New from Ikea: Manga meets Scandinavia

The latest products from IKEA will be landing in stores next month, and I've already got my eye on the lovely new CHARLOTTA line of manga-inspired textiles. 

Japanese arts meets Scandinavia in the designs by Åsa Ekström, including, in the CHARLOTTA TECKNING (shown as pillowcase) motif which features Godzilla storming through Stockholm's Sergel's Square.

In CHARLOTTA MARKE (used for the shirt on front left), she's "mixed Japanese tattooing with Scandinavian motifs," Ekström explains in a release. "A girl in manga style dressed in a Swedish folk costume and a Viking made with an old-world Japanese mask used on stage in Noh plays as a model.”

She's even pulled from the world of paper art, origami, for CHARLOTTA VILD (used in shirt in back left of photo), which is given a twist for Ikea by including Scandinavian animals.

The line also features Japanese woodcuts, called ukyo-e (meaning "pictures of a floating world"), inspired the CHARLOTTA HIMMEL line (middle kimono-style shirt on left) and a Tokyo scene, in CHARLOTTA BLOC  (shown above as wall hanging, and below).

“I had great fun designing this collection and I hope the playfulness and joy have rubbed off on the textiles,” Ekström says. "The CHARLOTTA collection is very diverse and I believe there is something for everyone to enjoy.”

I can't wait to pick up a few lengths for use around my home - the CHARLOTTA BLOC will be the perfect curtain for my video-game inspired basement, and I'm already dreaming up some more uses to add a bit of whimsy to my walls!

Comments

[Kimberly]

Love the Japanese inspired designs by Ikea. They've done a good job merging Manga art with the Scandinavian style, a very modern and adult take.