New collection by Saana ja Olli

I am a pretty big fan of Finnish design duo Saana ja Olli – I already own a wonderful cushion with Finnish folklore design motives and the beautiful rug in my bedroom was designed by the young Finnish couple too. Now they are launching a new collection with the not-so-easy name ‘Seitsemän palaa’ (Finnish is such a peculiar language) – and as usual each collection has a story to tell and has a specific background. The new ‘Seitsemän palaa’ collection was inspired by long winter nights where the design couple spent solving tangram puzzles. A pretty fun inspiration, isn’t it?

The design process included combining the shapes of the puzzle with a large number of hand drawn prints in order to see how the pattern turns out. The new collection continues Saana ja Olli’s tradition of colossal multi-dimensional prints – it actually reminds me a bit of my cushion even though the motives are different and more contemporary. Products in the line include kitchen textiles and  cushions, and as new additions posters and large cards printed in Finland.

“We created ‘Seitsemän palaa’ by discussing the themes we wanted to include and each of us drawing dozens of black and white patterns. We then used the stack of patterns to build a print based on the shapes featured in the Tangram puzzles. The outcome was a print which combines our hand drawn aesthetics with kaleidoscopic wildness” says Olli Sallinen, one of the two designers behind Saana ja Olli.

Whenever I see a new collection coming from the Turku based design couple, it makes me smile and I am intrigued. Intrigued to learn the story behind it, to see what materials they used and to enjoy their beautiful stylings. I can reassure you that the products I have at home from Saana ja Olli are wonderful – I love the look and feel of both my cushion and my rug. And I am already plotting how I could incorporate one of the new pieces of the ‘Seitsemän palaa’ collection too.

Photography via Saana ja Olli