NEWS

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Monordi will once again be exhibiting at the World Sauna Forum 2024, in collaboration with our partners from both Japan and Finland.

Continuing from our previous participation, we are excited to announce that Monordi will once again be exhibiting at the World Sauna Forum 2024, in collaboration with our partners from both Japan and Finland.

As with last time, our core focus remains on being a bridge between Finland and Japan. This year, we are representing the Japanese companies below;

Moreover, this year we are thrilled to invite Finnish artist Pive Toivonen, whose sauna-themed art we are promoting, to our booth. By incorporating art, we aim to further strengthen the cultural connection between Japan and Finland. We invite everyone interested in the innovative and exciting collaboration of art and saunas to visit our booth!

We look forward to meeting new people and forging new connections at this event.

Top photo is from; https://worldsaunaforum.com/

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Pive Toivonen connects with more and more Japanese Nordic Fans through Her Art at Hankyu Umeda Nordic Fair 2024

Nordic fair

We at Monordi are proud to promote Finnish visual artist and illustrator Pive Toivonen, who participated as one of the Finnish artists at the “Hankyu Umeda Main Store Nordic Fair 2024” held in Osaka, Japan. With full support from Andfika, Pive herself stayed at the booth throughout the event, enjoying encounters with many Nordic art/design fans.

The Hankyu Umeda Nordic Fair 2024, held from May 22 to May 27, celebrated the theme “Finding Small Happiness in the Simple Finnish Lifestyle.” The six-day fair featured popular Finnish and other Nordic countries’ foods like cinanmon rolls and salmon soup, various shops selling Nordic goods and fashion accessories, and a variety of art and music workshops. Pive participated in a talk show about Finnish saunas and showcased her signature watercolor drawings. Impressively, dozens of copies of Pive’s sauna art book were sold during the event.

During her stay in Japan, Pive also visited various facilities such as Japanese saunas, onsen (hot springs) and sento which is Japanese public bathing place, creating numerous artworks and enriching her artistic activities. And also, Pive and her husband Markku enjoyed Japanese ’rice bran enzyme bath’ in “Nuka to Yuge” a bath and sauna facility in Kyoto. (The art what Pive drew there can be seen at the end of this article. )You can view other arts on various social media platforms, where she will also be updating with new pieces created in Japan. Don’t miss out—stay tuned for her latest works! (Links available here)

We also extend an invitation to sauna and sento facilities in Finland and Japan: would you like to display Pive’s original artwork at your establishment? If interested, please feel free to contact us at Monordi!

Official Website of Hankyu Umeda Nordic Fair 2024:
https://website.hankyu-dept.co.jp/honten/h/nordic/

Links to Pive’s Social Media: https://linktr.ee/pivetoivonen

Nuka to Yuge official website: https://nuka-yuge.com/

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Pive visited various sauna facilities across Japan, and sketched and created sauna art at each sauna.

We, Monordi, had the pleasure of hosting the Finnish visual artist/illustrator Pive Toivonen, whom we promote, for approximately a week-long stay in Japan in February 2024 for her exhibition. During this time, Pive visited various sauna facilities across Japan. (For details on the exhibition, please refer to our various social media platforms). Once again, Pive sketched and created sauna art at each sauna visited. (For more information on sauna art, please refer to our previous blog).

First on the itinerary was SaunaLab located in the basement/1F of Kanda Port in Tokyo, where Pive created the following sauna art ↓↓↓

Despite being in the heart of Tokyo, SaunaLab offers the essence of sauna enjoyment – tranquility. Pive was impressed by the peaceful atmosphere. Additionally, SaunaLab features amenities such as a sauna kitchen, restaurant café, and sauna market, making it a haven for sauna enthusiasts!

Next stop was Wellbe Sauna in Nagoya’s Sakae district, where Pive created the following sauna art ↓↓↓

Wellbe Sauna boasts decorations of birch and vihta, a sauna theater, and unique door shapes and internal structures, providing a truly charming and unique sauna experience.

Following that, also in Nagoya, Pive visited Kiwami Sauna, where the following sauna art was created ↓↓↓

Kiwami Sauna seamlessly blends Japanese traditional architecture with Nordic sauna culture, offering an elegant experience. Pive’s favorite aspect was the opportunity to relax in a tatami room after the sauna session. So relaxing, in fact, that Pive even forgot to take a photo!

Lastly, Pive created sauna art at the sauna of the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo! Details of this experience can be found on Instagram, and later post in our LinkedIn, so please take a look!

Pive visited many other saunas, but for more information, please check our various social media platforms. To sauna owners out there, why not have Pive create sauna art at your facility? If interested, please contact Monordi!

You san see the recent activities of Pive on the following Social medias; https://linktr.ee/pivetoivonen

Monordi Oy Ltd.
https://monordi.fi/
info@monordi.fi

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Monordi, have promoted the exhibition of Finnish visual artist/illustrator, Pive Toivonen in Japan. The exhibition at Kanda Port in Tokyo will continue until March 10, 2024

We, Monordi, have promoted the exhibition of Finnish visual artist/illustrator, Pive Toivonen in Japan. The exhibition is being held at two locations: Tokyo and Nagoya. The exhibition at Kanda Port in Tokyo will continue until this Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Please see the photos below to get a glimpse of the exhibition!)

The exhibition primarily features her watercolor paintings known as “Sauna Art,” which were sketched by Pive herself in various Finnish saunas (almost reaching 100!). Pive is depicted as a fox, and her unique approach to enjoying sauna as a fox is one of the highlights. Additionally, exclusive merchandise featuring her unique animals is available for purchase only at the venue. Why not reminisce about Finland through Pive’s Sauna Art?

In bustling Nagoya, where saunas are gaining popularity, we held the exhibition in collaboration with “Love Sauna,” a sauna fair event organized by JR Nagoya Takashimaya, one of the high-end department stores in Japan. We curated the event to provide opportunities for attendees to learn more about Pive through talk shows and live sketching sessions conducted by her. 

We sincerely thank everyone who visited the venue, and for those who haven’t yet, we continue to welcome you to come to the exhibition venue in Tokyo to experience Pive’s Sauna Art in Japan until March 10, 2024!!

 

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photo: Tomonori Kobayashi

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You can see the recent activities of Pive on the following Social medias;
https://linktr.ee/pivetoivonen

Access to the exhibition:
101-0054, 3-9 Nishikicho Kanda Chiyoda Tokyo Japan

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Monordi together with its Japanese sub-licensing agent, AndFika, and Japanese publisher, Alsos have published the art book of Finnish visual artist Pive Toivonen in Japan.

Pive's sauna art book

We are delighted to announce that we Monordi together with its Japanese sub-licensing agent, AndFika, and Japanese publisher, Alsos have published the art book of Finnish visual artist Pive Toivonen in Japan.

The art book is filled with Pive’s sauna art, which depicts her experiences in saunas across Finland through soft watercolor paintings. Incredibly, there are illustrations of over 60 Finnish saunas in the book! All characters are portrayed as eye-catching, adorable animals, with Pive herself depicted as a fox.

Currently, in Japan, Finnish saunas are immensely popular, as many are aware. In Tokyo, Pive successfully held a solo exhibition and workshop in February 2024. Just like saunas, Pive’s fanbase is steadily growing. Would you be interested in stocking Pive’s art book in your shop or sauna? Alternatively, why not create original merchandise featuring Pive’s adorable animals? If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to contact our company, Monordi.

You can see the recent activities of Pive on the following Social medias; https://linktr.ee/pivetoivonen (Mostly in Japanese only)

Also, you can check about the book by clicking Andfika or Alsos.

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Monordi Oy Ltd.’s MD, Yoshi Kosuge shared his sauna business insights with Nikkei, the top-tier economic journal in Japan and the parent company of Financial Times.

Monordi Oy Ltd.’s MD, Yoshi Kosuge, recently shared his sauna business insights with Nikkei, the top-tier economic journal in Japan and the parent company of Financial Times. A proud moment for our industry!

“While South Korea and China are also potentially lucrative markets, the Japan opportunity is no surprise to Yoshi Kosuge, managing director of Nordic-Japanese business consultancy Monordi.

About half of Monordi’s clients are “Finnish sauna-related businesses” and Japan’s strong link to Finland’s culture is a key asset. Finnish design is already popular through brands such as Marimekko, and it is strongly associated with well-being.

“There are sauna operators in Japan who want to be able to say ‘our sauna stones are from Finland'” Kosuge said.”

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Finland-s-sauna-giants-target-Japan-as-emerging-hot-spot
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Monordi enters the partnership with ITOCHU Fashion System (IFS), Co. Ltd.

Itochu Fashion System Co., Ltd.


Itochu Fashion System Co., Ltd. (IFS) and Monordi have entered into a strategic alliance to jointly promote IFS’s brand marketing and market research services to Nordic companies for the Japanese market. IFS is based in Tokyo, Japan, and is a 100% subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, one of the largest trading houses in Japan, jointly providing the services with IFS.

IFS is an incredibly attractive company for Nordic businesses to collaborate with, thanks to its unparalleled commitment to innovation, strong regional expertise, and exceptional customer service. IFS is specialized in brand marketing and extensive market research for consumer brands and has served not only a number of Fortune 500 companies in the market but also smaller companies, especially the ones preparing the entry into the Japanese market.

As a side note, IFS runs Tokyo Fashion Week with Rakuten, a Japanese eComm giant and also runs Sustainable Fashion Alliance with 50+ fashion brands in Japan, promoting sustainable manufacturing with the member companies.

If you are looking to enter the Japanese market and need some assistance, please contact Monordi for further information.

IFS Co., Ltd.
https://www.ifs.co.jp/

Monordi Oy Ltd.
https://monordi.fi/
info@monordi.fi

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Blog on Monordi’s CEO, Yoshi Kosuge, on Sauna From Finland.

Bridging between Japan and Finland is our core agenda. For this, Sauna From Finland, a promotion association of Finnish Sauna Brands, has posted an blog on our CEO, Yoshi Kosuge and his insights on the sauna industry in Japan. 

“As a Japanese in Finland, it was a natural decision for Yoshi Kosuge to contribute to the development of the relations between the countries. Kosuge hopes that his mixed kids between Japanese and Finnish will be proud of him for doing this, someday.” Read more on Sauna From Finland.

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Yoshi Kosuge, MD, Monordi Oy Ltd. to speak on the Japanese market entry at Finland-Japan Chamber of Commerce on 16.03.2022

Yoshi Kosuge , managing director of Monordi , will be speaking on the Japanese market entry at the Finland-Japan Chamber of Commerce on March 16th, 2022. Please check the details on the event page behind the URL below and register through it if you are interested in the business in Japan or with Japanese companies!

https://kauppayhdistys.fi/event/finland-japan-chamber-of-commerce-member-luncheon-with-monordi-oy-16th-march-in-helsinki/

Date: Wednesday, 16 March, 2022 at 11.30 – 13.00
Venue: WTC Helsinki, Marski Hall, Aleksanterinkatu 17

Program
11.30 Welcome by Mr Juha Pitkänen, Chair, Finland-Japan Chamber of Commerce
11.35 Presentation by Mr Yoshi Kosuge, Managing Director, Monordi Oy
12.05 Questions and discussion
12.15 Lunch
13.00 Event ends

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Yoshi Kosuge, managing director of Monordi, to participate in the Tahko Ski Lift Pitch (6.-7.4.2022)

Yoshi Kosuge will be a judge for the pitch competition along with other renowned individuals. Please check out the overview of the competition and other renowned judges on the event page. The judges include:
💙 Inka Mero, Voima Ventures
💙 Noora Fageström, FiBAN
💙 Lev Dolgatsjov, EstBAN
💙 Jari Osmala, FiBAN
💙 Kirsi Huusko, Osuuskunta KPY
💙 Heidi Ahonen, Nostetta Ventures
💙 Audra Elena Shallal, EBAN
💙 Jarkko Malviniemi, Siili Solutions
💙 Terho Savolainen, Iisalmen kaupunki
💙 Juha Ruohonen, Superhero Capital
💙 Jari Puranen, Angel Investor
💙 Jorma Turunen, Professional Board Member
💙 Mikko Heinonen, Voimatel Oy & OptiWatti Oy
💙 Kati Levoranta and Herkko Plit, P2X Solutions Oy