January 26, 2005

Whole Lotta Love

Lotta Jansdotter Designs

Think it’s cold where you are? Try growing up in Scandinavia. Now that’s cold. Like farther-north-than-Montreal-cold. Road-trip-distance-from-the-Arctic-Circle-cold.

Our pick for the cutest chilly-day warmth from the most unexpected source: a little bit of Lotta.

Lotta Jansdotter, that is, the Scandinavian-born, California-based designer who never met a cozy surface she didn’t like, from bags and skirts to stationery, ceramics, and napkins.

Her patterns, which were inspired by a youth spent hopping from Stockholm to her grandmother’s house on a little island between Finland and Sweden, include crisp screen prints and simple silhouettes: pussywillows, undulating lines, daffodils, winter berries on twigs. She prints on neutral, natural fabrics (linen and cotton) accented with subdued greens, reds, rich autumnal oranges, and slate blues.

Quiet as a snow-covered forest. Sleek enough to be the envy of city-slicker friends.

And a heck of a lot more entertaining than sitting around complaining about the weather.

Available online at jansdotter.com.