Crate And Barrel Opens The Marimekko Shop

Earlier this month, Crate and Barrel opened a store within their SoHo location in New York City that is dedicated to renowned design brand, Marimekko. The Finnish brand is known for creating vibrantly colored pieces with a simple design aesthetic that tends to be inspired by nature.

The collection at The Marimekko Shop at Crate and Barrel includes a variety of kitchen and dining accessories such as mugs, plates, oven mitts, vases and children's dining pieces.

At the opening of The Marimekko Shop at Crate and Barrel, Marimekko's CEO, Mika Ihamuotila explained that most of Marimekko's designs are created to be unisex. The arrangement of horizontal black and white stripes on his shirt, a vintage Marimekko garment from the sixties, made his point. The brand is designed to appeal to "grandparents and grandchildren as well as men and women" he said.

The relationship between Marimekko and Crate and Barrel started in the early sixties, beginning with the fabric collection.The new store within a store marks the expansion of Marimekko products available to Americans. Crate and Barrel's founder, Gordon Segal, announced that the company intends to open more Marimekko shops at their other locations around the country in the near future. The online store will open on the Crate and Barrel website in the Spring.

During the store opening, Ihamuotila asked, "How could one of the most colorful design brands in the world have come out of one of the darkest, coldest countries?" He replied, "The brand was designed out of necessity in a way, when war-torn Finland was in need of hope." Ihamuotila's hope is that Marimekko's designs instill Americans with the same sense of light and vibrancy that has captured the Finns since 1949.

Click here to view the Timeless Marimekko for Your Home Slideshow.