Tales from the Poster Hunter

Follow the adventures, and the thinking, of the Finnish poster hunter here. Each month the hunter reveals something almost breathtaking…

One summer – three hunting expeditions

Summer is calm with lots of sunshine and splashing in the water? That's correct! But if you are a poster hunter, it is so much more. If you are a poster hunter, the summer of 2022 was a hunt – on three fronts. First: It was a quest for an end. At an end where at some stage you get to tell the printing house to start printing. We worked frantically on our book ”Come to Norden”. The book consists of 320 pages with texts and images...

This summer's cultural hit is in Stockholm!

By ferry to Stockholm! It is difficult to come up with something more classic in Finnish travel history. And in the summer of 2022, there is an extra important reason to jump on board. Why? I will reveal that soon, but first a little background. As early as the middle of the 19th century, the first regular passenger ferries began to run between Helsinki / Turku and Stockholm. Poster art was involved right from the start. On factual text ...

Long live spring! Long live Helsinki!

This year spring really took its time. But now, finally, spring has sprung even in Finland! And that's why we have a poster treat for you. One can wonder what the spring in 1949 was like? Because that is when the artist Gunnar Forsström created five different Helsinki posters, and chose one of them as his entry to the big poster contest arranged for the capital's 400th anniversary. He chose well since his poster won! Helsinki – the ...

The exhibition has opened!

And finally the Poster Hunters can say ... Welcome to our brand new show! Our new travel poster exhibition lets you experience how early tourists were drawn to travel to and around the Nordic region, by way of steamboat, train or plane, between the 1890s and 1960s. Back then, illustrated travel posters were used as advertisements. Today, we see those same posters as pieces of art. In a time when the Internet hadn’t yet been invented, ...

Vintage poster glamour in Stockholm

A visual flight of fancy through the Nordic countries as envisioned in travel posters! This is what can be expected when our playful design exhibition opens at Nordiska museet in Stockholm. To put it simply: The poster hunters at Come to Finland are almost too excited. Our exhibition, that we arrange in co-operation with Come to Sweden, charts the way the Nordic countries made a place for themselves on the European tourist map. It was posters ...

How an autumn poster seduced the Poster Hunter

Click to buy your favorite Lapland poster! Last month, the Poster Hunter stared at his poster collection. He was looking for the crackling colours of autumn. Although, in the 1950s, Finland liked to market itself either as the promised land of skiing (Finland for wintersports!) or as a summer country of happiness (Finland for holidays!), he found an autumn gem amongst the posters: Visit Finnish Lapland and its capital Rovaniemi! Oh, what...

Invited to a crayfish party? The only thing that matters is the hostess gift

In his previous life, the Poster Hunter was not fan of crayfish. Yes, to be honest, he avoided crayfish as much as he could. There was too much formality and too much tradition. How do you actually open up those damn crayfish? And what? So much struggle for such a small amount of food ...? And where are the lyrics to all these songs that people sing out very loudly? Buy the crayfish products here! Yes, the Poster Hunter actually enjoyed poster ...

The Finnish Grand Tour summer 2021

It's finally summer! And your humble Poster Hunter has once again managed to combine his two favorite activities: traveling in Finland and collecting classic travel posters. So join the expedition now! Let’s start on the west coast of Finland, in the medieval city of Raumo. The poster hunter is like everyone else: he has been blind to all the beauty that is nearby. So he blushes with delight and pride as he reads UNESCO's motivations about ...

On Pyhätunturi

Two tired men are sitting in a room. They stare out into the emptiness, both listing seemingly random numbers in different languages. One of them is holding a gavel. Have they totally lost their grip? Are they confused? No. Quite the opposite! They have full control - and they are sitting on a treasure. A poster treasure. You see, this week your Poster Hunter was out hunting as usual and this time he was searching for classic Nordic ...

Celebrate a joyful “Tipaton tammikuu”

So Christmas is over and a new year has begun, and with that comes what we in Finland call Tipaton tammikuu! But what is Tipaton tammikuu all about? Straight translated it roughly means dry January. This is our version of sober October - you see, we Finns of course prefer to do this it when it's pitch dark outside. Are you thinking of joining in? Well, we have incredibly good news! This year you can celebrate your, or your friend's, sober ...