This New Tableware Collection Brings a Delightful Splash of Color to Any Gathering

Al fresco entertaining is incomplete without beautiful dishes and plates—the more vibrant and artistic, the better. Thankfully, just in time for the warmer months, Finnish fashion and design house Marimekko has unveiled a new collection that embodies the feeling of joy and conviviality.

The collection is a limited run, and is part of the brand's Artist Series. It's a collaboration with Petra Börner, a Swedish multimedia artist known for her colorful and graphic paintings, drawings, and ceramics.

The latter skillset came in handy for this particular collection, which includes technicolor plates, dishes, and mugs. Inspired by the "Anatomy of a Flower," a prevailing theme throughout Marimekko's introductions this year, it explores nature and botanicals through an abstract, deconstructed lens. "It’s energetic and perhaps a little random," says Börner of the color palette, which ranges from sky blues to sunflower yellows. "I let the paint take its place according to my ‘handwriting’."

Börner cites Karl Blossfeldt's photography and Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings as additional points of inspiration. She even refers to the throw blankets in the collection as "painted artworks."

The ceramics required a deep level of artistic connection and concentration as well. "[Ceramics] is the best space to be to focus, and to be transported into the realm of making without distractions," she adds. "Clay commands full attention!"

According to Rebekka Bay, the creative director of Marimekko, the collaboration with Börner is part of a larger study in flowers—long a staple motif for the brand—that will continue throughout the year. "Her style is lush and vivid," Bay adds. "It captures their ever-changing nature."