In 1969 I used to pass the Marimekko shop in
Jyväskylä almost daily, It was only a few hundred yards from our apartment. It was winter in Finland when we arrived and I chose the one hour of daylight to push the pram through the snow to shop for the evening meal. In the long dark days with the monochrome landscape Marimekko became a beacon of colour. I went in often. I made curtains for the living room, bold blocks of white, bright yellow and shocking pink, and dresses of stunning blues and greens.
It's good to reflect on that time. If I have any worry now that leaving the bright colours of the South of France will adversely affect my paintings - I can forget it. My head has always been full of colour. After all, the designers at Marimekko managed it - brilliantly.
I still trawl through the Marimekko websites and look at all the designs I remember from that time.
More recently memories have come flooding back. I have been given two small beautiful Marimekko eggcups, as a gift from my son. Not normally an egg lover, I now start each day with a boiled egg. I can't resist the pleasure I get from just using them.
