The Wondrous designs of Minni Havas

I went to see the Minni Havas exhibition Passion Fruit at the Finnish Inistitute in Stockholm during Stockholm Design Week without any expectations. I had seen a picture with the carpets Minni designed for the Finnish company Finarte but I still was not prepared for the whirlwind feast of colours that enveloped me in the exhibition hall.

I walked around on my own for 10 minutes before the rest of the press representatives came in, just to immerse myself in Minni’s world in peace and quiet. The colourful fruits on the carpets, the textiles with tiger cherries, they all caught my eye. I wanted to buy them all then and there – I know a great talent when I see one.

Minni (b. 1983) grew up in an artistic family and became interested in art at quite a young age. She says:

I remember when I was 5-6 years old, I was holding my parents’ catalogue of the Louvre and admiring all the beautiful paintings in it

She started doing beautiful illustrations and then expended to textiles.

Minni graduated Aalto University in 2010 with a design major and has been designing textiles ever since for Finarte, Vimma Company and Maison Margiela (ss17 and aw17). I asked Minni a few questions:

FS: Hey Minni, where do you get your inspiration from?

I always look at my surroundings and notice little details that stand out. Sometimes it’s a candy wrapping lying around my table or dying flowers on my way home through the park.

The spring light is illuminating places and things in a different way now and this also inspires me. I am constantly inspired by my fellow artists and their joy of creativity as well.

FS: Which projects give you the most pleasure to work on?

I love to work with projects where I can create the whole concept. I like work that has depth and utilize different mediums. For example sculpture, light, sound and textileS, spacial aspects.

Working with the client is also important and it is best when we have a good and open communication.

FS: What is your next project? What are you working on right now?