best when starting their own label: clever girls. It is no surprise that their designs perfectly encapsulate the Agency V aesthetic; playful, colourful, printed. All good things in my book!

RH Label by June Chanpoomidole
RH Label by June Chanpoomidole.

Whilst the Finnish design scene is strong on the international stage, the fashion scene is something new, and so for them indigenous inspiration comes from the likes of well known furniture designers Alvar Aalto and textiles supremo Marimekko who mainly produces textiles for the home. IVANNAhelsinki is one of the only major Finnish fashion designers to have a profile abroad, as well as Laitinen menswear which has a high profile in Milan and Paris.

Hanna Riiheläinen of R/H Label in Moscow
Hanna Riiheläinen of R/H Label in Moscow.

But now is an exciting time because there is a new generation of creatives coming through. Ones to check out include fashion photographer Susanna Majuri and Helsinki based illustrator Laura Laine. Emilia and Hanna work with creatives across lots of disciplines and are inspired by Finland’s location between the east and west – a place where different visual aesthetics easily meet and mingle. Functional solutions come over from Sweden, but there is plenty of rich decorative detail to play with from the eastern side.

RH Label SS 2011 blue dressRH Label SS 2011 jacket leggings dahlia
R/H Label S/S 2011.

RH Label SS 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou
R/H Label SS 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou.

S/S 2011 was R/H Label’s first commercial collection, inspired by Dolly Parton, Mickey Mouse, Black Magic and the Nordic Summer Sky. You don’t get much more fun than that! It features a mix of local reindeer leather and bamboo jersey and all the bespoke prints were digitally printed onto silk – they like to create every element of the collection. I particularly love the purple sky and dotty dahlia prints, and was thoroughly enamoured of their ceramic eyeball necklace, created in collaboration with a local ceramics studio.

RH Label AW 2011
R/H Label A/W 2011.

RH Label AW 2011 by Michalis ChristodoulouRH Label AW 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou
R/H Label AW 2011 by Michalis Christodoulou.

For A/W 2011 they were inspired by Dragons, Mountains, Acrobats and Vagabonds. Another rich inspirational mash up! Role models that helped to inspire the collection included the strong character of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, and Finnish author Sofi Oksanen. Lots of black is offset again with bright prints in louche easily wearable shapes.

RH Label AW 2011 coat
R/H Label A/W 2011

Production is mainly done in Tallinn, Estonia which is 80km away, but the reindeer bags are made in Helsinki and they are keen to do more with local materials. Interest in the collection has been quick and enthusiastic and as well as stocking at home in Finland they already have stockists in Berlin, Vienna and New York. Naturally Agency V has been looking after press, which is also going pretty darn well for such a new label.

RH Label AW 2011 jumpsuit
R/H Label A/W 2011

Now they just need to figure out a way to grow the brand organically whilst retaining their creative control… it’s all about achieving that balance, which is why they came to Moscow for advice. In my next blog Hanna and Emilia answer a few questions. In the meantime take a browse around the R/H Label website and R/H Label online shop. Let’s hope they find stockists in the UK soon.

Emilia Hernesniemi RH Label
Emilia Hernesniemi of R/H Label talking to Michael Salac of Blow PR.

Categories ,A/W 2011, ,Acrobats, ,Agency V, ,Alvar Aalto, ,berlin, ,Black Magic, ,Blow PR, ,ceramic, ,colourful, ,Dolly Parton, ,Dragons, ,Emilia Hernesniemi, ,Estonia, ,Eyeball Necklace, ,Fawn Carr, ,finland, ,FInnish, ,Helsinki, ,IVANNAhelsinki, ,June Chanpoomidole, ,Laitinen, ,Laura Laine, ,Lisbeth Salander, ,Marimekko, ,Michael Salac, ,Michalis Christodoulou, ,Mickey Mouse, ,Mountains, ,Nordic Summer Sky, ,pr, ,prints, ,R/H Label, ,Reindeer Leather, ,Riiheläinen, ,S/S 2011, ,Silk, ,Sofi Oksanen, ,Stieg Larsson, ,Susanna Majuri, ,Tallinn, ,University of Art & Design Helsinki, ,Vagabonds, ,Vienna, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition – an interview with Husky Rescue

Husky rescue the long lost friend album cover
The latest album from Finland’s Husky Rescue celebrates ten years of releases with Catskills Records and is a continuous musical exploration, blending Marko Nyberg’s melodic electronica and folk-tinged vocals with compositions by Antony Bentley and charismatic vocals by Johanna Kalén. The album is accompanied by a high-concept instrumental collaboration with Bentley, made to coincide with a New York exhibition by designer and long-standing Husky Rescue collaborator Kustaa Saksi. Husky Rescue describe the inspiration behind The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition.

husky_rescue_skin_of_snow_2
What states of emotional intimacy (or lack thereof) have informed the current album?
Tricky question but, oh, many – and in many ways.
In our case, rarely does any certain event or emotional experience get translated to a song as such. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes slow, but it takes a while for things to find their place and context… And finally it’s like the album is telling you that it’s complete, thematically speaking or as a musical entity.
There’s all these experiences that are gathered along the way, maybe forgotten but lying around. And then a melody or sound comes along, then a weaving of sounds and then you suddenly realise what prior experience or feeling of yours the music is beginning to convey.
In the case of this album, it perhaps ended up conveying feelings of nostalgia and longing, musings about the unquestionable force of friendship and also about struggling to remain a child, despite being caged in an adults body.
Finally, of course there’s a remarkable level of intimacy in sharing a creative process. It takes a lot of trust and affection from your peers for you to be able to bring bare-bones lyrics or some early formless musical idea to the table in the first place.

husky_rescue
Who is the long lost friend of the album title and how did you get back in touch? 
I’m sure all of us have a slightly different take on that. But the album title came to Marko during the making of the album, after he got back in touch with a friend of his after a really long silence. But just as well it could be any childhood friend you used to build tree houses with, or a lost loved one, or – as in the case of the title track – the long lost friend trapped within yourself, the true you, that you’ve been waiting to come out with a bang.

How was it produced and who was involved with its making?
The album was produced in studios – or wardrobes or pencil factories – in Helsinki, Stockholm, Berlin and New York. The core was us three: Marko, Antony and Johanna. The three of us work in a remarkably seamless formation where anyone can bring in any little fragment and it often would end up taking us somewhere special. But to generalize a bit, Marko is definitely the producing mastermind, Antony wrote most of the lyrics with some key contributions from Johanna. And everyone brought in their share when it comes to melodies or arrangements but Marko is most organized in keeping it all together.
Also we had some wonderful friends helping us out here and there: A close friend and long time Husky member and collaborator Ville Riippa and a string duo called Akkajee, just to mention a few.

huskyrescue-DeepForestGreen
Your longstanding collaboration with illustrator Kustaa Saksi has produced some amazing album artwork – in what way have you worked together on The Long Lost Friend?
It is a long-term friendship I’ve been lucky to have in my life. We’ve known each other for over a decade now. We start working together in the early stages of the process, sometimes sending some sketches and demos back and forth and I think we’ve both inspired each other. We always have. Recently Kustaa has been working on a large project called Hypnopompic, involving dreamy and surreal tapestries and rugs, which he has exhibited around the world. When he opened his Hypnopompic exhibition in New York, he asked us to make a music performance for the exhibition which turned out really inspiring. At last the process kind of turned upside down: first came Kustaa‘s artwork, then music to go with it.
Kustaa had complete freedom regarding the illustrations on this album cover. I like the way nature is portrayed. There’s also all these insects and other inspiration that are a kind of continuation on the world of the Hypnopompic project.


husky_rescue
How has Husky Rescue evolved over 10 years of music making?
If one were to listen to all the albums I’m sure it’s quite clear that the evolution has taken many turns. But it comes from a place of freedom of form, there hasn’t been effort to keep it within some certain constraints. Even this Special Edition release alone contains quite a sonic journey in itself.

What have been the biggest highlights and pitfalls?
The biggest pitfall must of been when the tyre on our tour van broke twice on the same trip.
The highlights… the release of the first album – and actually every release after that. It’s never self-evident that it all comes together – that an album gets completed, then released – yet so far one release has always happily led to the next one.
 
Kustaa Saksi-Husky rescue
What is it about extreme countrysides that is so appealing?
There’s nothing more fantastic than experiencing big cities while knowing you can soon escape to the wilderness or to the silence of a countryside cabin by a still lake and stare at the open fire. It has a grounding effect. It’s a place of low disturbance, of sharpening of the senses and calm. It can make you stop and look at a dewdrop in awe. And it reminds you of who’s the boss, how in fact it’s Mother Nature who is in charge. Quite like surfing does.

Where do you hope to work and live next with your travelling studio?
Many places!

The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition by Husky Rescue is out now on Catskills Records.

Categories ,Akkajee, ,Antony Bentley, ,Bentley, ,berlin, ,Catskills Records, ,finland, ,Helsinki, ,Hypnopompic, ,interview, ,Johanna Kalén, ,Kustaa Saksi, ,Marko Nyberg, ,new york, ,Special Edition, ,stockholm, ,The Long Lost Friend: Special Edition, ,Ville Riippa

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Amelia’s Magazine | Single and Video Review: Zebra and Snake – Sweetest Treasure

Zebra and Snake
I am seriously loving the video for Zebra and Snake‘s new single Sweetest Treasure – made by Sing J. Lee, a young award winning director from the North West – and featuring a fearless tribe of children who do battle with scary-toothed monsters in the woods. Zebra and Snake are Matti and Tapio, who hail from Finland and are currently settled in Helsinki, where their combined loves of synths and classical music has informed their own creation: fuzzy 80s influenced electronica with great melodies, of which lead single Sweetest Treasure is a great example.

YouTube Preview Image
Sing J. Lee said of making the video: ‘I had a great time working on Sweetest Treasure for Zebra and Snake. It transported me back to my childhood where I ran around my back garden pretending I was on some epic adventure.’ The idea began with the idea of incorporating children and monsters: Matti and Tapio wanted to include Nordic influences in the short story format, where a small kid is trapped by monsters, and Sing J. Lee added references to the games he enjoyed as a child. To keep the mood light hearted the monsters were made from balloons, the blood from powdered paint. The video was shot in various locations in South Wales and Epping Forest. Take a peek, it’s insanely moreish. Zebra and Snake go on a mini tour later in February, to support the release of their new EP on 100%.

Categories ,100%, ,80s, ,children, ,electronica, ,ep, ,Epping Forest, ,FInnish, ,Helsinki, ,Matti, ,Monsters, ,Nordic, ,review, ,Sing J. Lee, ,single, ,South Wales, ,Sweetest Treasure, ,Synth, ,Tapio, ,video, ,Zebra and Snake

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