This spring Vartiainen started a new journey and  joined Glasshouse Helsinki as Chief Communications Officer. What motivated her to make the move? The message bears repeating. With Anna everything starts with passion. 

“I was impressed with the passionate team behind the conceptual idea and my collaboration with Mirkku Kullberg has always been exciting. I am motivated by  content, curiosity and values rooted in the company philosophy. I think meaningful projects in dialogue with art and design are essential, especially during these challenging times.”

Glasshouse Helsinki is an incubator and an interface for sustainable thinking and responsible growth.  Most of all Glasshouse Helsinki wants to  abandon the boundaries between sectors and work across different segments, between design, art and science, together with small studios and corporate players, in deep interaction with consumers.

As Chief Communications Officer of Glasshouse, Anna Vartiainen understands the importance of open mind for new ideas and opportunities.

Doing exceptional things with corporate companies

Another important and somewhat surprising Glasshouse Helsinki feature will be the interest in collaboration models with Finnish basic industry companies.“Corporate companies and industry leaders might not have a direct relationship with the consumers. This is where Glasshouse Helsinki as a “moderator” can act as incubator and ideas start to merge”, Vartiainen says.

Anna Vartiainen gives credit to Finnish basic industry for the material innovation strategies and urge for sustainability. All these achievements should be communicated wider to the general public.

She describes Glasshouse Helsinki as  a bold vehicle to ask the questions and demonstrate the change. Circular economy, rethinking the consumption are here the stay and the smaller and more agile companies can be a driving force for the change. “In a way, we need to unlearn some things. Change takes time, it takes resources”, Vartiainen says. “We all need to take responsibility for what has happened and what will happen. The times we live in requires new kind of leadership”

Creating meaning with the means of art and design  

Building connections is easy for Glasshouse Helsinki according to Anna Vartiainen. Glasshouse Helsinki at Aleksanterinkatu will be a great platform for that. Location is perfect.

Design brands sometimes tend to talk to ”design communities”. Anna Vartiainen states that the goal of Glasshouse Helsinki is to reach larger audiences. “We want to be addressing a wider audience. The location at Aleksanterinkatu 13 serves the strategy. People that pass by represent all walks of life.”

Vartiainen projects that Glasshouse Helsinki will be a place for encounters between people and companies from different sectors and disciplines.

“Glasshouse Helsinki can create meaning through art and design. I firmly believe that design can help the change for better happen faster. These are the most important things to me.”