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Hi there! I’m Elisa—Textile Designer and entrepreneur. I’ve been an independent designer since I graduated with a BA in design in 2020. My path to being a designer wasn’t straightforward, but now I’m finally here. My professional passion is woven fabrics, which I find eternally intriguing and exciting. Welcome!

My story

My story

As a designer my work means imagining

Creating textures, colours, surfaces, moods

Bringing something beautiful to every day

I’ve always liked drawing and handicrafts, but I only started to consider a career in design after completing a BA in Art History. My long-time hobbies sewing and knitting lead me to study design and textiles at Metropolia UAS in Helsinki, Finland, and I initially thought that I’d focus on pattern design and knit design. I guess fate decided otherwise: upon starting my studies, I immediately developed a passion for weaving!

My interest in weaving eventually took me to Japan, where I studied traditional dyeing and weaving techniques for a full academic year. Living in the outskirts of Tokyo was quite an experience—I learned new skills in weaving, consolidated old ones and came back home with a renewed sense of confidence in sustainable and handmade textiles.

I decided on starting my career as an independent designer because I wanted to further develop my design skills after finishing my degree. As an independent designer I have the chance to create something new and something of my own. I can research, experiment, contemplate and refine—I can design freely, that is. I can also see my designs come to life as actual products.

Textiles are therefore no longer a hobby for me—they’re a profession. Textile design is the work I want to do, and the field which I want to be part of. My knowledge and skills are something I want to share with others in the form of unique products and designs.

In my free time I’m a music lover who likes good food, sewing and knitting. When I want to relax, I head to the sauna, outdoors, or to an art exhibition or a concert.

Process

Process

Heddles and harnesses

A raddle and a reed

A floor loom in a nutshell

Back in the day in Finland, a loom was a household staple in many places and people wove rugs, kitchen and sauna textiles and clothing fabrics themselves. In the last decades, however, weaving has lost its popularity and many people don’t really even know what can be woven on a traditional loom besides the well-loved, traditional rag rugs (“räsymatto”).

Weaving fascinates me because it’s a technique that requires a lot of rigorous planning: before one can even start to weave, there’s some serious measuring, calculating and planning to do. Dressing the loom is also a feat that requires both skill and time. Mistakes in this process are quite common and if they’re not corrected, they remain visible in the finished fabric.

When the loom is dressed and everything is finally ready for weaving, it’s time to explore more freely and try out different combinations of weft yarns and patterns. The variations yield really diverse fabrics! It’s always rewarding to build a fabric from scratch, and I’m often pleasantly surprised with the results myself. Watch the video below to see what the process of weaving fabric on a floor loom looks like!

I’m inspired by colours and textures, architecture and street art, painting and photography, as well as historical objects and traditional handicrafts. When I’m designing a fabric or a product, I start by thinking about what kind of feel I’d like for it to have. To complete the process, I think about what kind of design and which technique would allow me to bring that image to life.

Even though my projects are very varied, I think of my design process as a continous path: all completed works and samples spark new ideas for further development and future projects.

Values

Values

To create something new and beautiful

Together, individually

Skilfully

My business’ values are its backbone and its compass for future direction. These values serve my practise as concrete business principles and choices that I go by when running my daily business, and as a strategic basis for my business’ future development.

Courage

Courage comes in many forms and in my business courage conveys at least the following: the courage to explore, the courage to make things slowly, the courage to look forward and the courage to be oneself.

Collaboration

My business is a straightforward partner, with which it is easy to collaborate as another business or as an individual customer. When doing business with me, deadlines are respected and communication runs smoothly.

Respect

I want to create a sustainable business that is founded on the respect of natural resources and other people. Respect acts as a guide to my business’ the operating principles and it development.

Handcraft tradition

My business’ foundation lies in handcraft expertise and in keeping handcraft traditions relevant and alive in today’s world. With my handmade process, I’m able to offer clients customisable products and a unique design language.

Practise

Practice

Creating carefully

Finishing diligently

Designing responsibly

As an independent designer it’s quite easy for me to choose how my business operates. I’m aware that my choices may be small within the context of the textile industry as a whole, but for me it’s really meaningful to be able to say that I truly stand behind every decision. Below you can read more about how I do business and what kinds of materials I use and why.