It was a dinner and a show – oh, and a runway featuring Finnish clothing and jewelry as well. That’s how the October fundraiser at the Finnish Heritage Museum celebrated “The Dreamers of Finnish Design” – Pentik, Marimekko, and Finlayson. Tickets were $30.00 and included the dinner and the show.

The event was held at the Hungarian Culture Club in Fairport Harbor with about 100 Finns and friends and family of Finns in attendance. Doors opened at 6 PM with a beverage and a snack and time to browse the raffles. There was a 50/50 raffle, a Booze Wagon raffle, a Silent Finnish Auction, and of course raffle baskets galore. Items from the local community were included in the baskets including haircuts, beautiful lighthouse pieces, a tour of the community in a golf cart, and so much more.

After a lovely buffet catered by our local Rego Pizzeria and Restaurant, guests grabbed a beverage and settled in for the show. It was an original Readers Theater by Jovette Hiltunen, highlighting the designs of Pentik, Marimekko, and Finlayson. Members played the parts of the Pentiks, the Ratias, Tsar Alexander 1 , and James Finlayson.

Attendees learned about the dreams of these early designers and what helped their brands prevail today. Perhaps most importantly, they learned about the SISU of their fellow Finns beginning in the early 1800’s.

To enhance the history, a powerpoint of various design of the three houses were shared and after the Readers Theater, members modeled a variety of Marimekko fabrics housed at the Finnish Heritage Museum. Even the President, Lasse Hiltunen, modeled some of the fabrics in a playful runway walk. His two granddaughters, Anika and Olivia, modeled a beautiful dress of Marimekko fabric and one of the recent collaborations of Marimekko and Adidas. Josie Duncan celebrated the day with a dress from the material Kukkatori which means flower market in Finnish. It was designed in 1970 and inspired by colorful flowers in the marketplace during the summer.

Hely Perttu wore a magnificent dress in black and white from Finland and Virpi Buck strolled the runway in a beautiful white raincoat from Sukos in the 70’s accented by a blue scarf and a surprise – a fur neckpiece from Finland. Wayne Oinonen wore a special shirt to let everyone know he was Finnish – and of course he borrowed a Marimekko umbrella from Anne Pohto to complete the outfit. Linda Penttila sported a purse made from coffee labels and John Kangas rounded out that table with his outdoor blue car coat. Other members were dressed in black and white Marimekko dots (Anne Pohto), funny hats (Mike Thomas), and pretty Finnish jewelry (Helen Hadden). So many brought their Marimekko handmade aprons (we use them during coffee table times) and everyone enjoyed the laughter of the models. The runway was a strip of LED lights and we are extremely grateful to Ross Duncan for the technology.