Lotta Jansdotter is a designer, artist, author, maker and teacher. She is known for her timeless and stylish take on modern living and the organic motifs that characterize her designs.
She has been creating iconic Scandinavian print patterns and motifs since 1996 when she introduced simple, organic, hand screened fabric accessories and home goods to the US market and eventually to the rest of the world.
Her hands-on printmaking workshops and creative retreats see her teach and meet artisan communities and makers across the globe, an exchange which influences her style and outlook.
She is the author of twelve lifestyle, travel and sewing books, and has collaborated with many stores, furniture designers, museums and makers.
Lotta’s designs adorn everything from fabric, rugs, bedding, and dishes to luggage and paper goods. Her creations have appeared in Elle Decor, NY Times, Real Simple, Lucky, Domino, O Magazine and have been shown worldwide in MOMA, Herman Miller, Barneys, Spiral Market and Svenskt Tenn.
I am
Lotta
As I build towards marking 25 years since founding Lotta Jansdotter, I have reflected where this journey has taken me.
I look back at all my work and I feel proud. But the adventure is not just about the output, it’s about the opportunities and experiences. It’s also about the support given by my loyal customers, followers, collaborators, friends and armies of makers. The joy of immersion in my own process, has been matched only by the pleasure in inspiring and witnessing the growth of others.
But this reflection is not simply about reminiscing. It’s about resetting. A small voice in me has become louder of late. I want and need to be closer to my process. I want to experiment, to explore, to discover. I want to create limited collections, special editions, one-off artwork. I will be forging intimate connections with other artisans and makers and returning to small scale production where I can control the sustainability and ethics of production.
So, I returned to my roots and my passions - I hope you enjoy my rediscovery.
Busy Hands
My hands have always tinkered. As a young child I colored, collaged, shaped, photographed and painted. And I have always drawn, especially flowers and decorative patterns and motifs.
Making is in the very bones of my family. I grew up on Åland, a small group of islands steeped in artisan traditions located in an archipelago between Sweden and Finland.
I was raised by independent, strong-willed doers and makers. My grandmother Sylvia made clothes for all five of her children, using old linen sugar bags and local textiles. My father was a fisherman and smoked herring in the shed next to our home. My sister in law, Agnetha, threw her own ceramic pots, and then there was my grandfather Erik, a strong artistic spirit who was a farmer but mostly wanted to paint landscapes and play his beloved accordion.
Growing up in Åland taught me a philosophy that has stayed with me throughout my life - if you can’t find what you want, make it.
Workshops >
Busy Hands
My hands have always tinkered. As a young child I colored, collaged, shaped, photographed and painted. And I have always drawn, especially flowers and decorative patterns and motifs.
Making is in the very bones of my family. I grew up on Åland, a small group of islands steeped in artisan traditions located in an archipelago between Sweden and Finland.
I was raised by independent, strong-willed doers and makers. My grandmother Sylvia made clothes for all five of her children, using old linen sugar bags and local textiles. My father was a fisherman and smoked herring in the shed next to our home. My sister in law, Agnetha, threw her own ceramic pots, and then there was my grandfather Erik, a strong artistic spirit who was a farmer but mostly wanted to paint landscapes and play his beloved accordion.
Growing up in Åland taught me a philosophy that has stayed with me throughout my life - if you can’t find what you want, make it.
Workshops >
Nature’s
Rhythm
For a child, Åland was paradise, the forest and ocean my playground. I picked wild strawberries by the road, ran barefoot on the pink cliffs, swam, pressed flowers and carved wood pieces in the barn. My patterns help me recall the fields of rye, wildflowers, swallows, hay bales and all the aspen and birch trees.
Every summer I need to go back to Åland, to feel my bare feet on those pink cliffs. Nature is my balsam and my muse, grounding me.
My style has evolved over time, but at its core sits a love of clean, simple and natural design. A style, I’m told, that gives my work a timeless quality.
Lotta’s Process >
Dirty Hands
When I was 19, I travelled to California.
In Santa Cruz, I enrolled in a community school, searching for what to do when ‘I grew up’. I explored many avenues before taking a class that was to set the course for the rest of my life, screen printing. It was everything in creativity that I loved; organized yet dirty, rhythmic yet unpredictable.
With screen printing I also realized I could reproduce my hand drawn designs many times over and print my patterns on fabric. Growing up in Scandinavia, I was immersed and inspired by simple, stylish, practical homeware and linens.
I didn’t see much of that timeless, clean and organic style of screen printed textile accessories anywhere in the States.
I quit school and began my career as a textile designer.
Chance Encounters
I love the interaction between people, the sharing of ideas and perspectives.
Waitressing part time in a middle eastern restaurant in San Francisco didn’t simply help pay my rent, it fueled me. It was here I learned more about customer service and the everyday running of a small business. And I also met my accountant, many dear friends, and my benefactor, a property manager who let me have a small studio space in his building.
Armed with my screens, inks and a sewing machine I launched my company, Lotta Jansdotter in 1996. The name pays homage to my father, Jan Jansson, paired with the Swedish word for daughter, dotter. My first items were a collection of cushions which were sold in local design stores and at trunk shows. Table linen, tote bags, aprons and many more products followed.
My tools, stubbornly analogue in 1996, are still the same today: pencils, India ink, paper, scissors, rubber cement, my copy machine, rubylith, printing blocks, white out, tape, and of course, potatoes.
Life & Style
My business took an unexpected turn thanks to some of my hand printed over-sized business cards.
When Yumiko, founder of a Japanese lifestyle brand, approached me at a trunk show, she saw a shared aesthetic and licensed my designs for a postcard collection in Tokyo. These cards launched a career-long relationship with Japan.
From here, flowed many more products and collections, exhibitions of my artwork, several books, and a regular column in a Japanese lifestyle magazine. Immersing myself in Japanese culture for the past two decades has undoubtedly influenced my work and my own personal style.
Pen to Paper
Opening a studio shop in downtown San Francisco allowed me to spend time with customers, a much-loved interaction that would eventually blossom into workshops.
By 2001, my production expanded to Lithuania, where traditional artisans hand screened and sewed my linen products. Today, I still work with small, independent makers, putting ethics and sustainability first. It’s vital to me that my products both reward makers financially and teach them. This intimacy with a sustainable handcrafting process will guide future decisions on materials and collaborations.
Over the years, I have written and published many more books about printing, decorating and sewing. I love creating the world inside these books, aiming to inspire readers and help them imagine new projects through my visual language of photographs, styling and patterns.
In 2007, I decided to put a foot on the East Coast. This cross country move to Brooklyn NY allowed me to be closer to Scandinavia and tap into the beat of NY, broadening my horizon and influencing my style.
Creative Collaborations
When I became a mom, I allowed my designs to take on a life of their own through licensing.
I loved creating an exclusive tabletop collection for San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum in 2005, framed artwork for Room & Board, one of a kind skirts for Barneys in Tokyo, collaborating with furniture designer Herman Miller and much, much more.
Partnering with museums, fabric producers, furniture designers, retailers and homeware stores, dressmakers, potters, and many publishers has helped me grow.
My print workshops in my Brooklyn studio shop spiked my passion for teaching, and creative retreats in India, Mexico, Swaziland, France, Laos and Portugal followed. My teaching approach has always centered on a genuine exchange of ideas, creativity and joy. I believe in keeping it simple and in learning by doing.
In 2014, I plunged into my home brackish waters, arranging my first Print Workshop and Nature Retreat on Åland. A magical experience year after year.
Ink &
Crinkles
After four years with some serious medical challenges, I have spent years away from running my business day-to-day. There is a silver lining to this forced removal. I have used this time to ask myself - what is at the heart of Lotta?
Why do I do the things I do and how do I want to continue?
I miss the early days when I created small, unique collections and when I was closer to the process of making my products. I yearn to draw more, crinkle the paper and get ink on my fingers. I’m aching to play with scale, to explore colors, to refresh vintage designs and create new work.
And most of all, I want to go on new creative adventures, where I may not know the outcome, but I sure do enjoy the journey.