Susanna Nicholls

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here?

Almost 10 years. I met my husband and decided to move here from Dublin.

What does Finnish design mean to you?

Functional and usable: pragmatism in ‘everyday’ objects.

Does Finnish design play a part in your daily life in any way?

Yes, I use Finnish design in my kitchen every day: scissors, knives, glasses.

Which Finnish design item have you decided to be photographed with and why?

After commenting on functionality of the Finnish design the items that are close to me are purely decorative objects. They are three glass bottles all in similar shade of blue: Grapponia and Stella Polaris by Nanny Still and Aurinko bottle by Helena Tynel. I grew up in a farm and all glass and pottery items we had were always functional; vases were for holding flowers, glasses were to drink from, jugs were for milk and juice etc and we did not have any decorative glass or pottery items at home. We often went to visit my uncle and aunt and they were completely opposite to our functional home: their house was filled with decorative items that were making a statement from living room seats to bedside lamps. On their window they had glass bottles by Finnish designers such as Nanny Still. When I was a child (7 years old or so) I was captured by the beauty of them, the way the light was filtered through the design. I could sit and admire them for long time (which is quite remarkable for an under 10 year old). All of the bottles that I have, have been bought here in the UK so I don’t have ‘material’ connection to them, but when I look at them on my window, they take me back to my childhood.

Photo by Sirpa Kutilainen.