Tallinn Arts Magazine #3

TALLINN

ARTS

An Arts & Lifestyle Magazine

03 Copyright Š 2015 Bonne & Amundsen Media Group Tallinn Arts Magazine 3. edition Cultural Partner: Center for contemporary arts, Estonia Tallinn office: michael.amundsen@tallinnarts.com Cover photo: Matej Jurcevic WEBSITE: FACEBOOK: TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:

Advertising: Nordicom ADVERTISING@NORDICOM.EE +372 5666 7770 post@cca.ee +372 6314050 Copenhagen office: camilla.bonne@tallinnarts.com Art Director: Camilla Franziska Bonne www.tallinnarts.com www.face.com/tallinnarts (a)tallinnarts (a)tallinnarts

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TALLINN

ARTS

Covering Creative Tallinn

FASHION 64-69 70-77

Xenia Creativity Menswear: Back to Basics

HEALTHY LIVING 26-31 Helena Oun on health and modelling

DESIGN 08-17 Nordic Interior Design: The Nature is

moving In

ENJOYMENTS 78-83 Cognac: France’s Water of Life

MUSIC 90-90 Viktor Tsoi: Gone but Remembered

”I want to inspire young girls to focus on their health and body, not what the industry wants them to be.” p. 28

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Covering Creative Tallinn

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28 FLÃNERIE 84-89

Cagliari: Sardinia’s eternal city

36-37

Karoli Hindriks: Changing the Way We Work Photo Essay: Top Twenty Global Financial Centres Financial Forecast from the Eesti Pank

BUSINESS 38-59 60-63

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ART 18-25 32-35

Astrophotography: Reivo’s Space Odyssy Nikolai Triik: Estonia’s Master Modernist

editor’s note With the third edition of Tallinn Arts we explore inner and outer space.

Model and nutritionist Helena Oun explains how to feel good on the inside while making your body look better on the outside.

We look at design trends from the Copenhagen Design Fair where the desire to bring the natural world into our home interiors was an intriguing theme.

The sky imaging of entrepreneur turned astrophotographer Raivo Hein shows us just how beautiful the universe way out there can really be.

A recent exhibition of Estonia’s master modernist Nikolai Triik at Kumu displays the way a brilliant visual artist can divine the interior lives of his subjects in portraiture.

We examine the world’s top 20 financial cities through fascinating details and images in a photo essay, look at how men are fashioning an identity through traditional means in fast changing times and do a bit of flânerie in Sardinia.

Hope you enjoy...

Camilla & Michael - Cover Girl -

Sometimes a picture can say 1,000 words but leave us at a loss to express them. Who is she? What is she thinking with that expression? A Mona Lisa with a penetrating gaze. Enigmatic and beautiful. Ready for the warmth of spring. A breath of fresh air.

Nature has moved indoors

”

design

Chipboard culture is when we go out and get the easy and quick solution to satisfy our immediate needs, but most of the time like fast food, there is not enough quality, and it isn’t actually as cheap as you first imagined.”

Søren Ulrich - Furniture Maker; Plaincrafts

P

lants, organic forms and natural materials have taken over the interiors of our homes. References to nature are everywhere. Cactus, palms and ferns in windows. A bear on a pillow and wooden furniture, wooden lamps and art

depicting natural scenes. Natural textiles that do not smell like chemicals.

Marble cutting boards. Nature has moved indoors.

The world has been going through an economic crisis for several years and we seem to seek comfort in what we know has value and permanence. At the moment this is nature. We want sustainable solutions but do not want to give up on luxury and high­end products. In interior design this means a combination of products made of natural materials with things made of more exclusive materials. Thus we see wonderful tables, mirrors and other products made of expensive metals ­often with their roots in the Art­Deco style which came from the Parisian upper­classes and followed also from natural inspiration.

Tallinn Arts went to the Nordic Design Fair in Copenhagen to catch up on creators in the field of interior, sustainable solutions and natural elements.

small things Our need for storage is personal and constantly changing. Today we often live in small spaces, have many things AND live a hectic life.

Swedish designer Johanna Paulsson’s desire is to ease the temporary storage of small things which occurs in everyday life.This is her contribution, a sculpture and a convenient storage solution ready to fulfill your needs. ”Small things do make a difference”. ­> www.johannapaulsson.com

companion The Danish design & interior brand Phillip Grass strives to create furniture with an inspiring and vivid presence that gently blurs the line separating art from function. Poetic and imaginative elements enhanced with a subtle touch of humor are at the heart of Phillip Grass’ design philosophy. Phillip Grass, the founder and designer, started his creative work as a craftsman producing wooden sculptures.

His skills in woodwork was of great use in building a solid foundation for his cabinet making skills, which in turn formed the basis for his future design work with furniture. ­> www.phillipgrass.com/webshop

design

lune lamp The Lune Lamp represents a fusion of woodcraft, material and modern technology and is inspired by a wood­turned object, in this case the sphere.

The perfectly rounded shade made out of solid natural wood is beautifully contrasted by the contemporary LED light source.

The result is a modern lamp with a tactile and welcoming feel. The Lune Lamp is named after luna, the Latin word for the Moon, and also refers to the Scandinavian word lunt (warm, cosy, glowing), reflecting the basic human need for products that make us feel comfortable and at ease. ­> http://brdr­kruger.dk/shop/ frontpage.html

in our nature Today, we can work from everywhere with our laptops ­at the café, bed or couch. The line between our private lives and work has been erased. With this in mind, Swedish designer Ellinor Erisson has created heavy day­bed­couch­chair furniture in contrast to the mobile, nomad trend. She believes we need a stable place, a point to come back to in a fluid world. The heavy textiles also makes you slow down and feel cuddled and safe together with an interactive table made out of a textile construction of wool. ­> http://thefolio.org/ellinor­ ericsson/our­nature

Photos: Morten Rosenberg

small things #2 Johanna Paulsson is a designer in the field of furniture, product and spatial design. Her main focus is to retain her passion and happily explore new creative ways that increase the design value, by improving the function or set an emotional atmosphere as a contribution.

And this is exactly what she has done with this ’small little thing’ with a dual function: a mirror combined with storage. ­> www.johannapaulsson.com

nul & nul 5° NUL & NUL 5° are handmade lamps, made from Danish ashwood and Swedish wool.

The lamps can be used either standing or hanging as a pendant. NUL & NUL 5° are made in five colors of wool and with two colors of textile wire. ­> www.k­o­n­t­o.dk

design

growth GROWTH is an indoor urban garden furniture, that works as a biological cycle with a water reservoir, capillary water system and LED growth light. ­> http://cargocollective.com/ konto/GROWTH

any given day #1 & #3 Any Given Day #1 is a non­shape lamp ­an examination of the idea that the lightsource and the electrical connections is what constitute a lamp.

Any Given Day #3 is an experiment with light and shape and explores some basic concepts of the lamp as an object. ­> www.k­o­n­t­o.dk

#1

#3

montage # 1 K­ON ­ ­T­O is a collaboration between Elisabeth Kiss and Morten Bencke from Denmark. With a combined academic background in cultural history and design, K­O­N­T­O creates interior design, sculptural spaces and installations, based on light, balance, abstraction and refined sensations of material compositions.

MONTAGE #1 is a study of ashwood, concrete, brass, ceramic, raw wool, leca brick, leather and spraypaint. The materials in MONTAGE #1 have been selected and composed in order to examine weight, balance, contrast, texture, assets and borders of strength. A returning question for MONTAGE #1 is: what happens when you challenge and move the assets of materials? Apart from functioning as an artistic laboratory, MONTAGE #1 works as an accelerator for the creative process of K­ON­T­O with their design objects. K­O­N­T­O works in the border of art and design, and the MONTAGE series is the link from their artistic practice to their design production ­in that sense, the MONTAGE series serve as the main inspiration for their work with designs, and can be considered as the visual output of a working process. ­> www.k­o­n­t­o.dk

ORÉE

Orée was born from the observation that modern technology products are designed for rapid obsolescence, look alike, are highly impersonal and made from cheap eco­unfriendly materials. Orée wants to do something different: create elegant, durable & personal high performance technology objects primarily crafted from the finest natural materials.

Wireless charging pad for your Qi compatible smartphone. ­> www.oreedesign.com

plaincrafts

Plain Crafts is Søren Ulrich’s take on clean and simple furniture design, drawing inspiration from the Scandinavian and Japanese woodworking tradition.

As a direct response to “chip­ board culture”, his vision is to produce contemporary furniture, with classic lines, built from high quality materials, that will last for generations. Hand built from solid hardwood, every Plain Crafts piece creates an authentic and lasting impression. ­> www.plaincrafts.com

design

timeless tech Orée focus’ on combining of timeless craftmanship and cutting­edge technologies. All their objects are eco­designed, crafted and hand­finished.

Protection pouch in recycled leather for your Orée Board that also serves as an ergonomic stand for tablet or smartphone ­ an elegant wooden Bluetooth ­and a Multi touch trackpad that also serves as a numerical keypad made from a single piece of premium maple or walnut wood. ­> www.oreedesign.com

WOOD COUTURE

WoodCouture is a collaboration between Sigurd Elling and Petter Brandberg who both have a background in architecture but with an interest in craftsmanship. WoodCouture treat all works as architecture where the details are part of a bigger picture.

Dining table in elm with linseed oil finish. ­> www.woodcouture.dk

Photos: Paul Erik Fabricius.

art art

Raivo’s space odyssy Raivo RaivoHein Heinisisan anEstonian Estonianentrepreneur entrepreneurwho whohas hasfound foundsucsuccess cessinindiverse diversefields; fields;from frommedia mediaand andcapital capitalinvestments investmentsto to the therenewable renewableand andtraditional traditionalenergy energysector. sector.He Heisisthe theco-owco-owner nerof ofLHV LHVPank Pankand andoversees overseesthe thebiggest biggestpension pensionfunds fundsinin Estonia.

Estonia. But But his his true true passion passion isis far far from from earthly earthly mammon. mammon.

Hein Hein has has aa fascination fascination for for the the cosmos. cosmos. So So much much so so that that he he has has built built his his own own private private observatory observatory inin Saaremaa, Saaremaa, the the larlargest gestisland islandoff offEstonia’s Estonia’swest westcoast, coast,and andhas hassinged singedon onwith with British British adventurer-businessman adventurer-businessman Sir Sir Richard Richard Branson Branson to to laulaunch nchinto intospace spaceon onVirgin VirginGalactic.

Galactic.Raivo Raivotakes takesphotos photosof ofheaheavenly venlybodies bodiesfrom fromhis hisobservatory observatorythat thatare aretruly trulyawe aweinspiring. inspiring.

Tallinn TallinnArts Artshad hadaabrief briefchat chatwith withRaivo Raivoabout abouthis hisastrophotoastrophotography, graphy,lifelong lifelonglove lovefor forthe thestars starsand andwhether whetherspace spacereally reallyisis the thefinal finalfrontier. frontier.

H

ow did your interest in space come about?

Is this a lifelong obsession?

I guess everything starts from childhood.

Technology, science and science fiction have interested me since I was a wee lad. Space observation with a telescope and “space imaging”, my photography, is its logical outcome. This hobby has been with me a long time and I hope to continue. I am just planning to renew the technology I have.

Is space really the “final frontier” like Captain Kirk said?

The last frontier of the universe is of course there, where our eyes can’t see anymore since light from there has not reached us yet. It is located somewhere about 13.7 billion light years away. Until we can see what is there, everything is really waiting to be discovered. If we only had the technology for this! But the time will come when we will get all the answers. Perhaps in the next twenty thousand years.

”

Tell us about your observatory and space photography.

Everything in the sky is beautiful and unique.

Every object is different and therefore beautiful in itself.”

You take some amazing pictures.

Thank you. I have two observatories, both of them are located in Saaremaa, where there is no light pollution.

There I have two telescopes, 17” and 12”, which are attached to a special appliance – the CCD camera. Sky imaging is a lot different from normal photography. It is a very specific process which requires long shutter speeds and after treatment. You can be read more from here: Looduspilt.ee website:http://goo.gl/nqOXRV The Hubble Telescope’s pictures excited a lot of people.

When you look at the vastness and beauty of the cosmos are you reminded of Einstein’s quote about not “playing dice” with creation?

I guess it’s arguable whether God is playing dice or not.

Scientists and evolutionary theory say one thing and creationists and believers another. The only obvious thing is that the last two are “magic”. The universe’s laws of physics are the same in every corner and entropy as well as energy conservation laws don’t allow us to understand the universe in two different ways.

We understand that you and your wife signed on for Richard Branson’s space tourism flights. Did the recent crash of his prototype put you off the idea of venturing into space?

money, it’s not profitable field of activity. My business areas are investing, real estate, banking, trading and internet services. Plus renewable energy, I have a 30kW solar park and a wind-farm.

It’s only me, not my wife. Women are a bit more sensible. I’m not going to be scared about some setbacks. Science sadly sees these sacrifices everywhere all the time. Besides, it looks like this mistake was made by human error and it wasn’t a failure of the equipment.

What’s your favorite galaxy, supernova, nebula, pulsar or what have you?

Everything in the sky is beautiful and unique. Every object is different and therefore beautiful in itself.

You are a serial entrepreneur. Is your business bone connected to your space bone?

What’s next for Raivo?

No, I don’t think so. Even though I’m selling my photography for

Next? Heading into space!

Photo: Kirill Gvozdev

healthy living

Helena oun on health & modelling

H

elena Oun is a model, businesswomen and nutritionist striving to make a difference in the lives of people looking to improve their health and wellness. Still in her mid-twenties, Helena has traversed the wide circle from teenage model and world traveler living the dream of international

fashion and glamor to disillusioned young woman wondering where the modeling industry was taking her and her well-being. At 20 she decided to reaccess her values and began a journey of discovery about herself and what it really means to be healthy and beautiful in our media dominated world. She became a certified holistic nutritionist and founded Healthy and Nourished, a website offering advice on everything from yoga to recipes and personal consultations. Tallinn Arts talked with Helena about how the modeling world is slowly changing and what it means to really be well.

Photo: Rebeca Willing

”

Please tell us a little bit about yourself - the different work you do and how you got into your different career tracks?

I stared modeling when I was 15 years old.

Actually I did some modeling jobs also as a kid and in my teenage years things naturally went that way, so I ended up traveling as a model. The modeling industry is very tough industry and affects a young girl’s mentality a lot. You start living your life by the rules of the industry and often girls end up losing themselves in. When I got to be 20 years old, I realized I wasn’t myself anymore and I needed to make a change.

I started to take care of myself more, spiritually and physically. From there I started my journey to health and nutrition. At first I was really craving for information on my own and trying out all kinds of training programs, diets and so on. I learned so much about the human body and I really started to appreciate everything I was given by nature. Modeling is one of the main industries to feed insecurity issues for young girls and women all around the world. But

Health and Wellness means Balance for me. It means spiritual balance with being comfortable with yourself, with your flaws and with your life. It means balance of having healthy habits, but not taking away the joy of life.”

through my learning process I learned how to deal with these issues and become confident no matter what. I am so happy now to be able to send out positive message to other young models who are going through the same things. I opened my website in a pretty early stage of my health and fitness journey, so it is so amazing to see the growth. I never thought I would really end up with the vision I had 4-5 years ago. Because when I started spreading the word of the lifestyle I believed in, people didn’t have much information about it and it wasn’t a trend yet. So I was used to hard times explaining to people what it was really about. But I knew it was the right thing to do and even though I looked like a crazy person promoting greens and smoothies. Now when people are more informed about this kind of lifestyle, it makes me so happy to see those around me making changes for better eating habits.

I studied art at school and I was always very creative. I was painting a lot until age

Helena’s top three tips for a healthy lifestyle: *Make sure you are doing it for yourself, not for society’s ideal image. *Learn to appreciate your body and the progress you make to reach your health goals. *Try different things and be open-minded.

There so many different diets, training plans. Our bodies are so different and we like different things, so what might work for your friend might not work for you. So you need to try different things to find out what is really for you. Be open for new information, because science is developing all the time and what used to be the ”truth” might not be anymore. So let yourself explore and grow. The journey should be all about discovering new things for yourself and have fun with it. A healthy lifestyle should not be something you have to do. It should be something you want to do and enjoying the process is one of the most important parts of it.

Photo: Kirill Gvozdev

18, but then my traveling schedules got busier and I didn’t have time to do it anymore. Last year I took some time off and I realized it was something I needed to get back to. Just posting few pictures of my work to social media has led to some great opportunities and I’m sure I won’t let myself walk away from my passion for art anymore.

The words ”health and wellness” are used often -- what do they mean to you?

Health and wellness means balance for me. It means spiritual balance with being comfortable with yourself, with your flaws and with your life. It means the balance of having healthy habits, but not taking away the joy of life. It means loving your body and your health being your first priority.

Nowadays people like to think that just working out and eating healthy is enough, but it really isn’t. Health and wellness is the whole package. We need to be spiritually balanced to be healthy. Everything starts from the inside and it affects how you ap-

pear outside. Our emotional stress affects our entire bodies and that’s why you can’t achieve a healthy body without really working with yourself inside and out.

Do you think it’s the individual person’s own responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle or do you think that the responsibility could also be placed on society? Why - why not?

Being healthy is such a natural thing. This is how we are actually meant to be and live. Food industries and society have manipulated people for the past few decades and we fell for it. But now when there is so much information out there, we have all the opportunities to make changes in our lives, then yes it is everybody’s individual responsibility to be healthy. Nobody can be forced to make healthier decisions in life. You should want to be healthy and you should want to live in the body you feel comfortable in. Some people don’t care to educate themselves about health and this is their own choice. I believe that everyone will have their moment when they realize

the importance of being healthy. Every one of us is a different individual and what is right for me might not be right for somebody else. But we all know that the things that make people unhealthy are unnatural and produced by massive industries that care about money, but not your health.

This is our job, to make the right choices and appreciate the health which nature gives us. Being healthy is not something impossible or extremely hard; it is about the right food choices and an active lifestyle.

Healthy lifestyles should not be something special in our society; it should be the natural way of living.

Do you think it is easy to inspire people and have you noticed people really being inspired to follow your example? As a model and through your journal Healthy and Nourished?

I have learned that people are inspired by real stories, not the illusion of what any kind of industry is trying to sell. I feel very blessed to be able to inspire others. I get

so many letters from women of all ages who have learned something from me or got some kind of motivation. I actually don’t want to be an example that other people want to be like, but I want to inspire people to find their own truth and peace. When it comes to modeling, I am one of very few. I am so happy to see the fashion industry become healthier and promoting a healthy body image, but mostly it is still selling certain kind of body type. I want to inspire models to realize the value of themselves as a people and be part of the change in the industry. When models become personalities again and not products. I want to inspire young girls to focus on their health and body, not what the industry wants them to be. We as models are the ones who have the power to make these statements and I find it very necessary to speak out loud about it.

Starting out as a model prompted you to start your journal Healthy and Nourished. What do you love about the modelling industry and what would you change about it?

Modeling is one of the most exciting jobs for any young girl or woman. The industry has gone through so many changes in the past few decades, but there is still long way to go. I have been in modeling for almost 9 years and I have seen so many flaws in the business, but I still appreciate everything that modeling has given me.

Modeling has changed everything, not just the lifestyle, but my way to appreciate who I really am as a person and taught me to value myself. As I’m working with women and body image issues on a daily basis, I have seen how much the fashion industry influences women. Recent years have seen major changes in the fashion industry.

Vogue banned underweight models and refused to use underage models. In between size models are booking more major jobs than ever (Myla in new Calvin Klein campaign for example). Fashion used to be all about straight size models to make clothing look good. Models got younger and younger. But I think it got a little out of control, because the women who are actually the clients for high fashion are all older. So when we look at the situation realistically, most women don’t have the same type of body as these young teenage girls.

Women that the fashion industry actually markets their clothing to are in all kinds of body types. So I think now we are at the point where actually you can see different types of bodies on billboards and magazines. I find it amazing, because there is not one type of perfect body. All women are beautiful in their own unique way and the fashion industry should not manipulate women to think in any other way. Also the same thing is happening when it comes to racial

issues in the fashion industry. Women love fashion in all cultures, so I don’t think that there should be any racial preferences. I have heard so many times how some of my friends have lost jobs because they are too dark or too exotic looking. I find it so insane and I really hope the industry will become more open about these issues. We feel like we are done with racism, but it’s really still around and I think it’s really sad. Jourdan Dunn is the first colored skin model on the cover of Vogue UK in the past 12 years, since Naomi Campbell in 2002.

How can these things still happen? I really want to see more racial diversity in fashion.

I started when I was in my teens and it was such a great experience for me to grow up in this industry and become an independent and strong woman. But I think there are still certain jobs that are not proper for underage girls and I think we should pay more attention to that. When you are a teenage girl just stepping into the magical fashion world, you are ready to do anything. People are selling dreams and you just want to be the next big supermodel, but often these very creative fashion people take advantage of that and young teenage girls end up doing these very artistic photo-shoots. Often these young girls are asked to be in lingerie, topless or even nude.

Whatever creative result photographers are trying to achieve, these teenage girls are not mentally ready for these sexy shoots. You can’t ask young girls to be sexy on the shoot, when many of these girls haven’t even had sex yet. They have no idea what they are doing there and they end up being very confused not just about the shoot, but also about themselves. When Kate Upton became one of the biggest sex icons of the industry, she was just 18 years old.

I think there are certain things photographers, magazine directors and creative directors should pay more attention to because being a fulltime model is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle. You become your own brand and it affects you on every level, especially when you are a teenage girl.

Can you tell us about one of the best experiences you have had modeling?

There are so many memorable moments, but the greatest experience is definitely the whole journey. Everything I have gained and learned throughout all these years. This industry made me grow up really quickly and very early. Modeling has helped me grow as a person so much.

”

But we all know that the only things what make people unhealthy are unnatural and produced by massive industries who care about money, but not your health.”

art

Nikolai triik: estonia’s master modernist

N

ikolai Triik (1884-1940) was one of Estonia’s most important exponents of Modernism in painting. Triik was at the vanguard of a group of young painters and writers who turned

their gaze west, towards Scandinavia and Paris, to free themselves from what was seen as an undeveloped arts culture at home. A renowned portraitist and landscape painter, Triik’s innovative use of color mark his works as especially aesthetically pleasing and insightful in his portraiture. Tallinn Arts spoke with the curator of Kumu’s Triik exhibition Liis Pählapuu about the special qualities of the Estonian master and his art.

Photography courtesy of KUMU

�

Triik is generally known as a remarkable portraitist, but in his work, landscapes were an area for a more unshackled pursuit of self-inquiry and painterly ideas, and they resulted in a string of successes.�

Viktoria Martna Portree 1910, Oil on canvas

Poet Juhan Liiv

”

Triik’s artistic nature was shaped by a quality more often seen in writers and less often in artists – the French call it polypersonnalité, that is, the quality of penetrating another person’s personality and inner life...”

Could you place Nikolai Triik in context of Estonian art history in the first half of the 20th century? What broader trends in European arts are exhibited in his works?

Nikolai Triik belonged to the first generation of Estonian modernists. The new ideals and hopes of the young artists who entered Estonian cultural life around the turn of the century can clearly be traced in Triik’s own life and career. As there were no comparable art schools in Estonia at that time, many young people went abroad to look for the opportunities of art education. The first destination was St. Petersburg with its large Estonian community, but further on, interest turned toward Europe with especially Scandinavia and Paris as the main attractions. The Estonian artists whom we now may consider as the classics of that early modernist era, succeeded in finding their own path and truly original outcomes in that mixed circulation of different ideas. That is also true about Triik, who’s creative work shares both the traces of classical fundamental values as well as the stylistics of Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Fauvism and Expressionism. It has been emphasized, that the main concept Estonian artists learned when experiencing works of art in different European exhibitions, was the freedom to interpret form and colour.

As a portraitist, what really stands out in NT’s work?

It has been noted, that Triik’s artistic nature was shaped by a quality more often seen in writers and less often in artists – the French call it polypersonnalité, that is, the quality of penetrating another

person’s personality and inner life, the property of imagining and sensing oneself as another person, founded primarily on a particularly finely developed sensuousness, receptiveness and imaginative powers. It seems that Triik had a special skill in establishing a contact with the person depicted. The portrait of poet Juhan Liiv, is especially unique, as Liiv was not fond of letting himself be photographed. In Liiv’s portrait, Triik shows extraordinary skill in bringing out the tension that defines a human personality through charcoal strokes at once intense and sensitive. The portrayal of Liiv denotes both inevitable static inescapability as well as extraordinary human warmth and closeness, supported by very careful choice of the intimately small format of the drawing.

NT’s use of color and brushwork are intriguing. Could you comment?

Triik’s way of treating colour is deeply connected with strong drawing as the basis of the picture created. In portraits, Triik „models“ people with colours. Even his Expressionistic works are never just spontaneous outbreaks, but based on several pre-works and studies. Triik was very systematic and commanding and his way of depiction is very much based on Art-Nouveau’s linear manners.

Triik is generally known as a remarkable portraitist, but in his work landscapes were an area for a more unshackled pursuit of selfinquiry and painterly ideas, and they resulted in a string of successes. In Finnish Landscape (1914) Triik has molded an impulsively soft mass of colour, allowing it to resonate as a material, out of which evolves a teeming, restless form.

BUSINESS

Karoli Hindriks: Changing the Way We Work

T

hough just 31 Karoli Hindriks has already hit a number of career peaks in the business world. At 16 she became the youngest patent holder in Estonia, inventing a pedestrian reflector that sold thousands of units in northern Europe. She then turned her attention to broadcast media, helping to launch MTV Estonia, becoming the country manager in 2009. MTV Estonia’s sales blossomed under her leadership. Next Karoli founded her own media sales agency, working with Fox International, eventually helping to start six Fox channels in the region. Her latest effort is Jobbatical, a company that seeks to bring high value employees to meaningful short term work adventures.

Tallinn Arts spoke with Karoli about her heady time as a girl genius, why the media landscape has changed so much and how work as we have known it will never be the same.

Your CV is steeped in accomplishments yet you are still quite young. What inspired you at such a young age to invent things and reach for goals?

Both my mother and late father were very entrepreneurial and that certainly supported my choices in life. My mother is a social entrepreneur and active in the NGO field. When my brother and I came home from school with those enormous bags full of heavy books, my mother decided to do something about it. She took the weight of the bags in proportion to our body mass and sent bags full of rocks to the President and the Prime Minister of our country (weight in proportion to their body masses). Now there is a law, which says how heavy the books can be. That is my mother. My father was a small entrepreneur, who against all odds and without prior experience or know-how (living in the Soviet Union, where there was no real business) started a company when Estonia regained independence. His attitude was that the sky is the limit and if you have an idea or a dream then go for it.

Tell us about being a successful teen inventor. That must have been exciting.

I remember a teacup conversation when I was 16 years old and told my dad about a business idea I had for our school student

company. Probably in a normal family the conversation would have ended with a suggestion to concentrate on the studies and not on nonsense. But my father’s answer was: “I wonder if you could patent it?” The next day I walked to the Patent Office and asked. Sad that we did not have Google Glass back then because the surprise in the patent lawyer’s face was priceless. And the answer was yes. Therefore I applied for my first patent and my father lent me the money to get things started. I paid back every penny of it after the first business success.

How was it working in the rough and tumble world of corporate media? Did you find it to your liking after the creative work of invention and being your own boss?

Part of the time in the television business I worked from my own agency and had the freedom to build up the channels and brand from scratch locally. I loved it though of course in the middle of the deepest recession it was also damn hard. But when we joined the corporation then of course the way of work changed remarkably. I loved the people and know-how I got from there.

Understanding the way corporations work is something very useful in building up Jobbatical’s business today. It also made me realize I do not have the patience for a corporate environment.

Short profile: Name: Karoli Hindriks Occupation(s): Serial entrepreneur, Founder at Jobbatical

Tell us about your new start-up Jobbatical. How did this project come about?

Jobbatical is based on my belief that working as we know it is broken and is changing. Come to think of it then there is a similarity to television business. Work also has been linear – a company hires a person and the person goes to work at certain times. The linear way of working is like an on-going program where some of the content is useful and some of it a waste of time. Similarly to television, work is changing to an on-demand model. Both individuals and employers want to increase their flexibility and therefore professional contractual working is becoming the name of the game.

Jobbatical actually started from my own experience. I decided to take a break from doing television business in the Baltics and broaden my outlook. I discovered that despite the fact that mid-career breaks and flexible working are becoming more and more popular that nobody is actually using that talent pool. I would have loved to jump on a team and

help to build up a television channel in Kenya for example having all the competence to do it. As I had also been sitting on the entrepreneur and manager side of the table then I saw real value in a platform where companies could access talent ready to jump in for the short term to solve certain problems matching their competence without having the whole hassle with the hiring process.

What do you feel Jobbatical is aspiring to be as a business?

Do you feel it has the legs to be a long-term effort for decades to come? Do you think you will stay with it for the duration?

I believe that in 3-5 years many people will be working on a project-to-project basis and across borders. In many cases competence is what matters and it does not really matter where the person is from. Intuit’s research in the US forecasting that by 2020 60 million Americans will be freelancers supports that thesis. Jobbatical wants to be part of that change.

BUSINESS

Change in rank: Steady Increase Decrease

top 20: Global Financial Centres Index

T

he Global Financial Centres Index is a ranking of cities based upon the their financial clout.

It is a somewhat complicated calculus with input from the World Bank, the Organization

for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The whole thing is put together and published twice yearly by the Z/Yen Group, a consultancy headquartered in the City of London. The GFCI is sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. The list below is the Top 20 from the latest GFCI . For the curious, Tallinn ranked #81; just behind Moscow and ahead of Athens.

New york

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New York does business like nobody’s business. The Big Apple continues to lead the way as the planet’s premier financial centre.

The world beats a path to its door and high quality human capital is a big reason why New York remains preeminent in finance. The sheer scale of New York’s economic output is staggering with the city area’s Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) at 1.39 trillion dollars, more than all but twelve countries in the world. New York is numero uno as a postmodern mega city which is in many ways more like a nation state than a mere metropolis. Can you name the mayor of New York?

Sure you can. Can you name the president of Spain? Maybe not.

Steven Iodice

london

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London was once the epicenter of the greatest empire the world has ever seen. It now jostles with New York as the best financial centre. More than 480 overseas banks do business there and the City of London is home to the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, and Lloyd’s of London insurance group. London is a global city par excellence. The Conurbation has a population of 21 million, the largest in Europe, and its 43 universities mean there is an educated talent pool on site. The worldwide financial crisis slammed London, but the City is back in business.

hong kong

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As China surges as a global power Hong Kong continues as its cosmopolitan hub.

Once a prized possession of the British Empire, Hong Kong has long been a bastion of liberal economic policies and free trade for the Pacific Rim. The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and a highly educated workforce. With its laissez-faire economy and strong local currency (the HK Dollar) look for Hong Kong to attract the financially daring for the foreseeable future. Unless Beijing throws a wrench in the works.

singapore

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Singapore is another former British colonial holding, a sovereign city-state and island off the south end of the Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia. Singapore is one of the most densely populated places on earth with almost 5 and a half million people packed into a mere 718 square kilometers. 75 percent of those people are ethnic Chinese with Malays, Indians and Europeans making up the remainder. Singapore’s diversity and colonial history have made it a haven for trade for almost two centuries.

It is a strict but stable society drawing investment from across the globe. Singapore is an Asian powerhouse in finance and manufacturing and one of the busiest ports in the world. And lest we forget, a local cuisine second to none.

san francisco

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The “City by the Bay” is known the world over for its fog, beautiful architecture and picturesque views; one of the advantages of a locale of over 50 hills. What is perhaps less known to those outside the US is that San Francisco is the financial leader of the west coast. Los Angeles has media and movies, but San Francisco excels in financial services. It all began with the Gold Rush in 1849 and the City, as locals call it, has never looked back. Retail banking leader Wells Fargo is headquartered there as is major financial planner and investment firm Charles Schwab. Bank of America began in San Francisco. Venture capital firms, international financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies abound. San Francisco is the epicenter of dot.com culture and a gateway to Asia. One of the world’s great tourist destinations, many visit the City and never leave.

tokyo

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Rising from the ashes of World War II, Tokyo is a behemoth of a city with a population of over 13 million people. It is the cultural, economic and political centre of Japan and a world leader in finance. Tokyo is tidy, highly functional and ultra modern. It is considered one of the world’s most livable cities but also among the most expensive. Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world with the greater urban area’s GMP coming in at whopping 1.91 trillion dollars. The city is home to several of the world’s largest investment banks and insurers and the Tokyo stock exchange ranks third by market capitalization. Despite or perhaps even in line with the rise of China, Tokyo remains the juggernaut of the east.

zurich

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The mighty minnow of the world’s top 20 financial centres is Zurich, Switzerland.

With a population of only 400,000, Zurich is among the heavyweights in the business of global finance. This is accomplished through a combination of favorable regulatory environment, exceptionally educated and productive local population and outstanding quality of life, attracting skilled people and capital. Zurich is a centre for media, transport and research and development in Switzerland, boasting three top flight universities. The city is clean, safe and the trains run on time. Zurich is consistently ranked among the best places in the world to live, if you can handle the price tag, which is also at the top of the table.

seoul

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Devastated by the Korean War, Seoul has proven to be one the true miracles of modern capitalism. A mega-city of 10 million, it is the most well-connected urban space in the world for wireless internet a access. Seoul’s infrastructure is matchless with the airport and subway system continuously ranked among the world’s finest. The South Korean capital is ranked fourth in GMP worldwide and is home to 15 Fortune 500 companies including the number one electronics producer, Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia. Seoul is proof that liberal capitalism can work to lift people from poverty. South Koreans, starting from a postwar point zero, now enjoy a lifestyle comparable to France and Finland. Seoul is the epicenter of that spectacular rise.

boston

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Beantown might be better known for craft beer, the Red Sox and NFL champions the Patriots but Boston is also New England’s financial hub. The greater Boston area has the world’s 12th largest urban economy coming in at 363 billion dollars in the latest available data. Long among the most important working ports in the western hemisphere, the city is now an important player in the bio-medical field. But it is in the arena of finance and venture capital that Boston really shines. New England’s first city is also a leader in tourism and host for conventions.

Washington, d.c.

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The federal capital of the United States is, needless to say, seen by much of the world as the locus of global political might. But Washington, D.C. is also major economic player not just for the eastern seaboard but also transnationally. With a population of only 660,000 it’s not size, but the players that count and in D.C. they are insiders that know how to pull the levers of power. Money is the grease of the US political machine and the nexus of the federal government, lobbyists, law firms, civilian and defense contractors and interest groups drives Washington, D.C.’s economy. The city has the fourth largest metropolitan economy in the US and a growing financial and scientific community. Still, the government accounts for about 30% of its employees.

toronto

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For many Americans Toronto is a forgotten place somewhere up in the the frozen tundra of Canada; a city with a morbidly obese crack smoking mayor in a land of moose, dubious rock music and a national pastime that involves chasing around an icy rubber biscuit on skates. But the well informed know Toronto’s value as an international hub of business and finance. It is Canada’s financial leader, home to its biggest banks and brokerage firms and the world’s seventh largest stock exchange by market capitalization. Toronto has a diverse and educated population with strong links to both Europe and the Pacific Rim. And as Canadians know, you got to put the biscuit in the basket. Toronto does just that.

Chigago

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When Frank Sinatra said Chicago was a marvelous town, he may not have been thinking about the economy. But he could have been. Chicago is the powerhouse of the American Midwest, the City of Big Shoulders and the place where all trains are said to lead in the vast US landscape. Chicago has the third largest GMP in the United States coming in at well over 500 billion dollars per annum. It is a major industrial and financial centre and home to an array of stock, commodities and exchange markets. 66 Fortune 1000 companies call Chicago home. The city is the traditional home of America’s retail industry and a major convention destination.

geneva

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The second Swiss city to crack the Global Financial Centres Index Top 20, Geneva is the mountainous nation’s Francophone capital and home to many important international organizations such as the Red Cross, agencies of the United Nations and diplomatic missions. But in Switzerland, finance and banking are never far from the agenda, and Geneva is a global leader in both. A city with a picturesque setting on the shores of the lake that bears its name, compact and highly functional, Geneva has consistently ranked at the top of the world’s most livable cities. It is also among the most expensive. The city is a centre of financial services and corporate offices. The world’s most renowned watchmakers reside in Geneva, including Rolex, Chopard, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin and Jaeger LeCoultre.

vancouver

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You might call Vancouver Canada’s San Francisco, though its residents could take offense at being compared to any other metropolis in the world. Vancouver’s matchless locale, with mountains and sea, make it as stunning as any city on the list of financial centres. Its geographic and cultural ties to Asia are a natural conduit to Pacific Rim cash flows, providing a premier hub for financial services. When Canada’s transcontinental railway made Vancouver its Pacific terminus in the 19th century, it exploded with people and economic vitality and British Columbia´s leading city never looked back. Vancouver’s is the most important commercial port in Canada and centre for media production, especially film, the video game industry, biotechnology firms and software development.

Photo: Loïc Lagarde

luxembourg

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Luxembourg is both a city and small principality as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, located between Germany, Belgium and France. The city of Luxembourg, population 165,000 including suburbs, draws upon its large neighbors for both workers and capital inflows. Banking is the backbone of Luxembourg’s economy and its raison d’être in the higher reaches of the Global Financial Centres Index. Luxembourg also has significant industrial production, especially in steel manufacturing, and an important telecommunications sector. Boring Luxembourg is, but rich too. The Duchy has the world’s second highest GDP person in the world.

frankfurt

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Many know Frankfurt as the city you fly into when visiting or returning to Europe but it’s also Germany’s and the continent’s financial engine. Frankfurt is home to the European Central Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, one of the largest in the world. All major German banks have a their main offices in the city and many overseas financial institutions have a presence in Frankfurt as well. As one might imagine, all of these banks being in one place promotes financial services as the primary economic sector in Frankfurt. After the global financial crisis, bankers aren’t the most popular people in the world. If you toss a stone in the air in Frankfurt, you might hit one.

Leonardo Valente

dubai

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Dubai was built by oil revenue, which now accounts for only 7% of the income in this city and emirate of the United Arab Emirates. But Dubai is rolling in cash as the financial centre of the Persian Gulf region. An oasis of glass and steel, Dubai boasts a jaw dropping skyline including the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Financial services account for a large portion of the cash flows into the emirate, but Dubai is also a travel hub for the whole Middle East and Indian Ocean nations. Tourism and real estate are big players too. As the rest of the region is riled in turmoil Dubai will continue to prosper as a safe haven. And you can enjoy a fine cocktail after a round of golf. Try that in Riyadh.

montreal

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The French speaking capital of Quebec is as European as it gets in North America. Montreal is the second largest French speaking city in the world after Paris, and is the traditional commercial centre of Canada, being surpassed by Toronto in recent decades. Montreal still retains important economic assets, has the second largest GMP in Canada and is Quebec’s first city, making it numéro un for all of French speaking North America. Aerospace, pharmaceuticals, electronics, telecommunications, software, textiles, apparel manufacturing and finance predominate. Montreal is among the biggest inland commercial ports in the world, keeping les habitants among the world’s “haves.”

Photo: Leonardo Valente

abu dhabi

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Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and of the emirate that bears its name. Like Dubai, Abu Dhabi has seen remarkable growth in recent decades, drawing investment from around the world as the progressive face of Arab and Muslim civilization. As the seat of government for the UAE, Abu Dhabi wields political clout and draws business to the tune of nearly 300 billion dollars per year. This city of 1,000,000 people is the center for oil production and heavy industry in the emirates but has made strong efforts at diversifying its economy in recent years through investments in financial services and tourism infrastructure. The Abu Dhabi Emiri Family calls this place home and calls the shots too.

Photo: Sławomir Kowalewski

shanghai

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Shanghai is a city of superlatives. Depending on how these things are measured, it is the most populous city in the world, coming in at 24,000,000. It has the world’s biggest and busiest container port. It was the largest and most prosperous city in the Far East before the Second World War and the imposition of communism relegated it to a formerly glorious backwater. Reforms in the 1990s and the historic growth China’s economy over the past 20 years have made Shanghai a world class city and showcase of China’s economic clout; a leading centre for finance and industry. For the “City on the Sea” as Shanghai translates, the future appears limitless and can go at least as far as the Chinese economic and power surge allows.

Photo: www.flickr.com/photos/freelyhaylee

economic growth is picking up slowly in estonia

BUSINESS

Forecast from the Eesti Pank

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he Estonian economy has grown in 2014 mainly with support from the domestic market, though the market share of Estonian goods and services in partner countries has also increased. Rapid growth in production from manufacturing and slightly more optimistic expectations for output indicate that economic activity continues to increase.

Economic growth in 2014 will be faster than it was last year but it will only accelerate modestly in future.

Estonia is in a different phase of development from ten years ago and sustainable growth over the long term

is 3–4%. The Estonian economy is forecast to be growing at this rate by 2016.

Estonian economic activity is restricted by the sluggish recovery in external demand. Although European countries have made structural reforms to improve competitiveness, it will take time for the effects to become apparent, and some countries will require additional reforms. It will also take time for companies and banks to adjust their balance sheets. Growth in European countries is being helped by the reduced need for consolidation from governments, a monetary policy that is accommodative for growth, and a loosening of credit restrictions. The

outlook for growth in the euro area is also improved by the fall in the euro, which has made exports from the single currency area more competitive.

Opportunities for Estonian exports would be boosted by expansion into new markets. Diversifying markets would also help to improve the outlook for economic growth, as Estonia’s current trading partners are growing more slowly than the rest of the world.

Despite the intensive use of available resources and favourable financing conditions, the production capacity in the Estonian economy has not increased significantly in the past two

years as uncertainty about the recovery in demand has restrained investment. Labour shortages will worsen in the years ahead and in the next two years alone the number of people of working age will fall by around 15,000. In consequence investment is expected to be focused mainly on raising the efficiency of production.

Although wage growth has slowed somewhat, the wage pressures caused by labour shortages will remain. On top of this, the minimum wage will be raised again in 2015, when new wage agreements will also come into force in several sectors.

Persistent growth in labour costs and tougher competition for employees will more and more firmly push companies that cannot increase their productivity out of the market.

Despite the decline in the labour force, unemployment will not fall significantly over the next two years, as there remains a major problem of the mismatch between the skills of those looking for work and the needs of employers.

More attention needs to be paid to development of the labour force for structural unemployment to be reduced and the labour market to be made more efficient.

Consumer price inflation fell in 2014 and went below zero in June for the first time since the crisis. Four years ago prices fell across a wide range of goods and services, but this year the fall in prices has mainly been caused by cheaper energy and food. Prices will stop falling at

Photo: .flickr.com/photos/auburnalumniassociation/

the start of 2015 and inflation will pick up in the next two years, but it will remain subdued. Higher labour costs will make the prices of domestic goods and services rise faster than those of imported goods and services.

Despite the weak economic climate, the rapid growth in wages and household consumption have increased government tax revenues in 2014, which has improved the state finances. However, the budget still remains in deficit. Tax changes next year and higher pensions and child benefits will widen the budget deficit further.

Though the nominal budget deficit will remain small in the years ahead, the structural deficit and the resulting need for consolidation may make tax rises or lower spending growth necessary. The gap between growth in wages in the public and private sectors has widened this year, but the gap should close in order to allow wage pressures to ease.

The resilience of the Estonian economy to risks has improved because debt levels have lowered, there are fewer problem loans, and savings have increased. Furthermore, the risks to the Estonian economy from real estate prices and from excessive growth in labour costs are smaller than they were six months ago. Growth in the Estonian economy could be vulnerable to uncertainty about the recovery of growth in European countries and to geopolitical tensions. The threats to growth could affect certain individual sectors or industries particularly, as was seen with the recent trade sanctions.

fashion

xenia creativity Xenia Joost has taken her fashion sense from the schoolyards of Tallinn, where girlfriends eagerly ordered her creations, to design work for some of Estonia’s finest labels to her eponymous fashion house whose reach stretches far and wide. Not content to market her work only in Estonia, Xenia has branched out to Moscow, the USA and beyond. Tallinn Arts had a chat with Xenia to find out what it takes to make it in the rough and tumble of world of international fashion and where her sartorial vision will take her next.

W

hat were the first steps you took in the world of fashion?

In my final year of middle school I went to a trip to Sweden with my class. We had a neighbour/friendship class there and I remember looking at the Swedish kids who were all very fashion forward and wearing platform shoes and flared jeans.

There were not any possibilities to buy any trendy clothes in Estonia at that time, so as I couldn’t get their style out of my head, I also felt a need to be just as trendy as them. I skipped a few canteen lunches and with that money I went to the fabric store and bought myself a thick white polyester fabric from the 5 EEK/kg pile which was really a horrific purchase when thinking back. It was a snow white smooth fabric which was furry on one side and extremely hot to be in. I made my own cut and sowed it together and afterwards put my new pants on and went to school. These pants Photos: Courtesy of Xennia Joost

gathered a lot of attention and that’s when I got my first orders from my girlfriends and later on from their friends in advance. A year after this happening, I entered my first fashion contest called Moeke and after that came Supernoova. By the end high school it was fairly clear that I wanted to study fashion.

You launched your own fashion label in 2009. Where did you set up your label and why those places?

I have been working in the fashion industry from the year 2006. My journey began with my internship in London working for Vivienne Westwood. Later I worked as an assistant designer for Monton and in 2007 I started my career in the Ivo Nikkolo brand. At the same time I did private orders for clients and also took part in fashion shows in Estonia and Riga presenting small collections. By 2009 I felt a need to formulate a smaller studio where I could take in orders. A few years ago I created

”

We are situated between Scandinavian minimalism and Slavic temperament, which could also be seen in the local design. I believe that this is the soul of Estonian design.” both my own brand as well as leading the production of Ivo Nikkolo’s collection as the Head of Design. During the day I was in Ivo Nikkolo and by night I was working in my studio.This year I made a big decision for myself and decided to only go on with my own brand Xenia Joost and opened my first shop at Pärnu mnt 12. I am currently selling my collections in Tallinn, Moscow, Riga, Finland and the USA. Negotiations are still going on with South-Korea. I see the world as a globalizing environment and the clients are divided according to lifestyle rather than continent, thus my clients could be found from all over the world.

Can you name five steps an independent Estonian fashion designer typically takes to make it in the business? What are the pros and cons of being an Estonian fashion designer and making it?

Clothing studios are very common in Estonia, where the client could communicate directly to the designer and from there order a proper item of clothing.

I’ve always been fascinated by commerce production and product design.

I have a feeling that many studio-based designers are trying out commercialization by different size numbers, but most are still studio-designers.

There is rather good ground for making fashion in Estonia. We have good history and popularity in the Eastern-Euro-

pean market. In the earlier days, during Soviet Socialist Republic, there was a federation magazine called Siluett which was immensely know and popular.

Tallinna Moemaja was very famous for its designs and the local designers went all over the SSR showing their collections and there was quite a demand for their designs.

The other side for why it is good to make fashion in Estonia are low rental costs and operating charges. At the same time it is difficult to evolve due to the lack of clients as our population is small. Therefore it is easy to survive in

What should the world know about Estonian fashion and how would you define it? How do your designs reflect Estonian style?

Territorial-wise, Estonia is at an interesting location. We are situated between Scandinavian minimalism and Slavic temperament, which could also be seen in the local design.

There can be seen a lot of play with forms and Scandinavian-like clean lines, but at the same time there is a hint of feminine silhouettes and decorative design. I believe that this the soul of Estonian design.

I personally prefer a more minimalistic line as well as an architectural play of forms, but I always think about the person wearing the clothes. A woman wants to feel beautiful and that is important to me. I design clothes for women not the other way around.

When you design clothes, what are you aiming for?

In my designs I am interested in harmony as a whole and not only on one dress. I see an entire collection as a wholeness where you cannot take anything away nor add. The same goes for the photo series of the collection, displays and so forth. Everything must be in accordance and it is important to know when to stop, because overdesigning could endanger the whole.

I believe that clothes play a central role in expressing and communicating our inner selves. Fashion is a visual language, but as with any other language, the affluence of our vocabulary depends on ourselves. Yet, we should never forget the fun and the laughter, even during the most difficult times, and, of course, staying true to ourselves.

Do you typically draw inspiration from history?

I am inspired by life itself. At times, it is also history. Sometimes I get inspired by the future and the current on-going days and if anything, I am inspired by everything I see and hear every day. The more difficult p is making decisions and staying on track with your thoughts when there is so much going on in the world every single day and second.

Does fashion qualify as an art? Do you consider yourself an artist?

I draw a clear line between art and design. My everyday work consists of design, where I take under consideration the client and work with my team in order to achieve a collective goal, but there is a big artist in me which needs to be let out.

In order to do that, I take part in different projects where I can live out my inner artist and create individual items based only on my artist ego.

Who is your role model?

I feel that at the current stage I am at, there is no singular role model, but rather a certain view of life where I am learning something from different people. I am trying to achieve a harmony in my everyday life, find balance and enjoy each moment.

�

Estonia, but growing into something bigger is complicated.

In that case it is essential to export. Surely that is good from the country’s perspective, because it brings money in and creates jobs.

I believe that clothes play a central role in expressing and communicating our inner selves. Fashion is a visual language, but as with any other language, the affluence of our vocabulary depends on ourselves.�

Photos: Pitti Immagine

fashion

Back To Basics

C

ut-copy-paste generation: A generation, who lives in a world where everything is possible, where you can do what you want and where you can take on different personalities. The cut-copy-paste generation is the result of the mix of different cultures and subcultures. Within our society

new combinations are made continually and every year we see more new subcultures.

Taboos are broken and everything is possible. We are always chasing and looking for the new thing, something different, something innovative. As a result our identity changes over time. But who or what is a man in our globalized urban society?

Looking at a lot of the men who work in fashion and the way they dress you will undoubtedly get the answer: let’s go back-to-basics. On him you will find all the items that define classic appeal, that everybody knows but does not wear in their everyday life: the hat, beard, suit, tie, bow and glasses. And of course the barber shop. It’s almost like this style defines his way of finding the way back to his true identity. He’s not looking at what’s new or innovative but goes back to the old basic staples of a classic wardrobe - with a twist!

THE HAIR

THE JACKET

THE HAT

THE CLAN

enjoyment

Photography courtesy of Camus

Cognac: France’s water of life

C

ognac consumption has seen a precipitous rise in recent years, rivaling the obsession with single-malt whiskies that has struck the drinking class. Much of the trend has emerged in Asia

with nouveau riche consumers imbibing barrels of the famed French liquor. But the Baltic region and Russia too have caught the cognac bug with quality conscious drinkers deciding it is the ideal after dinner drink. Tallinn Arts takes a look at the cognac mystique with Frederick Dezauzier, Global Brand Ambassador of Camus, one of the world’s finest cognacs, to see what it’s all about.

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All cognacs have their own characteristics. What is important in a cognac is that it is able to reveal the work of the winemaker, of the distiller, and of the cellar master,”

C

ognac is a variety of brandy that comes from the town of Cognac in west central France. It is a wine growing region called Charente. In wine lies the origins of cognac. “The area was famed for wine and salt production from ancient times,” Dezauzier tells Tallinn Arts. “This early wine trade helped to develop a business mentality in the Charente region. The city of Cognac became renowned for its wine trade since at least the 11th century.”

Later the Dutch “invented” brandy. “By the 16th century the quality of wine in the region was in decline. The Dutch found it too weak to take back home aboard their ships and took to distilling it, thus the term “brandwijn” or “burnt wine” the origins of the word brandy,” Dezauzier explains.

Cognac makers keep their finest and oldest products in special cellars. These dark, dank spaces full of ancient barrels of eau de vie are called “Paradis.”

As distillation methods improved brandy became not just a method of salvaging poor quality wines, but a desirable drink in its own right. “At the beginning of the 17th century, double distillation made its appearance in Charente. It allowed the transformation of local wines into eau-de-vie and their transportation by sea without damage. Given its concentration, eau-de-vie is also much cheaper to ship than wine. Delays in the handling of ship cargo lead to the realization that eau-de-vie improves when it spends extended time in oak casks (made with wood from Limousin) and that it can even be consumed straight from the cask.

Thus true cognac from our town and region was born,” says Dezauzier.

Cognac today is about enjoying its unique qualities alone or paired with food.

“All cognacs have their own characteristics.

What is important in a cognac is that it is able to reveal the work of the winemaker, of the distiller, and of the cellar master,” Dezauzier says.

“Recently we had a great experience for a special dinner in Japan. We served Camus Cognac Extra at 18 °Celsius with sushi, salmon and oysters. Then we drank it with fresh fish. The temperature of the cognac continued to rise and we had it with an assortment of vegetables and finally dessert. We used the same cognac for the same dinner, but thanks to the temperature change we tasted five different cognacs from the same bottle! This means that cognac is really able to pair well with any situation.”

Cognac is seeing increasing popularity for a

variety of people and occasions.

“Cognac has reached its all time high in sales volumes and values. Dynamic and growing markets are in Asia, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, in Eastern Europe in Russia, Poland and the Baltic states and in Africa, Nigeria and South Africa are big consumers. The global duty free business is expanding rapidly,” Dezauzier says.

“Drinking occasions are broadening from the after diner drink to aperitif occasions or night club consumption. Cognac is proving to be an excellent mixer for cocktails. In China, it is the favorite banquet drink.

Its food pairing is increasing as well in gastronomic restaurants, especially with seafood and oysters.”

Distillers of cognac rank their special liquor based upon quality as VS, VSOP and XO. With the VS label you may ask for a cocktail or mix with water and the bartender won’t blink. Anything more than a drop of water with VSOP or XO, which commonly run hundreds or thousands of euros per bottle, and you are committing drinking sacrilege.

FLÃNERIE

Sardinia’s Eternal City.

When English novelist DH Lawrence sailed into Cagliari with his wife Frieda in 1921 he described the view as akin to a “white Jerusalem” and said of Sardinia that it was a land caught between Europe and Africa but belonging to neither.

Sebada, traditional dessert, stuffed with cheese and topped with honey

�To go to Cagliari and not appreciate Sardinian cuisine would be a sin. The consequences of geography and history have created a singular food culture distinct from mainland Italy.�

�Those coming from northern Europe, especially during the darkness of winter or early spring, will be struck by the colorful cityscape, sunshine and warmth of the people.�

I

ndeed Sardinia is a world apart, and Cagliari, as the capital of the island is the hub of that fantastic world.

Those coming from northern Europe, especially during the darkness of winter or early spring, will be struck by the colorful cityscape, sunshine and warmth of the people. Sardinians are kind and helpful and rightfully proud of their remarkable history and civilization. English, however, is not their strong suit. A quick brush-up on the basics of Italian and a phrasebook will prove useful for visitors.

Cagliari has been occupied for at least 5,000 years and the historical layers are visible in the cityscape. The origins of the aboriginal Sardinian people are lost to time, but the Phoenicians showed up in what is today Cagliari in the 8th century BC, followed by the Carthaginians for whom Sardinia was an important strategic asset for their empire in North Africa.

They left a large necropolis in the city.

The Romans supplanted the Carthaginians and conferred the inhabitants of the island the rights of Roman citizens. Their greatest legacy to the appearance of Cagliari is a beautiful hillside amphitheatre with a fantastic sea view. It sets the imagination to wondering at what this stunning performance setting must have been like in antiquity.

But the most prominent legacy from the past is the Castel di Castro, built by the ruling Pisan merchant class in the 11th century and expanded greatly during Aragonese rule in the high Middle Ages. This fortified city is the forerunner of modern Cagliari. The castle’s massive limestone towers high on

�In common with rest of the city, the Castel di Castro is a living, breathing place and the ride up the elevator to the castle’s Elephant Tower is as likely to be shared with an old lady taking home her groceries as with tourists.�

distinct from mainland Italy. A wine and cheese lover’s paradise, Grenache grapes have been growing on the island from time immemorial and Malvasia, both its table and sweet desert wine varieties, and Cannonau, a red wine made from Grenache, are delicious paired with Sardinian cheeses like pecorino sardo, fiore sardo, ricotta, caprino and pecorino romano.

The colorful apartments of Castel di Castro.

the hill overlooking the city and the sea surely inspired Lawrence’s comparison with Jerusalem. In this settlement too can be found splendid piazzas and warrens of tiny cobbled streets lined with gorgeous, colorful flats. In common with rest of the city, the Castel di Castro is a living, breathing place and the ride up the elevator to the castle’s Elephant Tower is as likely to be shared with an old lady taking home her groceries as with tourists. Walking down from the castle you’ll find the Piazza Palazzo and the ornate Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption from the 13th century. The structure has seen many changes over the centuries, but the steeple, two Romanesque side doors and the so-called Pisan Chapel, dedicated to the Sacred Heart, remain

from the Middle Ages.

Continuing to walk down the hill will lead to the central shopping district of Cagliari’s old town. Here all of the famous international and Italian brands are on offer and restaurants, cafes and bars abound. For nightlife head to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Stampace.

This is where the action is. Find out why Sardinians drink more beer than in any other Italian region and why the island is known as “the Ireland of Italy.” Knock back a cold Ichnusa, Sardinia’s national beer, on a terrace and chill.

To go to Cagliari and not appreciate Sardinian cuisine would be a sin. The consequences of geography and history have created a singular food culture

Intriguingly, traditional Sardinian cuisine is not based on the abundant seafood found off its shores. Coastal raids over the centuries meant the Sardinian people sheltered in the island’s interior and forged a diet based upon lamb, pork, wild boar and rabbit. Sardinia’s famous bread, carta di musica (sheet of music) is crisp, paper thin and never goes stale; perfect for the demands of shepherds tending their flocks for long spells in bucolic Sardinian nature. Now, of course, seafood swells the ranks of the island’s offerings and lobsters, sea urchins, octopus, clams mussels, squid and sardines along with larger Mediterranean fish add to the fine eating scene.

The mix of food styles indicates diverse influences. Arabic style couscous dishes, and heavy doses of saffron mark Sardinian cuisine as a unique hybrid, along with many other facets of the culture. The center of Cagliari is full of restaurants to guide the diner through courses of traditional fare.

Make time to leave the center and take the number 5 bus up the hill to Castello di San Michele. Here you will find the petit castle in the splendid park of the same name with views overlooking the city. The castle itself is gorgeous, tiny and houses a museum. Its three gleaming white towers and a moat you could nearly jump across were built by the Aragonese in the 14th century. It’s Spanish castle magic you shouldn’t miss when in Cagliari.

Gone but Remembered 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the tragic death of Kino front-man Viktor Tsoi. Tallinn Arts reflects on the Soviet legend.

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or the Soviet Union’s youth in the 1980’s Viktor Tsoi was a rock god; James Dean and Jim Morrison wrapped into one. Fronting his band Kino, Tsoi touched upon forbidden subject matter. The war in Afghanistan, the hopelessness and ennui of living in a failed political system, the need for transcendence and the hope for freedom were all woven into his songs. No one had done this kind of thing before. At the beginning he was blacklisted as a trouble maker and parasite.

By the end of the 80’s Kino performed in front of over 60,000 fans at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, had toured in Denmark, France and Italy and the Soviet Union was toast.

Tsoi is still a pop culture icon in Russia and the post-Soviet states. He was a musician at the forefront of momentous changes — both perceiving their development and helping to usher in a new era in Soviet life. He caught the zeitgeist of his time and the youth of the Soviet empire responded in kind to one of their own. Tsoi was a Leningrad boy of mixed heritage — a Korean father and a Russian mother. Kino cut their teeth at the KGB-operated Leningrad Rock Club, the only venue in the city that would allow them to play publicly, alongside other early legends of Soviet rock,

Aquarium and DDT. His lyrics of disaffection, love and the limited opportunities of young people in songs like Vremya Est, a Dengi Nyet (I have Time, but No Money) Eto Ne Lyubov (This is not Love) and Bezdelnik (The Idler) spoke to his contemporaries, even as he was officially persona non grata in the eyes of the state.

Kino was a ray of unvarnished truth in an opaque world of propaganda. The band’s records were spread by samizdat, that is, as contraband copied and smuggled throughout the Soviet Union from which they made no money. With the Gorbachev thaw came official recognition but an early death. Tsoi was killed in a car wreck while driving from Latvia to Leningrad in 1990, aged 28.

His tragic accident, undeniable talent and stance as an outsider in opposition to a repressive government marked Tsoi for legend status.

Paying homage to Viktor Tsoi takes different forms; from Kaliningrad, to Astana, to Vladivostok and beyond. Mostly it involves listening to Kino. If you are ever on Staryi Arbat, the famous pedestrian-only shopping street in Moscow, you’ll find a side alley and a mural dedicated to Tsoi. Here the rummies and junkies, in various states of disrepair, sit in vigil to their hero every day. And the cops leave them alone.