CUP with HANDLE

MARITA LYBECK｜1906–1990｜FINLAND

Marita Lybeck was a Finnish designer and ceramist.
Her elder brother was Nils-Gustav Hahl, an art historian and critic, and one of the founding members of ARTEK.
Through her brother, she interacted with key figures in the modernism movement of the time, and at the request of Aino Aalto, she designed ceramics and textiles for ARTEK.
She was responsible for the fabrics for Alvar Aalto's furniture exhibited at the 1937 Paris International Exposition and some of the tableware for the SAVOY restaurant.

In 1947, she established her own studio, EMMEL. She presented handmade tableware with traces of the craftsman's hand, based on modern and innovative design principles, such as simple forms with minimal decoration using local red clay, and the ability to combine and stack freely.
In 1951, she held a well-received solo exhibition at ARTEK titled "Form och funktion i rödlera" (Form and function in red clay). However, due to intensifying price competition with industrially mass-produced tableware embodying the same design principles, such as Kaj Franck's KILTA series, her studio closed in 1957.

From 1957, she served as art director for KERA, a local pottery manufacturer that had produced ARTEK ceramics before EMMEL was established, until 1958.
Subsequently, 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.