Visiting the Suomenlinna Toy Museum

Hello bats! I've been trying to dig up photos of my travels so that I can write some blog posts about some of the interesting places I've been. I recently came upon my folder of photos from my trip to Finland in 2018, so here's a blog post about my visit to Suomenlinna! Suomenlinna (meaning "Castle of Finland") is an 18th-century sea fortress located on a group of islands just off the coast of Helsinki. In order to get there you need to take a boat from the mainland, so we took a ferry. There were only a few other people on the ferry, which was a welcome change from the ferries in Toronto. Our ferries are always jammed with cyclists and people with giant strollers, and it's usually standing room only. The harbour was very pretty, too! It was so clean and bright, and I saw the biggest, buffest seagulls I'd ever seen in my life. Like...these seagulls must have been eating nothing but fish and protein powder.

After a 20-minute ferry ride, we arrived at the fortress of Suomenlinna. As soon as we arrived at the island dock, we realized why so few tourists had opted to visit that day. It was chilly, overcast, and the wind was blowing so hard that it was howling. Since the island is quite hilly and rocky in places, we opted to wear more comfortable coordinates with boots and cutsews, but I wish I'd brought a heavier jacket or gloves. I was starting to feel a little bit off that day (within a few days I was laid up in bed with possibly the worst cold and sinus infection I've ever had) and I don't think the weather on the island helped at all, haha. Helsinki in late September feels as cold as early November back home! (╯︵╰,) 

Despite the lousy weather, it was very beautiful, and I'm kind of happy that there weren't too many people, anyway. It's strange how a place so close to the mainland could feel so remote and isolated. It was very peaceful.

Anyway, we decided to explore the fortress a little bit. The buildings were all separated by walking paths. Even though the fortress isn't objectively very big, it felt huge by virtue of how empty it was and how isolated each group of buildings was. You could probably walk the whole area in a couple of hours or less. And since I was sick, I didn't really have the energy for walking that I normally would. I think it would have been a beautiful walk on a warm summer's day.

There were a lot of walking paths to guide visitors along to different There were a lot of interesting historical buildings along the main path. We saw a ship dry dock, a church, underground tunnels, and stone gates. There are also a few shops and houses. It reminded me a lot of the Toronto Islands. After a long while of walking, we came upon possibly the most suspicious sign I've ever seen. Seriously, they could have just written "free candy" on the sign and it would have looked less ominous. Against our better judgement, we followed the spooky sign and ended up at what appeared to be a house...

...and inside, we were greeted by the curator of the museum, a very sweet older woman. According to her, the museum was a small family-run operation that they ran out of their own pockets. Many of the items were from their own personal collections or donated by locals. The front section of the museum housed the front desk and cozy little cafe that resembled a granny's living room, furnished with antique loveseats and paintings. There were several racks of reproduction vintage greeting cards on display, as well as an entire wall covered in them. Soft, tinny 1940s music was playing through the speakers. It was so charming! I really love the country cottage aesthetic - being raised on L.M. Montgomery and James Herriot books will do that to you. We stopped here because I wanted to eat an incredibly delicious slice of chocolate cake and a latte. The sweets were all homemade, but they looked like they came right out of an expensive bakery. 

The vintage greeting card wall.

Another section of the wall. There were dozens and dozens of cards.

After we finished our snacks, we went to explore the museum. It was a small building, but each room was lined with curio cabinets, filled to bursting with toys. It was arranged roughly by type and by era, and each section featured little dioramas and scenes using the toys, vintage postcards, and letters, and photographs. It felt like one of those I Spy books - so many little details to look at!

We were given numbered guidebooks that included some information on the toys in each diorama. Some were donated by patrons or locals, others were purchased at estate sales or found online, etc. It was interesting to see that many of the toys were made in different countries, too.

 Look at the tiny pintucks and delicate lace on this 1800s doll!

Miniature medical supplies. Wish I got a better shot of the doll in the hospital bed.

Moomins!!

I've never seen a Bild Lili doll in person, so this was exciting for me! This character was purchased by Mattel and eventually developed into Barbie.

While the museum had a huge collection of conventional dolls and miniatures, there were lots of other odd dolls, keepsakes, and assorted toys too. One thing I remember was their interesting collection of - how shall I say it? - racially insensitive caricatures of Black and Asian people, tucked in among the ordinary Black and Asian dolls. I've never seen these kinds of toys in person, so it was a little bit strange for me. My personal favourite was the pickle-shaped pedal car, but this slightly terrifying Mickey Mouse stood out to me too.

Just a little nightmare fuel for you. Sweet dreams!

 

I also really liked their collection of space-age toys. Retrofuturism and vintage sci-fi are really interesting to me. My dad got me into the original Star Trek, pulpy sci-fi novels, and all that kind of stuff at a young age, since that's what he grew up with, and it's stuck with me ever since. The aesthetic was just so charming! My favourites were these cute little cosmonaut toys from the USSR, and the tin spaceships. Metal toys just hit different.

Towards the end of the museum there was a little seating area with a guestbook. Visitors were encouraged to leave their name, the date, and a friendly note. It was cute seeing all of the cheerful messages from other visitors, in all sorts of different languages. We signed our names and left a little note, then made our way out and home.

I really enjoyed the museum! It was a very unique experience. I really like vintage toys - anything from the late 1980s to late 1990s (it really hurts me that this is considered vintage...) is a sure bet for me, but I also like really old toys. The classic Rushton rubber-faced toys are some of my favourites. They're just so creepy. I would really like to start collecting some spooky doll- or toy-themed pieces. Toys and dolls are a sweet lolita print staple, but it's surprisingly hard to find prints with these themes that work well for gothic lolita.

Alice and the Pirates' Quiet Toys Room ~ The Days Played with Them

The AatP print is so cute and nostalgic, but also sad. The idea of an old playroom filled with memories and dusty, decaying, once-loved toys that were forgotten about...I dunno, I get weirdly sentimental about inanimate objects. It's part of why I feel guilty throwing things away when they still have a useful life - won't they feel bad that they weren't wanted anymore? Yes, I'm aware of how ridiculous that sounds. And yes, I cried when I watched The Brave Little Toaster as a child.

Violet Fane's The Puppetmaker JSK

This Violet Fane print really reminds me of the disturbing dollhouse level from American McGee's Alice  Alice: Madness Returns. The torsos with empty holes for the limbs are my favourite part. I would love for it to be re-released in this cut so I can finally get my hands on the black colourway. The recent re-release with the doll head and bows on the chest just didn't do it for me - it's cute, but not my style, so I'd prefer to wait it out.

Anyway...that's it for now, so thanks for reading!

[Current Music: Strawberry Switchblade - Deep Water]