Designer Spotlight: Marimekko’s Mika Piirainen

On Friday I walked over to the Marimekko flagship on Newbury Street to meet Finnish designer Mika Piirainen, who was in town to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Marimekko’s iconic “Unikko” print. You know, the oversize mod floral that immediately springs to mind when someone utters Marimekko.

Mika Piirainen, who graduated from the Lahti Institute of Design and Fine Arts in Finland, is celebrating his 20th anniversary with the company. He snagged a position with Marimekko back in 1994, after the head of women’s fashion for the brand saw his final student presentation at Ravensbourne College in London.

He says, “The Marimekko people came to critique the show, and afterwards, they told me to call them. I had an interview within a few days, and got hired as a design assistant in the middle of the first meeting.” Then he adds, “I was lucky.”

That fateful collection was inspired by milkmaids in the Finnish countryside, and he reprised it just three months after starting at the firm. He says, “I redid the milkmaid collection in black, navy, and white, using the same shapes and materials. They sold quite well.”

Piirainen worked on staff at Marimekko for several years, and then transitioned into a freelance role, which has been good for both him and the company, which has almost 20 freelance designers on tap.

He says, “At this point I’ve done everything—women, men, kids, umbrellas, towels.  I used to do lots of kids, but I’m done with that. Now I concentrate on women’s clothing and bags. “As for how many pieces he puts out, he recalls, “One year I made 140 pieces, now it’s more like 20 to 30.”

He favors simple silhouettes that let the textile designs speak for themselves. And although he sometimes designs his own prints, he also likes to use those created by young designers. He’s also been using lots of archival prints for new pieces he designs. After all, Marimekko has about 3,000 prints in its archives.

Piirainen explains, we have to check in with copyrights, talk to them about scale and color. Some like to have input, others say we can do whatever we want.”

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Mika Piirainen and I chatted on the lower level of the Marimekko store.

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Then we went upstairs so he could show me some of his designs. Piirainen designed this Silvi dress, as well as the actual textile pattern, named “Sato.”

Mika Piirainen Textile Design Marimekko

Piirainen prefers a neutral palette. With “Sato” he used black & white, playing with the positive and the negative. He hand draws his textile designs, rather than designing them on a computer. He makes big swishing motions with his arm to describe the movements he used in the studio while putting these freeform lines to paper.

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Marimekko celebrates the 50th anniversary of its “Unikko” floral this year. Love the Unikko bean bags.

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Just In: TRADHhome Early Spring 2014

The digital edition of Traditional Home, called TRADhome came out last week. This is an online only version of the magazinef that features less established and up-and-coming designers. In 2012’s TRADhome, I wrote about a home designed by Palmer Weiss—my blog post here—and in the 2013 “Great Kitchens” edition, I wrote about designer Liz Caan’s color-filled dining room, blogged here.

TRADhome 2014 extensively showcases homes designed by these four designers: Tamara Kaye-Honey, Charles de Lisle, and Joe Lucas and Parrish Chilcoat of Lucas Studio, and Taylor Borsari. The theme is color, and as you’ll see, there’s plenty of it.

TAMARA KAYE-HONEY
Photos by Michael Garland

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CHARLES DE LISLE
Photo by David Duncan Livingston

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JOE LUCAS & PARRISH CHILCOAT
Photos by Karyn Millet

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TAYLOR BORSARI
Photos by Karyn Millet

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I blogged the best photos of
TRADhome 2013
Part I & Part II

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Shop classic and colorful home decor at Serena & Lily >

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Designer Spotlight: Laura Jean Floral and Design

Saturday night Didriks and Local Root owner  Jonathan Henke and his team invited me to a dinner where we talked about business and design. It was held in the Observatory Hill neighborhood of Cambridge, near his shops, at Austin Architects.

Didrik’s visual merchandiser, Alexandra Boeri, organized the nuts and bolts of the event and was the force behind its creative vision. She picked out all the tableware, and worked very closely with Laura Jean of Laura Jean Floral and Design, who did the flowers, and jewelry designer Nicole Rueda-Watts,  who provided some beautifully styled decorative vignettes.  Nicole is Laura Jean’s business partner in the new shop Observatory. (Check out Nicole’s old loft here.) Taryn Collins, who works at the shop, cooked the delicious meal. It was a such a nice evening, filled with good food, good flowers, and good company.

Here are some of my Instagram photos of the room, table, and meal, as well as some images from Laura Jean’s floral design portfolio.

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Peek inside the portfolio of Laurel Jean Floral and Design:

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Shop wines & spirits at Fortnum & Mason >

Just In: Jessica Biales Signet Rings

I’ve long considered my friend Jessica Biales to have impeccable taste. I learned to cultivate the art of minimalism from her, back in college. She had almost nothing in her closet, yet she always had everything she needed. On the walls hung posters of architectural renderings by Frank Gehry and Phillip Johnson, mounted on foam core rather than taped to the walls. And her duvet was plain black.

Hardly the stuff of college dreams. When I need to cull, I channel that dorm room, which only one year before was laden with images of Monet’s Giverny, an inspiration board laden with Calvin Klein’s ponytailed models and Christy and Linda in Chanel, and a double mattress topped with a floral comforter; home to moi. Jessica was the New York City sophisticate incarnate. And now, reigning queen bee of the style world, Jenna Lyons, has confirmed what I always knew—Jessica Biales has style. 

J.Crew, which has been experimenting with collaborations with all sorts of cool kids—including CFDA winners and other under-the-radar labels—has picked up two rings by Jessica Biales. It’s the company’s first offerings in fine jewelry. They are carrying a limited run of two solid 18-carat gold signet styles—one yellow gold, and the other rose gold bedecked with pavé emeralds.

I gave the collab a shout-out in Sunday’s Boston Globe, as “The One Thing” in the  paper’s new “Enthusiast” section. Jessica’s work has gotten a ton of press over the past six months. Let’s have a look.

Jeassica Biales Candy Signet Ring J.CrewJessica Biales “Candy” Signet Rings
Available at Hu’s Wear in D.C.,  Good in Boston, and online at  J.Crew
All pieces also available at JessicaBiales.com

Jeassica Biales Candy Signet Ring J.Crew

 The Boston Globe, June 16, 2013

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 Vogue, February 2013

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Jessica Biales Rose Gold Slice Rings

Jessica Biales “Slice” Rings
available in white gold, rose gold, and yellow gold
plain or with pavé white or black diamonds 

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Harper’s Bazaar, February, 2013

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Jessica Biales “Slice” Rings
in rose gold with tsavorites,rubies, sapphires


[I have the slice ring with tsavorites. I wear it between two rose gold rings by Melissa Joy Manning that my husband gave me for my birthday a few years ago; also from Good.]

 

Jessica Biales Sterling Signet Ring

 

Jessica Biales Block Signet Rings
in sterling silver at Good and 18-carat yellow gold at J.Crew

Jessica Biales Gold Wave Rings

Jessica Biales Wave Rings
small and large in rose, white, and yellow gold

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J E S S I C A  B I A L E S  J E W E L R Y
a v a i l a b l e  a t
Hu’s Wear in D.C.   |    Good in Boston
online at  J.Crew |   and 
at JessicaBiales.com

See my Instagram photos of Jessica’s rings here:
Shopping Trip: Good Boutique 


Designer Spotlight: Snowbound Pottery by Anna Kasabian

Anna Kasabian, a local artist on the North Shore of Massachusetts working under the name Snowbound Pottery, emailed me in January with photos of her work. I was instantly taken with the delicate shapes and natural feel. The pieces are sweet but not precious or cloying. The white vases and and bowls themselves resemble flowers, with uneven scalloped edges and petal-like feet. I was unsurprised to learn that she makes everything by hand, without a wheel. When I responded to her mail saying I loved her work, she graciously sent me a tiny dish so I could see it and feel it. Her work is even more lovely in person.

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Vases With Purple Flowers

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Gold Rim Bowl

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Tiny Bowls

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Vases Bowls

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Vases On Windowsill

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Strawberry Bowls

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian In Progress

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian In Progress

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Plate

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Lotus Bowl

Snowbound Pottery Anna Kasabian Outdoors

Style Carrot Snowbound Pottery* * * mine * * *