MARITA LYBECK｜1906–1990｜FINLAND
Marita Lybeck was a Finnish female designer and ceramist. Her elder brother was Nils-Gustav Hahl, one of the founding members of ARTEK, known as an art historian and critic. Through her brother, she interacted with key figures of the modernism movement at the time, and at the request of Aino Aalto, she designed ceramics and textiles for ARTEK. She was responsible for the fabrics of Alvar Aalto's furniture exhibited at the 1937 Paris World's Fair, as well as some of the tableware for the SAVOY restaurant.
In 1947, she established her own studio, EMMEL. She presented handmade tableware made from local red clay, characterized by simple forms with minimal decoration, and allowing for free combinations and stacking. These designs were modern and innovative, based on her design philosophy, and bore the traces of the craftsman's hands. She gained popularity, including a solo exhibition at ARTEK in 1951 titled "Form och funktion i rödlera (Form and Function in Red Clay)." However, fierce price competition with industrially mass-produced tableware sharing the same design philosophy, such as Kaj Franck's KILTA series, led to the closure of her business in 1957.
From 1957, she served as the art director of KERA, a local pottery manufacturer that had produced ARTEK's ceramics before the establishment of EMMEL, remaining there until 1958. Afterward, she worked as a manager in the art and design department of Stockmann, a department store in Helsinki. She was awarded a silver medal at the Milan Triennale in 1954.
