The fly and the flower

Posted by Tiffany on January 28th, 2010    Add your comment »

I met Ida Arnfelt in the Young Designers exhibition at Formex. I made a beeline for her wallpaper as soon as I saw it.

photo: www.fromsthlm.com

Smörbollen is a lovely large yellow flower from the ranunculus family that grows in Sweden. This pattern is about the symbiotic relationship between the Smörbollen and the Smörbollen fly, and how their existence is interlinked to achieve total balance and harmony.

photo: www.fromsthlm.com

photo: www.idaarnfelt.com

The flower is so tightly wrapped that only one kind of fly can get inside. In the heart of the flower the flies mate and lay eggs. Newly hatched larvae feed on its seeds, but only enough so that the flower can continue to propagate. When the flower withers the larvae fall to the ground where they burrow until they can begin the whole process again in Spring.

photo: www.idaarnfelt.com

Ida is fresh out of Beckman’s Design School. Her pattern was printed onto wallpaper as a one-off by Your Wallpaper for Formex, but Ida ultimately hopes to see her pattern on textiles.

Must say… I do too!

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