Maija-Liisa (Maikki) Komulainen (born in 1922 in Kajaani , Finland ) is a Finnish interior and industrial designer best known for her futuristic lights and innovative furniture designs. Komulainen graduated from the the University of Art and Design in Helsinki in 1949 and from 1950 to the late 1960s she worked in Helsinki on interiorContinue reading “Maija-Liisa Komulainen”
Author Archives: Jonas
Hilkka Mekri (Säynäjärvi)
Hilkka Mekri (Säynäjärvi) (nee Otsakari) (1917–88) studied at the School of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, graduating in 1945, and started working at Arabia that same year. Most of the students at the time were women, as were the ceramists at Arabia, and in time they would become renowned for their work. After the Finnish WinterContinue reading “Hilkka Mekri (Säynäjärvi)”
Maiju Gebhard
When it comes to good design, we quite often take it for granted. One of the best examples of this is the dish drying cabinet – a shelving rack placed above the sink, with an open bottom and shelves made of steel wire or dowels to allow washed dishes set within to drip into theContinue reading “Maiju Gebhard”
Lisa Larson
Inga Lisa Larson, (née Alhage) was born in Härlunda, Sweden in 1931. She studied ceramics 1950–1954 at the then century old Handicraft School in Gothenburg and is today known as one of Sweden’s most beloved mid-century ceramists. Initially she wanted to study fashion, but found her love in clay. When Lisa Larson in the midContinue reading “Lisa Larson”
Eva Hidström
Eva Hidström studied at Ateneum under among others the renowned designer Bertel Gardberg (who urged her to start working with enamel) in Helsinki in the early 1950’s and from 1956 until 1967 she had a studio in Salo, with work and study stints in Germany and Switzerland as well. Her teacher Max Fröhlich helped herContinue reading “Eva Hidström”
Heidi Blomstedt
Heidi Blomstedt, born Sibelius in 1911 at the Sibelius residence Ainola, her father being composer Jean Sibelius. Blomstedt would excel in her ceramic work, her designs breaking with the style at the time. Blomstedt was home schooled by her mother but later studied ceramics at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, graduating inContinue reading “Heidi Blomstedt”
Marjatta Metsovaara
Marjatta Metsovaara-Van Havere (né Metsovaara (1927 – 2014) is especially known for her rugs and colourful printed fabrics , some of which are still in production. Metsovaara was born into a multicultural family, and her father Aleksander had started a textile factory in Urjala in the 1930s. She attended The School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 1949, studiedContinue reading “Marjatta Metsovaara”
Karin Larsson
Karin Larsson (née Bergöö, 1859 – 1928) was a Swedish artist and designer who collaborated with her husband, Carl Larsson, and who is often considered to be the first to have laid the foundation for the Swedish design language. Karin Bergöö was born in Örebro, Sweden and early showed artistic talent. She attended the EcoleContinue reading “Karin Larsson”
Kaija Aarikka
Kaija Helena Aarikka-Ruokonen opened her first little Aarikka shop, the Nappi-Aarikka outlet, in the Wrede merchants’ alley in the center of Helsinki in 1960 with an impressive assortment of buttons – the first of many shops and products to come. She had established the company that carried her name in 1954 together with her husbandContinue reading “Kaija Aarikka”
Margaret T. Nordman
Margaret Travers Nordman was the first woman in Finland to find full employment in the furniture business and to craft a lifelong career within the field, with her main body of work at the department store Stockmann. Nordman studied at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture from 1918 to 1921 and was the ninthContinue reading “Margaret T. Nordman”