Designer of the Month: Marimekko

Week 4: later textile and fashion design

Elle Cover featuring an Annika Rimala dress. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

Armi Ratia's eye for young talent continued to shape Marimekko's aesthetic to the company's credit long after its early years. In 1958, Ratia took Marimekko to the World's Fair in Brussels, and the company's designs were thus introduced to an international audience, with Design Research stores soon opening in New York and San Francisco.[1] Although it was around this time that Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi left the company, the next wave of Marimekko designers were well suited for their new roles in upholding the international image of a successful design brand. In particular, Annika Rimala, Marimekko's fashion designer from 1959-1982, picked up seamlessly where Eskolin-Nurmesniemi had left off.[2]

Liisa Suvanto, Marimekko Ruuturaita Pattern, 1974. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

Originally trained as a graphic designer at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, Rimala proved to be a champion of the types of printed patterns that had been popularized by Eskolin-Nurmesniemi, with her designs reflecting a strong sense of graphic awareness.[3] While Rimala began her tenure at Marimekko designing bold graphic prints, which would remain in fashion through the mid-1960s, by the end of this decade, having pushed patterns as far as they could go, the only option that remained was to downsize and embrace uniformity.[4] "Rimala's solution was the Tasaraita (even stripe) collection of cotton jersey casualwear, launched in 1968," explains Lesley Jackson in an essay about Marimekko's textile design; "A runaway hit throughout the 1970s, Tasaraita replaced the flamboyant individualism of large-scale patterns with the high-voltage intensity of saturation stripes."[5] Designer Liisa Suvanto, who was invited by Ratia in 1960 to design Marimekko's "woolen line," and who came to the company on a full-time basis from 1963-1975, represented the next big change for the company.[6] An established textile designer with her own firm and more than 20 year's experience, she developed an elegantly sculptural line of clothing for Marimekko based on the plain and simple cuts of Balenciaga.[7]

 Fujiwo Ishimoto, Kesanto cotton. Courtesy of Marimekko.

The 1970s saw other shifts for Marimekko as well, including changes to the company's furnishing fabrics with the recruitment of two Japanese designers, Katsuji Wakisaka, who worked for Marimekko from 1968-1976, and Fujiwo Ishimoto, who joined the company in 1974 and remains chief furnishing fabric designer to this day.[8] Although these second-generation Marimekko designers introduced new aesthetics to the company, their designs helped expand the Marimekko style and make it more accessible to a world-wide audience.[9] Wakisaka's designs, with their bright pop patterns often drawing inspiration from the idiom of children's drawings, blurred the line between the living room and nursery.[10] Ishimoto's work, on the other hand, with its brushstroke-like and textural patterns, as well as his focus on contrast rather than coordination, were distinctly Japanese in nature, yet managed to uphold Marimekko's overall aesthetic and tradition of maximization.[11]

Pentti Rinta, Marimekko Kuski Suit, 1973. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

The final Marimekko designer whom I want to talk about today came to the company during the new round of innovations that were occurring during the 1970s. Pentti Rinta, who worked at the company from 1969 until the mid-1980s, had the distinction of being the first Marimekko designer to have actually been trained in fashion (at the Institute of Industrial Arts, naturally).[12] Adept at designing for the new, casual, "everyday" style of the 1970s, Rinta's philosophy was that clothes should be comfortable to wear, with being fashionable a secondary concern.[13] As Riitta Anttikoski describes this change in Marimekko's design culture:

If in the early years of Marimekko Nurmesniemi had liberated women from the restrictive clothing of the era, then in the 1970s Rinta freed men from the yoke of the pinstripe suite with his Kuskipuki (coachman suite, 1972)...Ostensibly, the design developed out of necessity. Rinta was leaving for Paris and had made himself a comfortable black corduroy suit to wear on the journey. When Ratia saw it, she told him: "Put it into production!"...The Kuski suit became the uniform of architects, artists, editors, and other professionals. It was later made in fabrics other than corduroy and was adapted for women.[14] 

Rinta's other real breakthrough as a designer came in his 1975 summer collection, for which he produced a new version of the classic shirt dress that suited a wide range of ages and body types, literally typifying the idea of clothes designed for all.[15] While the 1970s saw major changes for Marimekko's designs, and a host of designers to help them along, the biggest change was yet to come with Ratia's death in 1979.[16] The following decade was a difficult one of Marimekko, but the 1990s once again saw the company reinvent itself while simultaneously rediscovering its roots, once again growing into the internationally-recognized brand that remains today.[17]


[1] Marimekko online, "About Marimekko: Timeline," http://us.marimekko.com/unfold/timeline, (accessed November 28, 2012).

[2] Lesley Jackson, "Textile Patterns in an International Context: Precursors, Contemporaries, and Successors," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 67.

[3] Ibid., 67.

[4] Ibid., 67.

[5] Ibid., 67.

[6] Maria Härkäpää, "Selected Biographies of Marimekko Designers," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 300.

[7] Ibid., 300.

[8] Lesley Jackson, "Textile Patterns in an International Context: Precursors, Contemporaries, and Successors," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 69, 70.

[9] Ibid., 69.

[10] Ibid., 69.

[11] Ibid., 70. 

[12] Maria Härkäpää, "Selected Biographies of Marimekko Designers," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 303.

[13] Ibid., 303.

[14] Riitta Anttikoski, "Fashion, Individuality and Industry," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 109.

[15] Ibid., 109.

[16] Ibid, 107.

[17] Marimekko online, "About Marimekko: Timeline," http://us.marimekko.com/unfold/timeline, (accessed November 28, 2012).

god's loft story converted church

I know that I say this about every converted church residence that I feature here, but God's Loft Story, by Netherlands-based Leijh, Kappelhof, Seckel, van den Dobbelsteen Architects, is totally my new favorite. And while the fake sheep on the lawn may be the first giveaway that this is quite the unusual home, they're just the tip of this residence's iceberg.

 

Yes, the loft sleeping space complete with bathtub overlooking the rest of the house is a pretty great touch, and I probably wouldn't mind a swing in my home office, or a bell tower, complete with clock, on top of my house, or that awesome looking shed either. According to the achitects:

The former Dutch Reformed Evangelism Building in Haarlo has been transformed into a unique loft. The starting point for the design were the retained (mostly with a need for restoration) qualities of the 1928 dating monument, the façade, the bell tower with clock, the volume, the iconic location on the outskirts of the village and nice details like the wooden roof construction, the old panel doors and arch windows with stained glass.This project demonstrates that a transformation of a church with limited resources is possible, when using a smart design and an efficient plan. The concept was; strip, isolate and furnish.

(Photography by Vincent van den Hoven. Via CONTEMPORIST)

2013 calendars: part 5

For my 5th 2013 calendar post, the focus is entirely on the letterpress. Now, I know that I've managed to feature a few letterpress options already, but today, with so many more fantastic creations to share, I thought that they needed a post to call their own. Plus, not only do these feature a wide range of illustrations, but each offering also gives you a different calendar format to choose from. Now that's a lot of options.

First up, from South African-based Essie Letterpress, we've got collective nouns of the animal kingdom in a lovely perpetual calendar form. Hand drawn and printed in grey and bright pink, this calendar will both keep you apprised of the date and give you the plural of a host of animals, from spiders to owls and trout.

If animals, and perpetual calendars, aren't your style, INK + WIT's 2013 Vortex Letterpress Calendar may just fit the bill. Featuring an unusual two-month format, this calendar will take you around the world with illustrations of such diverse locations as Joshua Tree, California, Govardhan Hill, India, and Machu Picchu, Peru.

Then again, maybe you prefer your calendar to feature only one month at a time. In that case, you can still get away from it all with 1canoe2's nature and pattern-inspired 2013 letterpress calendar. Not only is it a calendar, but it comes with its own wooden stump for propping up each month, which, after the year is done, can be used for notes, photos or just as decoration on your desk.

And finally, who doesn't love a year-at-a-glace calendar, particularly when it's by the wonderful Satsuma Press? Their 2013 calendar, with its jewel-toned triangle pattern, is a simple and lovely option to take you through the year.

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the necklace edition: gems}

A pyrite and quartz speckled gold pendant, from Dollybird Design.

Last Prize's wood and brass mini striped geo necklace.

A porcelain facet necklace, available at LEIF.

One of Unearthen's citrine necklaces.

And a glass optical illusion gemstone, from Lone Mine.

Jessica Hische - wedding invite

Jessica Hische is, hands down, one of the most creative graphic designers around. An illustrator, letterer and all-around incredible artist, she's worked with clients as diverse as Wes Anderson, McSweeney's, Florence and the Machine, and The New York Times, but all that amazing work is nothing compared to what she created as her wedding invitation.

And let me tell you, these screen shots hardly do it justice. As she explains about the project:

I can’t say I was a normal girl, fantasizing about my wedding day from the time I could walk, but when Russ proposed I was ecstatic. A few days later the congratulations started pouring in from friends and stranger-friends along with one enthusiastic and intimidating statement: “Your wedding invites are going to be so awesome!” Russ and I are both designers, so the pressure was enormous to make something crazy. After a lot of scheming we realized one thing: that over the years we’ve met and befriended some truly incredible and talented people, all of whom we had hoped to collaborate with someday. The invite became the perfect opportunity to work together with people we care about, respect, admire, and love. We’re so happy and thankful for everyone involved, many of whom have played integral roles in the story of how we came to be.

To experience it for yourself, check out jessandruss.us, or for more amazingness, spend some time browsing through Hische's portfolio.

Designer of the Month: Marimekko

Week 3: early textile and fashion design

With the creation of Marimekko, rather than simply creating a company that played off of current Finnish design trends, Armi Ratia altered the landscape of printed textiles both at home and abroad. As I mentioned last week, the creation of Marimekko corresponded with Finland's rise on the international design scene. It was during this period that Finland's remoteness and isolation - once perceived as a weakness for the country - actually became its strength.[1] As the writer Anna-Liisa Ahmavaara noted in her contemporary survey, Finnish Textiles (1970), "Many people have pointed to that boundless longing for beauty that the war and years following it produced, and to the fruitful process brought about by Finland's geographical position: the ingredients being western rationalism on the one hand and the freshness and carefree spirit of the east on the other."[2]

Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi's Jokapoika shirt, worn by Armi Ratia (right). Via Mid2Mod.

Ratia's first and most significant innovation for Marimekko was her decision to promote boldly graphic and abstract patterns for both the company's furnishings and fashion.[3] And while some of Marimekko's early designs were by Ratia herself, it was as an art director and public relations expert that she truly came into her own.[4] Ratia began by commissioning patterns from various artists and designers before quickly recognizing the necessity of hiring designers of her own. In a move that proved to be the making of Marimekko, Ratia hired Maija Isola and Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi to work in-house, two untried young designers fresh from college, whose work Ratia believed in and saw great potential.[5]

Maija Isola, Unikko pattern, 1964. Courtesy of Yale Books.

Maija Isola came to Ratia's attention after winning a competition for printed fabrics at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, where she was a student from 1946-49.[6] After graduation, Isola began designing furnishing fabrics for Printex (which was soon to become Marimekko), and continued to do so until 1987, creating 533 designs for the company over her 38-year career.[7] As Lesley Jackson explains of Isola's work for Marimekko:

Even though Isola always preferred to work at a distance from the factory, she remained extremely loyal to the company, and throughout her career Marimekko remained her principal client. Isola's relationship with Armi Ratia was sometimes stormy, but the desire to surprise Ratia and win her approval remained a primary motivating factor over the years. Ratia, in turn, placed enormous faith in Isola. Marimekko's identiy was (and to a certain extent still is) intimately allied with her work.[8]

Isola's long and intense relationship with Marimekko combined with her tireless commitment to innovation and originality put her in the unique position to repeatedly redefine, reinvigorate and enrich the company's pattern collection.[9] Isola's innovative design work elevated textiles to the level of art through her inspired handling of color, pattern and scale, creating an enduring impact on Marimekko's overall aesthetic.[10]

Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi, Iloinen takki dress, 1960. Courtesy of Marimekko.

As for the other main designer who influenced the Marimekko aesthetic during its formative years, Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi was another graduate of the Institute of Industrial Arts who worked for the company from 1953-1960, creating a series of groundbreaking furnishing fabrics as well as numerous dress fabrics and garments for Marimekko.[11] With a design aesthetic that married extreme graphic simplicity with a daring use of color, Eskolin-Nurmesniemi's early designs focused primarily on color relationships and the rhythmic interplay of verticals and horizontals, in addition to overlapping adjacent colors to create a third intermediate shade.[12] And rather than be stymied by the difficulties at the time of printing a pattern with such wide areas of color, Eskolin-Nurmesniemi instead used them to spur the development of new printing techniques to accommodate her designs.[13] By 1953, Eskolin-Nurmesniemi had branched out from fabrics, creating what came to be considered the Marimekko look with her unique clothing designs.[14] According to Maria Härkäpää:

Nurmesniemi's idea was to design clothes that were simple in line, could be worn by almost anyone, and would be suitable for industrial mass production. Because the garments had few darts and seams, Marimekko's extraordinary fabrics were emphasized. Her first designs were dresses - Yleistakki (a smock for everyday) and Kivijalkamekko (foundation dress, both in 1957). In 1956 she designed the Jokapoika (everyboy) shirt using Piccolo fabric. Originally intended for men, it became not only a unisex fashion, but also a Marimekko classic.[15]

Although she only worked for the company for 7 years, Eskolin-Nurmesniemi effectively helped create Marimekko's fashion aesthetic, influencing the company well beyond her tenure.



[1] Lesley Jackson, "Textile Patterns in an International Context: Precursors, Contemporaries, and Successors," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 51.

[2] Anna-Liisa Ahmavaara, Finnish Textiles (Helsinki: Otava, 1970), 1, reprinted in "Textile Patterns in an International Context: Precursors, Contemporaries, and Successors," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 51.

[3] Lesley Jackson, "Textile Patterns in an International Context: Precursors, Contemporaries, and Successors," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 51-52.

[4] Ibid., 52.

[5] Ibid., 52.

[6] Ibid., 52.

[7] Ibid., 52.

[8] Ibid., 53.

[9] Ibid., 62.

[10] Ibid., 62.

[11] Ibid., 62-63.

[12] Ibid., 63, 65.

[13] Maria Härkäpää, "Selected Biographies of Marimekko Designers," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 296.

[14] Ibid., 296.

[15] Ibid., 296.

inspiration and giving thanks

Hey, friends. I was inspired by this wonderful piece by Maira Kalman on sfgirlbybay's blog the other day, and was so inspired by the sentiment that I wanted to share it with all of you, too. I'm off to enjoy Thanksgiving in Philadelphia with my family, so other than the scheduled Designer of the Month post on Friday, I'm done with posting this week, but I hope that you all find some inspiration in your lives as well. I'll see you all back here on Monday!

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the games edition: playing cards}

Best Made Company's playing cards.

Invisible playing cards, by Pieter Woudt. Available at the MoMA Design Store.

Muji's Paris map playing cards (NYC, too!)
 

Silver playing cards, from The Future Perfect.

And Evan Roth's Solitaire Deck of Cards, available at The Shop at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.

paz arquitectura - casa corallo

There's no denying the beauty of Casa Corallo, designed by Guatemalan architecture firm, Paz Arquitectura. But more than just a simply stunning residence, Casa Corallo is unique in the ways in which it's managed incorporate the existing wooded and mountainous topography of the landscape into its design.

Because, rather fight the landscape, Casa Corallo embraces it to such an extent that it was actually designed around the existing trees on the property, some of which now grow directly through the house itself. Additionally, the incorporation of large glass windows and use of different types and textures of wood throughout truly give the sense that this home is a part of the hillside, making for an incredibly beautiful home.

(Via Design Milk)

Designer of the Month: Marimekko

Week 2: Armi Ratia and the founding of Marimekko

In many ways, Marimekko began in the right place at the right time. In 1951, the same year that the company was founded, the Ninth Milan Triennial marked Finland's international breakthrough in the sphere of industrial art, popularizing the country's design work and leading to the emergence of a star cult of Finnish designers.[1] But while circumstances helped shaped its popularity, Marimekko's success has often been credited to two main sources: the dualism that has always existed between its works in design and fashion, and the vision and personality of its founder, Armi Ratia.[2]

Armi Ratia in the Marimekko factory at Herttoniemi, mid 1970′s. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

From the beginning, Marimekko's designs have provoked strong, desperate reactions in people. When Marimekko's first fashion show was held at the chic Kalastajatorppa Hotel in Helsinki in 1951, the clothes were practically sold off the models' backs.[3] On the other hand, in 1964, the Eastern Finnish newspaper Karjala wrote:

The attitude to Marimekko clothes is seldom indifferent, they are either liked or loathed. People sometimes come into the Marimekko shops and spit with disgust. Or someone telephones obsessively because Marimekko hats are spoiling the look of the Helsinki streets! The person whose taste is conventional i.e. 'good,' as they say, is often of the opinion that one can't dress in clothes like that, but butter had melted many times before, too.[4]

Although Armi Ratia hadn't planned on becoming a textile artist, she came to the field as a student at the Institute of Industrial Arts (now Aalto University) in Helsinki, where she was influenced by Arttu Brummer, a teacher who fought ardently for the advancement of industrial art.[5] Not only did Brummer have a influence Ratia's design work, but many of the designers who worked at Marimekko in its early years has similarly studied under and been inspired by Brummer's enthusiastic approach to design.[6] 

 Gioia - Annika Rimala's Petrooli Pattern, 1963. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

After graduating from the Institute in 1935, Ratia married Vilijo and established her own weaving workshop in Viipuri, employing six weavers to manufacture furnishing fabrics, rugs and wall-hangings and gaining experience within the industry.[7] Ratia also spent her post-collegiate years gaining experience as a designer. Between 1920 and 1940, the possibilities for trained textile designers was very limited outside of the realm of competitions held by the Friends of Finnish Handicraft, an association created to preserve the indigenous Scandinavian handicraft movement, from whose competitions Ratia enjoyed considerable success.[8] In 1939, Ratia was forced to close her weaving workshop in Viipuri, resettling in Helsinki.[9] After spending time as a copy writer, however, Ratia would soon return to textiles due to a growing interest in fabric printing as a modern alternative to weaving techniques.[10] In 1949, when Viljo acquired Printex, asking Ratia to create new patterns for his business, she recognized the possibility of starting her own printed fabrics company and once again being able to make use of her textile training and study of fabric printing, with the founding of Marimekko in 1951 soon to follow.[11]

Armi Ratia at Bokars, 1960′s. Courtesy of the Marimekko Blog.

From its inception, Marimekko was unique in that it was lead by Ratia, with much made of the fact that its director and part owner was not only a designer who had been trained in industrial art, but a woman as well.[12] In fact, gender was a large part of almost everything written about both Marimekko and Ratia, playing a definite role in the company's success; every design journalist, magazine and newspaper wanted to interview the woman director.[13] But while Ratia's fame helped provide positive publicity for Marimekko, other factors helped in its success as well, including its independence as a privately owned company, the enormous post-WWII demand for consumer goods, the growing fame of Finnish design, and the company's tendency to take risks that were unusual when compared to other firms.[14] And of these risks, Ratia's hiring of young artists and encouragement of experimentation led Marimekko to create some of its most extraordinary and iconic designs.



[1] Marianne Aav, "Armi Ratia and the Duality of a Design Enterprise," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 19.

[2] Ibid., 20.

[3] Marimekko online, "About Marimekko: Timeline," http://us.marimekko.com/unfold/timeline, (accessed November 15, 2012).

[4] Signed "S.T.," from Karjala (9 January 1964), reprinted in "Armi Ratia and the Duality of a Design Enterprise," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 21-22.

[5] Marianne Aav, "Armi Ratia and the Duality of a Design Enterprise," from Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, ed. Marianne Aav (New York: The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2003), 26.

[6] Ibid., 27.

[7] Ibid., 29.

[8] Ibid., 29-30.

[9] Ibid., 33.

[10] Ibid., 33.

[11] Ibid., 33.

[12] Ibid., 36.

[13] Ibid., 36.

[14] Ibid., 36.