Oiva - Piekana plate, 15 x 12 cm, dark red - orange

Fujiwo Ishimoto (b. 1941) is a Japanese-born textile and ceramic designer. Fujiwo Ishimoto joined Marimekko on a permanent basis in 1974. He had previously worked for four years in various capacities for the Décembre company, which was involved in the design and production of Marimekko’s canvas bags, among other products. In Tokyo, Fujiwo Ishimoto had seen fabrics designed by Maija Isola in the 1960s, and he was so impressed by them that he decided to travel to Finland to find out what Marimekko and Finnish design was all about. Among the others, he has designed for Marimekko the Ujo towel collection, a classic of Marimekko’s terrycloth line. As a ceramic designer, Fujiwo Ishimoto has created unique ceramics art works in the Arabia Art Department since 1989. That same year he received Arabia Cultural Foundation’s scholarship.

Sami Ruotsalainen is a Finnish designer who graduated from the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 2005 with a Master’s Degree in ceramic and glass design. Among the most important works by Sami Ruotsalainen, there are the Maku series designed for Arabia and the Oiva tableware collection created for Marimekko.

Sami Ruotsalainen has designed the strong and clean shapes of the tableware set, while the decorations are by Marimekko's pattern designers. Sami Ruotsalainen has had a long working relationship with Marimekko, having acted as an assistant to Kristina Isola amongst others, and is now part of the Marimekko design team.