Marimekko Räsymatto paper napkin, 20 pcs, black and white

Maija Louekari (b. 1982) is a Finnish textile artist and pattern designer known above all for the prints she has designed for Marimekko. Louekari draws inspiration from everyday life and the ordinary things, people and sounds around her. The surrounding landscapes also feed her work, whether an urban metropolis or a Finnish forest.

Among Louekari’s best-known prints are the Siirtolapuutarha and Räsymatto patterns, now modern classics, which she originally designed for the Oiva tableware series – designed by Sami Ruotsalainen and launched in 2009.

Maija Louekari – storytelling prints and a playful mood

Maija Louekari is a Finnish illustrator and textile designer known especially for her recognisable style based on a hand-drawn line.

Louekari studied design and interiors at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and graphic design at the Danish Design School. The young designer’s career received a significant boost in 2003, when she won the Frames for a Young Life design competition organised by the University of Art and Design and Marimekko. After the competition, Louekari became one of Marimekko’s central pattern designers.

The hand-drawn line as a starting point

Louekari’s prints are characterised by a strong rhythm and storytelling imagery that often springs from nature and everyday observations – plants, animals and landscapes are transformed in Louekari’s hands into graphic, rhythmic surfaces.

Her large-scale, cohesive prints usually come about through freehand drawing, and Louekari also enjoys experimenting with paper-cutting, for example. Her craft-based way of working gives her prints a distinctive and warm character.

Marimekko’s beloved modern classics

Louekari has designed numerous well-known prints for Marimekko: from her pen have come the Siirtolapuutarha and Räsymatto prints that appeared in 2009 and are now among the present-day Marimekko classics, the wintry Kuusikossa and the graphically pared-back Kukat puhkeavat.

Louekari’s work has been seen widely in textiles, tableware and homeware, and through Marimekko’s global popularity it has reached a wide international audience too.

Who: Maija Louekari

• Finnish illustrator and textile designer (b. 1977).
• Studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Danish Design School in Copenhagen.
• Known for her hand-drawn, storytelling and detailed prints.
• Honoured for best fabric design at the Elle Deco International Design Awards (EDIDA) 2005.
• One of Marimekko’s longest-serving pattern designers.

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