Finns in Brighton | Finnish Design Project

Niina Apaala

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? Since 2006 – I had spent some time here in the late 90s but didn’t end up staying that time. This time, I didn’t have a special reason to move here, and I only intended to stay for two years… What does Finnish…

Hanna Drummond

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I have lived in Brighton for ten years. Before that I lived in London. My British husband is from Brighton, and we decided to have our home here. What does Finnish design mean to you? I have an interior designer in my close…

Katariina Eekkinen

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I’ve lived here for 7 years. I wanted to do a teaching course in England since I already had a degree from a university in London. I had visited here a few times and loved it and had friends here. I love the…

Anu Koskela

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I’ve been here since 1997. Back then I was studying for a degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Helsinki, and decided to take a year out and live and work in the UK. I moved to Brighton as I…

Mari Martiskainen

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I moved to Brighton in 2001. The move was for several reasons, at the time me and my now husband were living in London and wanted to get on the property ladder. We had always enjoyed coming down to Brighton as we had…

Anna Leikas

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? About 3.5 years. Without having ever visited Brighton before, I decided to move here to study just because I wanted to get out of Finland and I heard Brighton is a cool and lively place. What does Finnish design mean to you? When…

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…

Niklas Vaittinen

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I moved here in August 2006 to do my degree in Business and Marketing at the University of Brighton. After that I continued to do a Msc in Management & Entrepreneurship, and I now work in marketing. What does Finnish design mean to…

Tapio Salmi

How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? I have lived in Brighton for about 15 years. I used to come here for long weekends first and then fell in love with the city. What does Finnish design mean to you? Most of the Finnish people have grown up with it,…

A pair of old wooden skis hanging on a wall

The Northern Lights bar/restaurant

Name and occupation Pauliina Talvensaari, company director/restaurant manager at the Northern Lights. How long have you lived in Brighton? What made you move here? Nearly twelve years. We lived in London for a year before that, but after two months there we made a decision to move to Brighton as soon as was practical. We…

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