My Week: Antti Kekki

One of Helsinki Design Weekly’s  missions is to support both the local and international design community all year round. The My Week series presents the everyday life of creatives through their own lens. This week we get a sneak peak of Armi Teva’s week.

Antti Kekki is a Helsinki-based freelance designer who enjoys bold colours, improvisation and handicraft. Kekki’s works usually rely on simple collage technique in which different forms are cut from paper and carefully arranged to playful ensembles. Kekki has been collaborating with Marimekko since 2019.

Day 1

Marimekko FW26 show. It’s always a pleasure to do anything with the Marimekko team, so it happened that I ended up walking in the show. The upcoming fall collection will also feature a new print I designed. The print is called Lossi.

Day 2

At the Marimekko office, taking a look at the Kalevala x Marimekko Garden jewelry collection, where a pattern I designed has been transformed into a silver piece. It’s always exciting to see how the patterns I’ve created evolve into different products through the expertise of the Marimekko design team. This piece is one of five that can be combined with bracelet and necklace chains. The collection will be available starting April 28, 2026.

Day 3

I almost always work from home. I prefer sitting on the floor, as it allows me to spread my papers over a larger area since I like working on multiple sketches at the same time. The collages I create are always made by hand. I personally prefer working with my hands, as I feel it gives the final result a more organic quality.

Day 4

At a flea market tour with Taidehaistelija, which ended with a Kiss chair joining the family of postmodern chairs. I always prefer second-hand items, and when it comes to finding them, Taidehaistelija’s service is unbeatable. I spent the rest of the day lounging on the sofa—which, by the way, is also a Taidehaistelija find.

Day 5

Matti, Taru, and Ulla invited me to join their team for a Marimekko Easter egg hunt. At the Marimekko office, hundreds of Easter eggs had been hidden, and each team tried to find as many as possible. Our team definitely didn’t win, but it was a fun way to brighten the workday.

Day 6

As GRMMXI, we’ve created all the album covers and visuals for Ruusut. With every release, the band has given us full trust in all of our ideas. Their  latest album will be released on April 24, 2026.

Day 7

The highlight of the year is the egg-painting evening, when friends gather to paint Easter eggs. I have a large collection of eggs painted by my friends, and they are my greatest treasure. In the photo, the egg in the center is by Ville Anderson and the one on the right is by Milja Havas. Both great artists!