Like Mother...

Jen DeRose -- Interior Design, 3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Maija and Kristina Isola are Marimekko's famous mother-daughter team. Maija Isola, an illustrator inspired by nature and modern art, helped shape the company ever since its founding in 1951. In 1962, when the younger Isola was 16, she contributed sketches and became an assistant; two years later, she became a designer. The pair continued to operate as partners—producing dozens of cotton fabrics—until her mother's retirement in 1987.

Kristina Isola carries on her mother's legacy today, reinterpreting colorways and adapting patterns for digital printing. Flower-powered Oona of 1969 now comes in orange-pink and brown-green. The oversize polka dots of Kivet, designed in 1956, have been updated in two-tone beige, blue, and orange. Kaivo, from 1964, goes earthy in rust, while 1962's Ananas, a lacy pattern of pineapple leaves and flowers, receives doses of citrusy orange-red, futuristic beige-silver, and springy green. Appelsiini, 1950, is a tart version of the appletini cocktail, with a twist of blue or green.

A pop art 1969 pear pattern, Päärynä, has been reissued in its original colors. Kristina Isola has also scaled it down for use in Marimekko's clothing line. 4 Puusepänkatu, 00880 Helsinki, Finland; 358-9-758-71; marimekko.com. circle 363