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IKEA's exciting new collection with Marimekko is dropping next month
What do you get when Swedish furniture giant IKEA joins forces with renowned Finnish design house Marimekko? A new and exclusive limited edition collection called BASTUA, inspired by Nordic nature, wellness and self-care rituals, and designed to bring joy to our everyday lives.
Landing in stores and online this March, the BASTUA collection ('bastu' is the Swedish word for sauna) combines Marimekko's art of printmaking with IKEA's home furnishing expertise.
You may have heard of the collaboration already – it was first announced in April 2022 – and previewed in limited capacity at the H22 Expo in Helsingborg, Sweden and Fuorisalone in Milan, Italy, but now we get a first look at the full collection, consisting of a 26-strong product range, including furniture, glassware and textiles.
The patterns and textures are inspired by exuberant rhubarbs often found growing near sauna huts, the soft, curved cuts of chopped wooden logs, and gentle water ripples on lakes illuminated by the midnight sun.
Hero pieces include statement robes and towels, the first ever sauna bucket, as well as a floor cushion, candles, glassware, trays, an LED lantern made from light birch and rice paper, and beautifully crafted wooden pieces, from a solid birch bench to a side table, the latter of which has a high edge surface that enables the round tray to fit perfectly on top.
We spoke to some of the creative brains at IKEA and Marimekko who are behind the collection. Here are 11 things you need to know...
1. The BASTUA collection taps into the spathroom trend
The focus is definitely on bathrooms this year, with the spa bathroom (or rather spathroom) tapping into our desire for spa-like sanctuaries that help us to carve out a little me-time. Wellbeing and taking care of oneself both physically and emotionally is more and more important, so this limited edition collection really couldn't have launched at a better time. From towels to bath robes and even a sauna bucket, the BASTUA collection puts a big focus on self-care.
2. It's inspired by the sauna culture
'Saunas can be found across the Nordic countries, often in proximity to a body of water that allows for a cooling dip before or between hot sauna sessions. But in no country is the sauna lifestyle as culturally important as it is in Finland, home to a population of 5.5 million people – and an estimated three million saunas,' say IKEA.
Fun fact: Marimekko once made a sauna in the sixties, and in the 1980s IKEA also had a sauna in its range. Now both brands have come full circle with this exciting collaboration.
'In the Nordic countries we share the the sauna culture, and we were looking for something that would feel equally relevant at a global scale. So really addressing the idea of this self-care ritual, or the bath ritual is something that we recognise in many Asian cultures, in the Nordics, and we really see it now in North America as the fastest growing trend. So it's not just the self-care rituals that trend but literally the sauna culture is a growing trend in all of the markets that we as both brands operate in,' Marimekko's Creative Director, Rebekka Bay, tells us.
3. It's the first time that Marimekko has created patterns especially for a collaboration, making it truly unique
Marimekko is renowned for its original prints and colour across clothing, accessories and home décor, and this partnership with IKEA – described as 'a true creative dialogue' – is unlike any other.
'Normally when we enter collaborations, of course we're trying to bring the best of both brands or the best of both collaborators, so it's very unique that we have an opportunity to create something brand new,' says Rebekka. 'Most of our collaborators are looking for one of our more recognisable, iconic prints.'
Henrik Most, Creative Leader at IKEA, tells us that creating something new and fresh was paramount: 'From a customer point of view, when two brands like Marimekko and IKEA come together, we have a rich history, and maybe there's also an expectation that we actually create something new together and that we don't just rest on what we have done before, but we actually collaborate from the whole development of the concept.'
4. The rhubarb is the hero print
Bold and playful, the creation of the rhubarb print was described as an 'eye opener' for the collection.
'Pretty far into the work we had developed a lot of designs but we all felt that the big "aha moment" was was lacking,' Rebekka recalls. 'And then suddenly, one of our designers shared this insight that very often on the on the wall of Finish saunas, there's rhubarb growing, which later became the rhubarb print, which now features as the hero print of the collection. This was literally the surprise element that brought something into the collaboration that we could not have foreseen, but it felt so true to both the collaboration and the products that we had created.'
For the gardeners among us, rhubarb is an attractive hardy perennial with large leaves and thick, fleshy pink, red or greenish stalks. It's easy to grow too, producing masses of stalks every year. Commonly, rhubarb is used for dessert, especially in pies and crumbles – but only the stalks are edible.
'This plant kind of pops up, and it's a very loud plant with big sculptural leaves, and at the same time, rhubarb has, at least in Denmark, been considered as something you want to take away because they spread. So it's taking this little kind of outsider plant in and celebrating the shape,' says Henrik.
'We talked about it a lot in the beginning that we wanted to be optimistic and I think this rhubarb pattern makes you happy,' Mikael Axelsson, in-house Designer at IKEA, adds.
5. And the iconic FRAKTA bag has been given a rhubarb twist
We've seen – and loved – the many iterations of IKEA's beloved FRAKTA bag over the years, and 2023 is off to a colourful start as the rhubarb print brings a maximalist feel to the iconic blue bag.
'For me that is bringing the best of the two brands and the most everyday objects together in this collaboration, so I love this idea that I can now carry everything because I literally carry my life around in an IKEA bag – but now with the rhubarb print,' says Rebekka.
6. The collection was designed during lockdown
'We developed this collection mostly online,' Henrik reveals. 'We were in lockdown, and we were sitting in front of our screens and having creative conversations. That's not always the easiest thing but I think it was an amazing process and it shows that you can find a way around it. Somehow you manage.'
7. The glassware is reminiscent of carved wood
From drinking glass to bowls and jugs, light refracts in the irregular facet pattern, just like on a diamond, and turns the glass into a little jewel. The glass jug in particular is described as 'one of the most scintillating pieces in the collection' – the softly shaped recesses gently play with the light, referencing the shape of water ripples, like small waves on a lake, near a sauna.
'You can clearly see in the collection that the object is inspired by the patterns. And that gives a really nice connection and balance between the pattern and the objects,' says Mikael.
8. We don't have a sauna either, but you don't need one. It's a collection that appeals to ALL
'Of course, not everybody can have a sauna, but it's more about how can use these products in different contexts outside or on your balcony, or wherever you have the possibility to take some time and recharge and take care of yourself,' explains Henrik.
Rebekka agrees, highlighting the versatility of these products and how they can be used in the home: 'These objects are not just designed for the sauna or the wellbeing experience, these are objects that can be moved around from the outside to the inside, from your bathroom to your living room. So they're really not single use or single opportunity objects, but they can actually play so many roles in your life.'
9. The larger-than-life shower curtain actually debuted last year
A sneak peek of the BASTUA collection was first revealed at H22 and Fuorisalone in 2022. A glimpse of the collection's first pattern and product was the shower curtain, consciously made using recycled polyester.
The shower curtain is Henrik's favourite from the collection: 'I have a quite small bathroom so when I walk out it feels a little bit like I'm walking into this large, rhubarb colourful and bold print that welcomes me, so it's a very nice feeling especially now in the winter time to be in the bathroom and I'm surrounded by this fantastic print on an everyday object.'
10. Natural materials is core to the range
'When it comes to this collection, it's a lot about the Nordic heritage. It's a lot of raw, natural material,' explains Mikael. 'I mean, both Finland and Sweden has a lot of forest, so it's a lot of pine forest and birch forest. We tried to use raw and honest materials that age gracefully and are long-lasting.'
Henrik says choosing the right materials – specifically sustainable materials – is the starting point for every collection at IKEA and he stresses the importance for sustainability to run through the whole value chain. 'It was so natural to have these materials – glass and textile and wood – which is kind of core of the Scandinavian design tradition,' Henrik adds.
11. It's a limited edition collection but is it a one-off collaboration?
'You never know what the future will bring,' Henrik teases. Fingers crossed we'll see more from IKEA x Marimekko. In the meantime, you can shop the BASTUA collection globally in stores and online from March 2023, until stocks last.
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