Warmth of the cold

Nukumori, at the origin of nuku’s name, is a Japanese word that designates a feeling of warmth and coziness, in both psychological and physical way.

This warm feeling sounds innate and universal but I believe that we all have a very unique definition of it, constructed by our personal lived experiences and our living environment. For my part, I have a few very strong memories that resonate the most with this notion, like the powerful warm hand of my mother (she is pianist), or like the soft velvety ear of my dog.

Even carrying these memories, and growing up in a loving environment, it is only more recently,  while living in Finland, in the coldest place I have ever lived in, that I realised how important this notion is for me, finding in it the concept that I want to express and share through my work.

Finland is a northern country, where dark winters last for what it seems like an eternity. Temperatures go down, freezing everything around. This frozen environment makes feel like time has stoped, leaving place to an absolute quietness.

In an unexpected way, this cold, this quietness and the solitude of Finland has been keys to explore my notion of warmth.

Through physical sensations at first instance, in reaction to the freezing cold, the search of coziness became more and more an inner quest where I realised that certain colours, textures, sounds, or even words are part of my warmth feeling.

This personal experience of finding the warmth in the cold reminds one simple fact, which is that things exist because of their opposites. A warm sensation exists because of the cold, light is seen in the darkness, softness is there because of the hardness around, and so on. It sounds of course evident but it is a thought that I feel important, beyond the design field, in a more general way, to embrace today’s divided world context.

Always as mirrors, the opposites remain. To face them, accepting their existence is maybe a chance to rethink our own vision, inviting to introspection and benevolence.

I sincerely wish you a beautiful year, made of sensitive contrasts.

With warm regards,

Elisa

Photos: Sanna Lehto