Hanna Ruusulampi is a Finnish graphic designer and illustrator. Her aesthetic takes its cues from Scandinavian folk-art, 60s graphics, and mythology. It is bold and whimsical, with strong lines and lovely detail, with lots of colour.

 

 

Her grandmother was an artist who drew and painted every day, right up until when she died at the age of 98. Hanna told me that as a child she spent a lot of time at grandma’s house because she lived next door. That close connection and creativity have meant grandma has been one of her big inspirations in life.

For this reason, it is not surprising that Hanna spent a lot of time drawing as a child. Curiously though, she never enjoyed art at school until she was about 16. She then went to study at Helsinki’s Art High School, subsequently studying Graphic Design.

 

 

Motherhood brought the decision to stay at home with her small children, and she started a small amount of freelance graphic design and illustration, working at night and during the weekends.

After a full-time stint as the art director of a digital design company (for which Hanna says she suffered – it cost her much creative energy, so tired in the evenings she was unable to draw or do her any of her own work for a number of years), she started her own company in 2007.

 

 

 

Hanna found her way into fabric design through a hobby – she had used a small silk-screen at home, but wanted to push it further and learn how to design continuous patterns. “A few years ago I found Spoonflower and it was just perfect for me. I use computers a lot, so printing via web service is a really nice feature for me.”

She rarely makes pencil sketches, but prefers to start most of her works straight with a marker pen. “So if I make mistakes the drawing goes to trash. Colouring work and cleaning I do in Photoshop; I also like to draw vector graphics in Illustrator.”

One very special thing that has happened to her in recent years is being asked to be a contributing artist to Polly & Me, and says of the experience, “This was my best moment as a designer so far.” She explains, “Polly is a social enterprise for women in Chitral, Pakistan, focused on designing and creating bags, which are then made by women’s embroidery collectives.” It is such a worthy and wonderful enterprise, and I am not surprised Hanna has felt honoured to be asked. You can find out more about Polly and Me here – www.pollyandme.com.

 

 

Hanna has currently got her head stuck in a book about Charley Harper, an American Modernist artist and illustrator, and she says it’s excellent.

 

And she tells me the best place in Finland is her home. 🙂

 

You can find more of Hanna’s fabric designs on her Spoonflower site here, and some of her other graphics on Society6, and her own website.

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With thanks to Hanna for sharing her work and words here.