Marita Huurinainen has an MA degree from the Department of Design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She has also studied at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo. Huurinainen has worked for various companies such as Marimekko, while also producing her own collections and designing unique eveningwear at her studio. She has been awarded with several international and national design prizes including Ornamo Design Prize 2009, Baltic Fashion Award 2005, and Marimekko Design Prize in both 2004 and 2006. Her passion is working with different materials in varying fields of design, constantly testing the limits. Huurinainen’s products always have something to say, with meanings beyond current trends. For her beauty is a real value that makes our surroundings nicer and benefits the general wellbeing. Still, all products have to function properly for what they are designed for. Her starting point in creating a fashion collection is always a shape: “When I start designing, I take a piece of material and make a three-dimensional shape by hand like a sculptor. It is only later that I draw a picture of it; this in itself generates a result that is out of the ordinary.”
WAVE AND POEMS
Wave is a new and innovative Finnish design shoe made of wood. It is the winner of the Ornamo Design Prize 2009. Wave derives from the Finnish woodcraft tradition, but is yet done in a very modern way. The innovation in the shoe is that although it is made of wood, it is very flexible when walking. The first collection includes shoes made of bent birch, curly birch, and palisander veneer. Poems is an avant-garde collection of ladies wear consisting of cocktail dresses, jackets, pants and tops. It is a smart casual collection hand made of wool and silk blend fabric. Each dress has a carefully thought of sculpture like shape. The outfits are finished off with a piece of wooden jewelry. Each dress also comes with a poem by Liisa Suntio. The dresses can be ordered made to measure. Both Wave and Poems are manufactured in Finland.
