Welcome to the world of Marimekko! Marimekko is a colourful vision, and a very Finnish one. Founded 1951 in Helsinki by Armi and Viljo Ratia, the bold Marimekko textiles and clothes were a radical shift in style, driven by a team of groundbreaking designers. Marimekko today is a public company with some 800 retailers around the world. In the United Kingdom, Marimekko bags, clothes, kitchen and bathroom accessories can be found at two British Marimekko shops and through selected retailers.

In 1951, Armi Ratia joined the small oilcloth and textile printing company Printex her husband had set up two years earlier in Helsinki, Finland. Her first job was to leave the oil out.

Armi asked some artist friends to apply their graphic designs to cloth. Along with the check patterns came colossal non-figurative shapes which, together with their daring colours, completely revolutionised the traditions of textile printing.

Though people admired the new, unique fabrics, they did not quite know how or where to use them. In order to show how the fabrics could be used, it was decided to make up a small collection of simply styled dresses.

These were still the grey post-war years of rationing and clothes had to last but Armi wished to give them a touch of beauty and joie de vivre.


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지난 여름 노르웨이에서 온 친구가 예쁜 가방을 들고

있어서 예쁘다고 해주었더니, 마리메코것 이라고, 내게

들어본적이 있는가 물어서 모른다고 했더니, 핀란드의

유명한 디자이너 제품이라고....

며칠전 새로 구입한 잡지를 읽다가 친구 가방과 비슷한

것을 다시 보았고, 인터넷에서 자료를 찾았다.

누군가 디자인에 관심이 있다면 북유럽 제품을 연구해

보아도 재미 있을듯 하다.  생각보다 다양하고, 디자인도

마음에 든다.