Textile artist Lena Rewell was born in 1934 in Finland. She has always been full of energy and despite turning 90 this summer, her spirit is not fading. Lena is petite and dark-haired and prefers to wear black, but her designs are deliciously colorful.
Lena's father worked as a textile engineer and growing up she was mesmerized by the vibrant colors of wool. She knew at a very young age that she wanted to design textiles. With passion and determination she got what she wanted. Lena has never been afraid of failure – why should she, because “everything is going to work out”. This attitude took her to Paris to show her designs to the grand fashion houses, and successfully design fabrics for Christian Dior and Lanvin in the 1960s and 1970s. Later in the 1980s and 1990s she designed and manufactured blankets for Hermès and Ralph Lauren.
Lena Rewell graduated from Ateneum School of Art and Design in 1960, and she established her own business while still studying. She hired two weavers and designed very fashionable rya rugs and mohair blankets in stunning colors. With her sense of style and color she was certain to succeed.
Vibrant colors were the core of Lena’s design, favorites being orange, lilac and brown. Her main inspiration was nature: juicy colors of flowers and fruit, organic shapes, the raindrops on windows, the four seasons, sea and Lapland… The yarns were dyed according to her wishes. Lena was always very precise to control the process herself from design to the final touch.
In the 1960s Finland started to invest in textile export. That coincided with Lena’s business flourishing. Lena went on to design couture fabrics and clothing (evening gowns, dresses, capes, coats, after ski -fashion etc). The fabrics were handwoven in her own weavery in Tampere and sewn in her Helsinki workshop. Lena has never been one to run after trends, her style was simple, easy and sporty – and luxurious.
Lena has always been charmed by France, especially Paris. She established her first shop in Kruununhaka, the most Parisian part of Helsinki, in 1961. From there she was serving her couture clients as well as tourists coming to Helsinki. Her business grew and at one point she had three shops, but her main market has always been export.
In the 1960s-1970s the Finnish textile industry thrived. The bold and colorful patterns found their way in clothing and home. Lena's patterns were turned into printed cotton and linen fabrics bursting with color. The 1960s was a very productive decade for Lena with her own business, growing family and designing for other companies. She designed jacquard blankets for Swedish Tidstrand and linen textiles and cotton towels for Finnish textile giants Finlayson and Tampella as well as disposable Kimara tablecloths.
In mid-1970s business was hectic. The weavery in Tampere produced 10.000 blankets a year, mostly for export. Lena had three shops in Helsinki and export to the US, Europe and Japan was thriving. She enjoyed work, but the business and keeping the reins in her hands meant that she had less time to design. By the 1990s she scaled down her business and concentrated on export. Lena got back to her roots and focused on luxury mohair blankets and accessories. She finally had more time for creativity.
In 2017 Lena left her business to her daughter Dita, and she could devote her time to arts and painting, her passions. The unique blankets are still handmade in Finland using traditional methods – ambitiously from start to finish. They stay beautiful for decades and the story of Lena Rewell Textilestudio continues.