Graphic and textile designer Laurie Jacobi, along with production artist Mary Jane Miller, will exhibit 100-percent-wool clothing, blankets, and rugs in the Swedish American Museum’s upcoming exhibit, Legends in Wool. The exhibit opens Friday, Sept. 18, and continues through Sunday, Nov. 22.
Jacobi and Miller’s collection features wool products illustrating nature and Nordic themes together. Both designers are of Swedish heritage, which heavily influences their work. “My Swedish heritage is the root of my inspiration,” Jacobi says. “Sweden’s simple, clean design aesthetic, its rich textile traditions, and its strong connection to nature are a part of my DNA.”
Jacobi, daughter of a Swedish immigrant mother, feels deeply connected to her heritage. “I want to bring the ancient stories and beliefs back to life in a new way through my textile designs,” she says. “It’s a small way to honor my ancestors.” Miller’s grandmother was Scandinavian and a seamstress, who inspired her career path. Mary Jane is a perfectionist and driven by the desire to create a couture level of quality in the clothing she designs, Jacobi says.
Jacobi first expressed interest in her art when studying at the University of Illinois at Champaign. She then became a graphics designer in Minneapolis, designing annual reports and corporate identities. “While I had a very successful design firm, something was missing – a desire to do my own work” she says.
After becoming ill, she decided to leave the business and head for northern Minnesota to create her own designs. She made jewelry out of birch bark and fur designs out of animals in the wild, and these natural designs suited her taste. “On many levels the trees healed me and I began to explore the stories of the Ojibwe, who lived on the nearby reservation, about the lessons to be learned from the natural world.”
Fairbault Woolen Mill Co. eventually invited Jacobi to design Native American-inspired blankets, a move that led to more blanket collections and further connections with Scandinavian and Native American themes. “I wanted to create something I’d never seen before, blankets inspired by my surroundings and the stories I had learned,” she says. “Both Scandinavians and Native Americans have lived with respect for nature, both tell stories and legends that teach us lessons from the natural world, and both have a rich tradition of making functional objects beautiful.”
Miller and Jacobi met over 25 years ago when Miller was, according to Jacobi, “a sought-after” production artist preparing Jacobi’s designs. When Jacobi began working for the mill, Miller wanted to participate and sew Jacobi’s designed clothing. Both have been in a successful business partnership ever since and do trunk shows and exhibits throughout the Midwest. “We work together on the clothing designs and find our inspiration everywhere,” Jacobi says. “From Coco Chanel to Japanese warrior vests to Greta Garbo’s costumes in the movie, ‘Queen Kristina,’ [1940’s] to traditional ethnic dress – we look to the past for new ideas.” Jacobi’s wool fabrics are designed exclusively through Pendleton Woolen Mills and will be available for purchase at the Museum.
The events surrounding the next exhibit are:
Exhibit Opening – Friday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Gallery Walk – Saturday, Sept. 19, 11 a.m.
Trunk Fashion Show – Saturday, Sept. 19, 1 p.m., Special Program and part of our Fall Programs & Classes schedule
Start with Art – Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Family Night – Friday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.