Marimekko
Torna Unikko Large Heavyweight Canvas Beach or Picnic Tote Bag
- Specifications
- Description
- The Designer
- The Maker
- Brand:Marimekko of Finland
- Country: Europe
- SKU: MM-047931-910-FJ-OH
- Material: 100% Cotton
- Care:Hand Wash Separately. Do not soak. Do not use bleach. Do not tumble dry. Iron with medium heat (300°F MAX.). Do not dry-clean. May fade.
- Designer:Maija Isola
- Dimensions:H: 15.5", W: 13", D: 4"
Marimekko's famous poppy pattern Unikko was born in 1964 in a time when the design house's collections featured mostly abstract prints. Designer Maija Isola wanted to create something interesting from this organic theme and designed an entire range of floral prints. Today, the iconic flower represents creativity. Marimekko Kioski translates adds yet another contemporary dimension to the print.
Maija Isola's (1927-2001) remarkable career as a textile designer began at Printex, Marimekko's predecessor, in 1949 and lasted 38 years. She designed more than 500 fabric patterns, which cover an amazingly diverse range of motifs and design techniques.
Maija Isola laid the foundation for Marimekko as a print house. She lived an unconventional life for her time, painting what she encountered when traveling across Europe, North Africa, and America. On these trips, many of her patterns and colors were born.
She often worked in the evenings, sitting on the floor, and painted the original artwork across the entire width of a canvas. Nature was an endless source of material, and sometimes she even used real plants for her designs. She composed the Kivet fabric, a print resembling giant stones, from circles cut out of colored paper.
Armi Ratia, founder of Marimekko, believed that the true essence of real flowers couldn't be faithfully captured in print, which is why floral prints were excluded from Marimekko collections. Maija Isola responded by creating a complete collection of graphic, pop-art-inspired floral fabrics. Among them was Unikko, designed in 1964, which has been continuously printed since its launch.
Marimekko is a world-famous Finnish lifestyle design company renowned for its original prints and colors. The company's product portfolio includes high-quality clothing, bags and accessories as well as home decor items ranging from textiles to tableware.
When Marimekko was founded in 1951, its unparalleled designs gave it a strong and unique identity. The classic Unikko pattern was created in 1964, after Marimekko founder Armi Ratia publicly proclaimed a ban on flowers in Marimekko prints. Artist Maija Isola defied the order and designed a whole collection of floral patterns that were so fresh and unique that Armi ended up taking eight of them. One of those she accepted was Unikko, the future icon of icons.
Marimekko is always up to date with the relevant and modern home decor while operating by traditional Finnish values. Each and every article is designed to fulfill Marimekko's core mission: quality, functionality and timelessness. Fresh forms, innovative designs, joyful colors and beautiful patterns—the FJØRN Marimekko selection offers Bags & Totes, Tableware and Textiles for the Kitchen, Blankets, Cushions and Vases for the living room and many other objects that make a house a home.