Hel Yes!
A preview of a London Design Week pop-up concept celebrating all things Finnish
A pop-up restaurant and concept space dedicated to all things Finnish, Hel Yes! forges together the tastes and sights of Finland for a clever take on an exhibit during the London Design Festival. The boundary-pushing installation is the work of former HIM keyboard player Antto Melasniemi along with London-based Finns, Mia Wallenius and Klaus Haapaniemi.
Underlining the excellence of Finnish design—Alvar Aalto‘s iconic 403 chairs (in never-before-seen colors) will be sprinkled throught the space, providing a veritable feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. Taking the form of a small campsite, guests will be ushered into decorated tents and seated on cot-like beds. Additional seating in the center at Linda Bergroth bespoke tables will allow for dining among Aspen trees (thinned from a managed forest) that have been saved from the chipper and turned into tiny dining huts.
Patrons will be treated to Chef Antto Melasniemi’s menu of traditional fish, game and preserves plus a daily special ingredient foraged by Hel Yes!’s own team of hunters and gatherers around London. Finland even comes into play in the tableware, an assortment of old Iittala and Arabia plates donated by participants of a Helsinki-based event earlier in the year.
A lead up to the Helsinki World Design Campaign 2010 program, this all-Finnish event is a must-see destination for the international creative class in town for London’s design festival.
Hel Yes! runs from 15 September-3 October 2010.
