Ida Korsström

Ida Korsström is a Finnish textile designer and Aalto University graduate. Her work is characterised by the straightforward yet expressive designs and her strong sense of colour. With the intention of making products that stand the test of time, Ida tends to find inspiration from both the past and the present. Ida works intuitively, paying close attention to material and quality and most recently she has immersed herself in the interaction of colours in woven fabrics. Her design for Lapuan Kankurit is the SHAKKI blanket which was created as part of her MA thesis and presented in Protoshop at Habitare in 2022.

"Shakki is a jacquard woven wool throw inspired by the colours, patterns and light of Florence. During a stay at an artist residency in Italy in February 2020, I collected impressions from the surfaces and architecture around the city, and from the subtle tones of the Italian landscape in the winter. This material was then translated into a soft wool throw. As a product the throw is an embodiment of comfort, and a heritage piece for the home. In Shakki the classic checkerboard pattern is reimagined through the gradient, creating an illusion of light and shadow. For me the woven fabric provides an interesting framework for design. The clear boundaries of the warp and weft gives me the necessary challenge for the design process and fuel for the imagination. When designing Shakki I wanted to play with and stretch the limitations of what is possible within woven fabrics, creating a multicoloured throw with a minimal amount of yarn colours."

The Shakki blanket is a luxurious blend of bio-organic cotton and fine merino. The triple structure of the blanket makes it wonderfully heavy and warm. Therefore, the body quickly relaxes under the blanket. The blanket gains a soft finish in our production so it feels comfortable even on bare skin.