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“Depth and soul are the values that make an apartment a home”

Ulla Koskinen really started her current career even before she could read, although her first clients were imaginary. We met with the founder and editor-in-chief of the five-year-old Asun magazine, which focuses on interior decoration, architecture and design. What was once imaginary is now real.

You are a designer and the editor-in-chief of Asun magazine. What experiences or qualities do you have that have led you to pursue these professions?

I’m not really surprised that I’m doing this job, because even as a small child I was a heavy consumer of interior decoration magazines. I even learned how to read when skimming the pages of Kaunis Koti magazine! In the 1980s, I used to astonish my colleagues with what I knew, as I was able to recall, in great detail, things in the magazines from a time when I was still at school. From as young as I can remember – and even younger, by my parents’ accounts – I pictured imaginary people and their homes, and drew floor plans and interiors for these imaginary inhabitants. I think what I’m doing now is what I have aimed for since I was a child.

”It’s easy to produce aesthetic appeal, but depth and soul are the values that make an apartment a home.”

Do you remember what kinds of homes you designed for these imaginary people, and what kinds of spaces impressed you at the time?

I remember it well. One of my most vivid memories of that time is of a home in the Kuusisaari neighbourhood of Helsinki, with a great architectural design and a sophisticated and nuanced interior. I was highly inspired and impressed by the interior decoration magazines I read, and I was very aware of what, for example, Artek, Metsovaara and Marimekko were doing, and what Finnish homes typically looked like. I carried some of these influences, ideas, and concepts over to my self-designed, imaginary homes. What was especially important was that they were full of colour and had a self-made feel.

And what kinds of homes appeal to you now?

The ideal has really remained quite unchanged. I am impressed by a home that looks like the people who live in it – a space that enables and is able to reflect the personal characteristics and preferences of its occupants, thus giving the space a soul. It’s easy to produce aesthetic appeal, but depth and soul are the values that make an apartment a home.

What was the starting point for Asun magazine, which you are currently heading?

Asun will celebrate its fifth anniversary in the summer, and from the beginning, we have wanted the magazine to offer selected, original and good content to those who share our views of what makes thrilling spaces, touching architecture, or functional, beautiful products. Asun positions itself in direct contrast to publications that are geared towards the masses. You either like or dislike our magazine, and the idea is not to please everyone: there should be different options available, and each publication has its own reason to exist.

“The very first continuous subscription to Asun magazine was ordered from Switzerland: a good visual story transcends even language barriers.”

What have the first five years of Asun magazine been like?

Our journey so far has been quite interesting, and Asun has been given the opportunity to peek into the most incredible places, while at the same time growing its ever-evolving network. We are fortunate to be able say that we have, from the outset, reached our kind of readers, who are committed and can identify with the world presented by the magazine. In addition to the magazine, we have also realised many other projects that have sought to expand the world of Asun magazine and make it come to life . This has enabled us to meet creators and readers.

Because of our minority linguistic area, we are a small but, at the same time, a very strong player, and despite our small size, we have achieved international recognition. Indeed, the magazine has, over the years, become a kind of bridge between design companies and creators in Finland and abroad. A fun, related detail is that the very first continuous subscription to Asun magazine was ordered from Switzerland: a good visual story transcends even linguistic barriers, although, of course, in our texts, we also strive for good, knowledgeable and interesting narration. In order to respond to international interest, we started making, alongside the magazine, the Asun Homes bookazine, the third issue of which is currently in the works and to be published in the spring.

“Once, before five o’clock in the morning, I went to add the finishing touches to a stand I had designed for Habitare. The caretaker just said, someone’s up early.”

What is your relationship with Habitare, and what memories do you have of the event?

I first visited Habitare in the early 1980s, and towards the end of that decade, I began to design stands for the event, including both individual stands and larger, joint ones. Of course, compared to the big European design fairs, Habitare is very different – a small and cosy event – but today, also increasingly international. Habitare has always played an important role in our industry, and today, it also offers international audiences a great overview of Finnish design and homes.

Fair stands are built in a short time, and within this tight timeframe, you need to get everything working as planned. On numerous occasions, I have stayed until late at night setting up stands, but sometimes also early in the morning: once, before five o’clock in the morning, I went to add the finishing touches to a stand I had designed for Habitare. The caretaker just said, someone’s up early, but what I didn’t tell him was that it was because I had to catch a morning flight to London, to set up a fair stand there.

The theme of Habitare in its 50th anniversary year is the Art of Living. What kinds of thoughts does the theme evoke in you?

Looking at the anniversary year and the theme, there is an interesting little contradiction present: it is a big, social and outward-looking celebration, but I think the theme in itself is very private and personal, within which the key underlying ideas can be something like making your own space pleasant, empowering and harmonious.

“Life includes many different phases and emphases, and if there’s something I’ve learned, it is to never say never.”

What life skills do you personally cherish?

I’m still looking for a kind of balance and the art of living in such a way as to avoid wearing myself out, while at the same time enjoying the rich variety of interesting things around me. Many life skills are precisely about time management and finding a balance, so that different rhythms can be fitted together to form a good whole.

Life seems to be about constant small movements: when I was young, I enjoyed the hustle and bustle, and having the urban environment near was extremely important to me, but having a city home no longer provides me with rest, and I prefer to be close to nature. Although the ideal of a certain type of living and mood has remained constant in my life, I’ve lived in the countryside for ten years now, which is something I’d never have thought of doing when I was younger. Life includes many different phases and emphases, and if there’s something I’ve learned, it is to never say “never”.

Can you reveal what we will see at the Asun magazine stand at Habitare in November 2020?

This year, our stand will emphasise the personal and private domain, as mentioned above. We will focus on the most private spaces of the home, looking in particular at spaces for resting and bathing, where, through strong haptic contact, materials become emphasised. They are spaces of calm and empowerment that energise people and bring balance to their lives.

 

 

Text: Hanna-Katariina Mononen, Photograph: Asun