Nordic Mobler

A mighty Finnish design era came out of the rubble of WWII and was granted decisive impetus by the International Triennial’s of 1951 and 1954 which clearly set up the concept of Finnish design. By officially blending design into production, materials from Marimekko (marimekko tyg) had achieved international consideration with their distinguishing of a select market receptive to the large Finnish design look.

Marimekko was founded by Armi and Viljo Ratia in 1951 and has since established a reputation for producing quality textiles for home furnishings and clothing. The Finland-based company actually began in 1949 by acquiring Printex Oy-an oilcloth factory in the suburbs of Helsinki. After a refit, the factory reintroduced the craft-based technique of hand silk-screen printing on cotton sheeting.

The technique, which was recognized by resulting irregularities and repeat lines, evoked a human feel to each design. Although production techniques were mechanized long ago, the company maintains hand-crafted quality in its printing. Its use of decorative designs and natural fibers strengthened its commitment to the Scandinavian affinity to nature.

With Armi as its design director, the firm moved away from the standard approach of the other fabric (marimekko tyg) designers in Finland at that time, utilizing an assortment of patterns which incorporated the abstract graphics of various artists rather than realistic images. Their original collection of basic women’s dresses, which debuted in the city of Helsinki back in 1951, was a means of showcasing the corporation’s printed cottons.

Wraparound and front-button garments were included, thus accentuating textiles instead of styling. This collection was known as Marimekko, blending the old-fashioned Finnish girl name Maria and the word mekko, describing a tow shirt, open in the back and then worn as if it were a pinafore. Since that time, “Maria’s little dress” expanded into home furnishing textiles, with some international licensing agreements begun in 1968 for bedding, wall covering, decorative fabric, table linens, paper products, furniture (möbler), kitchen ware, glassware, ceramics, and rugs.

By the end of the 20th century, Marimekko had engineered a major comeback in the U.S., with fabric and interior design, wall coverings (marimekko tapet), bed linens, rugs and much more available to American buyers through a series of licenses. Though not as well known in America as many other textiles firms, Marimekko’s bold, simple, classic print designs and characteristic use of color have established a permanently recognizable and highly individualistic identity that remains to this day.

By formally integrating design into manufacturing, textiles from Marimekko acquired international attention through their identification of an exclusive market responsive to the strong Finnish design aesthetic. The collection was so named by combining the old-fashioned Finnish girl’s name of Maria and the term mekko which described a tow shirt. Since then “Maria’s little dress” expanded into home furnishing textiles, with overseas licensing agreements for wall coverings, bedding, furniture (designmöbler) etc. The company made a name for itself in the United States in the 1990’s by licensing its products here. These products included fabric for interior design (heminredning) such as wall coverings and rugs, as well as bed linens and much more.