Orginaal – your dose of Ostrobothnia four times per year

The lifestyle magazine Orginaal will be launched on 16 September, and already now you can pre-order the first issue (and guarantee that you are among the firsts to hold their copy) or even make a yearly subsciption of four issues. Orginaal is bilingual and all texts in the magazine are in Finnish and Swedish.

Orginaal mixes modern Ostrobothnian food creations, wonderful life stories and design, and presents them entertainingly in an uncompromising aestethic way.

In today's world it's easy to loose the uniqueness around us. Midsummer celebrations on the cliffs, elk hunting and picking mushrooms, kick-sledge -outings on the ice and cinnamon buns. Phenomenon that not only characterise life in Ostrobothnia, but also the Nordic lifestyle close to nature and 'use what you have'-mentality.

Orginaal is about enjoying everyday life, right where you are. About enjoying the surroundings and opening one's eyes for it's uniqueness.

Behind Orginaal we find a group of enthusiasts from Jakobstad that decided to realize an idea, without previous experince from the magazine industry or without financiers. With deep commitment and a big heart the Orginaal-group is establishing a brand with high credibility and an inspirational message that reaches far beyond the writings in the magazine.

JOHO studio - a Hops-shop success story!

Johanna Öst-Häggblom, you have sold 78 posters in a few months through Hops-shop. Did you expect such a response when you joined Hops-shop?
I joined Hops-shop quite unprejudiced, I needed a forum for my products and the concept with having a little ”shop” i a bigger Internet gallery felt inspiring. I had about some ten posters printed and hoped for a few orders. And the orders came. It is really a positive surprise that the posters are so popular.

A large part of those ordering the poster are Finnish speaking, although the poster is in Swedish – what are your thoughts on this?
It is fun that the poster has reached over the language barrier too. When I started selling the posters on Hops-shop my plan was to do a Finnish version as well, and in time such will be done.

Tell us how the poster was born and what were your thoughts.
The poster was created during autumn 2008. I had kept the idea for a while, ever since I made an ”every-year-calendar” with little reminders for my mother as a Mother's Day gift quite many years ago. When I worked on the poster I wanted to seize the small and simple things that can make a day special without making them an obligation.

Is there a poster on the wall of your home as well?
Yes, one of each colour. They hang there to remind me of eating two scoops ice-cream and to jump rope now and then.

Tell us a bit more of yourself and your designing!
I am raised in a creative family in the village of Östensö in Pedersöre region. After matriculation I moved to Turku to study at Novia University of Applied Sciences. As a new graduate I moved to Helsinki and started my own business, JOHO Studio, where I work mainly with graphical design. At the moment I'm also studying at the Aalto Univeristy, School of Art and Design, in the MA programme for industrial and graphical design with emphasis on visual journalism.

Right now I'm trying to land in Ostrobotnia again, more specifically in Jakobstad, where me and my husband have moved recently. At the same time I have some ideas I have kept for a while and that are going to be realized soon, so keep an eye on Hops-shop!

>> JOHO studio in Hops-shop

Johanna Högväg of Highway design in TAITO-magazine