Estonia is coming, and in style. Since July, Estonia has assumed the presidency of the Council of the EU. The country, with its trendy capital Tallinn and cities such as Tartu and Pärnu, attracts more than 2 million tourists every year. But beyond pretty cities, the Baltic Sea and dense forests, Estonia has much more to offer: Estonian design.
In addition to the usual souvenir shops, a variety of branded shops invite visitors to browse. “Design Made in Estonia” has now made an excellent name for itself internationally too. «Estonian design has developed its own face and has become more self-confident. Unlike the Finns, we have a fresh touch, are artistically imperfect and look sexy», is how the president of the Association of Estonian Designers Ilona Gurjanova sums up.
“Design in Estonia is an expression of a lifestyle and has long had nothing to do with obsolete ethno-kitsch. Many new and innovative things are currently being developed in Estonia,” says Brigitta Ziegler. The 39-year-old Estonian lives with her family in Stuttgart and founded the Baltic Design Shop three years ago and is ambassador of Estonian design in Germany. While looking for nice home furniture for his family’s home in Estonia, the idea arose that products from small designer brands could also appeal to German customers. “My first address was mainly the Estonian Design Haus, which is a platform for designers in Tallinn.” Brigitta Ziegler now works with designers throughout the Baltics and looks for inspiration for her shop here. “One of my first brands was the lighting manufacturer Keha3.
It’s the pared-back, clear style combined with great natural materials that my customers love. They are looking for something special and that is exactly what Baltic design offers.”
In Estonia, it is mainly smaller design brands and start-ups that make up the creative economy. And unlike Germany, in Estonia design has a completely different status among the population and political leaders. The Ministry of Culture in Tallinn, for example, has its own design manager.
It is not surprising that in a country with such beautiful nature, pristine forests and the magic of the Baltic Sea coast, closeness to nature and sustainability are very important. One trend is “upcycling,” which simply means creating something new from old or broken products. Estonians are not only stubborn and nice, but above all pragmatic. Here everyone does their own thing and, above all, there is always a solution for every problem. It might be a little more difficult to start a conversation with an Estonian. The earth and nature have shaped people. One of the favorite activities of many Estonians even today is taking a walk and picking mushrooms in the forest. “Many build huge fences around their houses so that no one can look in, even if the nearest neighbor is far away,” smiles Brigitta Ziegler when talking about Estonians’ desire for solitude.
And another peculiarity: Estonians are not a particularly religious people, but more than fifty percent of Estonians believe in a spiritual force, for example in the soul inherent in trees.
Estonia’s closeness to nature is closely linked to technical progress and environmental protection. When it comes to digitalisation, Estonia is already far ahead of German standards: 4G Internet connections are mostly present not only in cities, but also in nature. With the so-called e-citizen, Estonia invented virtual citizenship a few years ago and successfully completed the transition to a digital society. And Estonians are also ahead in a very tangible discipline: the world champions of “wife bearing” come from Estonia for eleven consecutive years. Also in this case the key to success lies in the development of innovative competition techniques. The small, friendly country on the Baltic Sea is definitely worth keeping an eye on, and it will be exciting to see how much enthusiasm and innovative strength Estonia will have to make a name for itself in the coming years.
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