Li Englund (née Uotila) (1908-1993)
designer
Li Englund (originally Lyyli Inkeri Uotila) passed her matriculation examination in 1930 and went on to study in the art teacher course at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, graduating in 1933. She taught drawing in schools during the following two years. From 1944 until 1962 she worked in the architect’s office of her husband Kaj Englund on interior design and colour schemes for apartments among other projects and assisted her husband in numerous architectural competitions. Li and Kaj Englund’s interior designs for small apartments aroused a great deal of attention at a housing fair held in Helsinki in the autumn of 1939.
In the early 1950s, Maire Gullichsen asked Li Englund to design for the Artek firm, which resulted in textile and wallpaper designs and a set of luggage for women that was made in 1956. A special feature of these suitcases and boxes was their interchangeable and removable lids. In the 1940s and 1950s, Li Englund designed hand-printed wallpaper for the Taidetapetti company, followed by wallpaper for the Tampereen Tapettitehdas company at a later stage.
In 1967 Li Englund established her own textile studio in Helsinki, where she designed colourful hand-printed cotton fabrics. In 1971, these products began to be marketed by the Cetelle company, and the studio operated until the 1980s. Li Englund also designed the sets for a number of plays at the Lilla Teatern theatre and the Swedish Theatre of Helsinki, as well as stage costumes. She also lectured to women’s associations and the buyers of department stores on various subjects including dress, colour, good taste and gardening, in addition to writing articles for the press. In 1946, she taught the new subject of fashion drawing at the Central School of Applied Art. The impressive costumes that she designed for herself were eye catchers in Helsinki society.
Li Englund held only one solo exhibition, at the Artek shop in Helsinki in 1968. Her textiles, wallpaper and luggage, however, were on show in numerous exhibitions all over the world. At the Sacramento Fair of 1961, small tablecloths designed by her for the Tampella company were awarded a gold medal.
Auli Suortti-Vuorio
Bibliography:
Gullichsen-Nyströmer, Maire, Excerpt from the programme series Pro arte utili. Suomen Taideteollisuusyhdistyksen vuosikirja 1979. Forssa 1979.
Suhonen, Pekka, Artek. Alku. Tausta. Kehitys. Espoo 1985.
Englund, Li, Artek-matkalaukut. Arkkitehti no 9/1956, p. 158.
Vem och vad. Biografisk handbok 1975. Jakobstad 1974.
Li Englund interviewed by Timo Keinänen, 1990. Design Museum Helsinki.
Photos:
Exotica wallpaper
The Taidetapetti company, 1950s. Photo Ulla Paakkunainen / Design Museum
Carex wallpaper
Artek Oy, 1957-1958. Photo Ulla Paakkunainen / Design Museum
Kolme pionia (Three Peonies), printed fabric
Cover of the Kaunis Koti magazine (4/1968). Photo UIAH archives
