Leave it to icy Finland to come up with a series of products that would seem utterly unbelievable! But that is exactly what the Woodnotes company set out to do: "Woodnotes is the first company in the world to use paper yarn in a contemporary way in functional textiles." This material is crafted into blinds, partitions, furniture, and carpet. Woodnotes does indeed have a nationalistic flair.

They explain their original idea like so: "to combine artistic creativity inspired by Finland's rugged nature with advanced technologies to shape Finnish raw materials: wood and paper." So far, Woodnotes has drawn a lot of attention for their carpets; see Ritva Puotila's Paper Carpet Rugs, for example.

FLAKE. Designed by Woodnotes.

Snowflake Elements Made of Tyvek

But Woodnotes also offers interesting accessories such as bags, towels, and pencil cases. Designer Mia Cullin has added another dimension to the company's product line with Flake. Made of Tyvek, the elements in Flake act like puzzle pieces or lego bricks for adults: the snowflake-shaped pieces connect to form "different surfaces for curtains and partitions or for place mats and other table decorations."

Weave the white stars of Flake together to fashion either flat or three-dimensional patterns. The elements are combined simply-just slip the point of one flake through the hole of another. Flake allows for mutations: you can disassemble and reassemble time and time again. It's less like having a finished product than it is like having a unique toolbox with which to create products-you get to be the mastermind (Flake makes a great gift for architects).