Art Talk (Do It For the Process)

Marimekko.

The illustrious clothing and housewares company started 70 years ago in Finland has now become synonymous with supercool, retro, and spare style. Co-founder Armi Rata branded the company based on her personal and professional ethos: bohemia and culture.

I can’t get enough of Marimekko’s most famous poppy inspired Unikko print and have it on several items in my home. Here is the fabric available for purchase.

I have been thinking a lot lately about my core values, my personal code of ethics, and how all of it ties into my own self worth.

And then I found the core values Armi Rata termed the “Marimekko spirit” and was inspired.

  1. Living, not pretending
  2. Fairness to everyone and everything
  3. Common sense
  4. Getting things done—together
  5. Courage, even at the risk of failure
  6. Joy

If I were to ever create a brand/design company, I’d be incredibly proud of core values like this.

Here’s what Marimekko spirit means to me:

  1. Rather than trying to get people to see you, just be you.
  2. It’s not always about you.
  3. Not everything will make sense.
  4. Find the people who light you up.
  5. Try, even when you fall or fail.
  6. Laugh a lot.

The past three years for me have been brutal. (If you’re a fixed astrological sign, you and I are in the same horrible club.) But I’m still here. So are you. That’s not nothing.

2023 is going to be the start of something different. Making Marimekko’s prints part of my life and being inspired by them to make my own art has been so much fun. Now I’m grateful for Marimekko’s inspiration to create my own set of core values, ethics, and self worth I choose to live by.

This blog will be your front row seat to watch me do both.

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