Photo by Michelle Weinberg

In 1949 a Finnish gentleman acquired a company called Printex, which produced oilcloth and printed textiles. This move inspired his wife to commission young artists to design bold, graphic prints for Printex and to fashion contemporary garments out of the cloth. The creations were presented to the public at a fashion show at a Helsinki restaurant in 1951. From these bohemian beginnings, the revolutionary company Marimekko has been guided to this day by a commitment to design inspired by the beauty of everyday life. Devotion to printing the works of a coterie of young designers is a continuing tradition at Marimekko. They introduce dozens of fresh new designs each year in hothouse colors and animated geometries, produced by recent design school grads from Finland and beyond.

In the here and now, Marimekko has landed in Miami Beach in an inviting concept store helmed by Cristina Dominguez, a Florida native and University of Miami law school grad. Six months ago Dominguez opened her outpost of the youthful design brand after realizing her passion wasn’t being quenched in the law profession. She realized, “I was reading Dwell magazine, not Immigration Law Weekly.” Her drive to surround herself with items of beautiful design — “down to paper napkins!” — steered her in the direction of Marimekko, and her good friend, art consultant Annhy Shim, encouraged her to consider the career move. A concept store is an independently owned purveyor of the entire range of Marimekko products, from towels to halter dresses to pillow cases to handbags and infant togs. It’s a lifestyle brand that looks upbeat and light, and generates a lot of enthusiasm. “The Marimekko brand is instantly recognizable,” says Dominguez. “This store is a destination. People come in from far away, once they find out we’re here.”

The sporty, confident look of Marimekko became part of the American consciousness in 1960, when Jackie Kennedy went on a Marimekko shopping spree at the height of JFK’s campaign frenzy. The bright designs perfectly mirrored the free-spirited 1960s social and cultural mood. This writer remembers wearing matching mother/daughter dresses from Marimekko, purchased by a design-conscious, fashion-forward mom. The Marimekko image faded by the 1980s with the death of the enterprise’s original founder. The company has suffered more than a few wayward moves since then, falling prey to a hostile takeover, and at one point even being sold to a sporting goods company — a “complete corporate meltdown,” according to Dominguez. While Crate & Barrel offers several Marimekko signature patterns in an ironclad contractual agreement, the time was right to reintroduce the variety and full range of Marimekko production, which had been steadily cooking away in Finland. The opening of concept stores in the United States is expected to reacquaint Americans with the look that has always signified clean, natural, modern design with integrity. In fact, three new U.S. stores have opened since October 2006, and a new fashion line marries vibrant patterns in various colorways with stylish shapes. The kids and babies lines are especially popular.

Dominguez and Shim have big plans for Marimekko in South Florida. They recognize the natural fit of Miami’s sunwashed loft condos and pastel-hued Deco homes with Marimekko’s playful, colorful graphics filled with nature forms and painterly effects. It’s the home design potential here they see as explosive. Their most ambitious proposition is to initiate a contract division for Marimekko, the first such venture in the United States. “Providing design solutions for hotels and corporate entities is our next big step,” Dominguez says. “I want to connect the dots.” Flame retardant fabrics are suited to the hospitality industry, and Marimekko offers those with its inimitable style. Dominguez and Shim expect to develop a business standard for Marimekko that can be a model for use by other store proprietors looking to this market.

While Finland does not readily come to mind when imagining the tropical, somehow the new wave of Finnish designers brought into the Marimekko fold have tapped into something that is totally at home in South Florida and zones further south. From their strategic location in Miami, Dominguez and Shim intend to serve markets in Latin America, where an appreciation for the fresh look of Marimekko is growing. They have their sights on Mexico City as a location receptive to the Marimekko look and lifestyle. Closer to home, Palm Beach seems an obvious choice.

This feminine energy is not out of place in the Marimekko culture. Currently, the company retains more than 350 employees, and 95 percent of those are women. Legendary Marimekko designer Maija Isola, who created more than 500 patterns for the home from 1949 to 1987, inducted her own daughter Kristina into the design business, and most of the contemporary designers contributing to the Marimekko line are female.

Right now, the Miami Beach Marimekko has a sale through mid-August on many items in the store, from chic, well-made clothing to housewares and home textiles. Marimekko is located at 1671 Meridian Ave., just north of Lincoln Road. 

Weinberg is principal of Michelle Weinberg*surface design. E-mail mail@michelleweinberg.com.

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