Click to watch the marimekko Spring/Summer collection for 2011.

Being a pattern, design and not-so-secret textile nerd it’s no small wonder that I have a special place in my heart for the Finnish powerhouse of design, Marimekko.

For close to 60 years this design house has been busy playing and creating some of the most stunningly beautiful, bold and lovely prints and designs. I can spot a Marimekko piece a mile away be is a pillowcase, a wall hanging or a dish, just ask Craig. It’s almost as uncanny as my ability to see groundhogs on the side of a highway at 85mph.

Recently I came across this video of Marimekko’s Spring/ Summer 2011 collection was breath taken. The nontraditional set up of the runway in an X  against a wall of hundreds of green plants and a floor adorned with thousands of live flowers, allowing the models to turn and criss-cross rather than simply do the usual runway thing. I can only imagine how wonderful that runway & transformed warehouse smelled.

You might think that such a riot of color could be seen as distracting, and a lesser design house would probably stay with more muted & neutral backgrounds to show off their work, but the genius of Marimekko lies in their designers’ ability to understand and see the harmony of pattern, color, texture, and light in vibrant & expressive combinations. It’s an exaltation of nature as well as hard work. And, with a lovely spot of music by Matti Pentikäinen.

I love you Marimekko!

Click to watch the marimekko Spring/Summer collection for 2011.