Soaring Bird Shadow Puppet Mirror by Elizabeth Salonen

Mottoform.com @mottoform

Elizabeth Salonen is a multidisciplinary artist-designer and founder of Mottoform. Established in Helsinki in 2005, the design studio is now based in Ontario, Canada. Salonen works in product design, ceramics, textiles, interiors, lighting and the crafting of collectible art and objects.

Salonen’s work has earned international awards and recognition, and in 2012 she was selected as Industrial Designer of the Year in Finland. Nordic influences marked by timelessness, and a desire to create objects for a conscious way of living are woven throughout her work. Her design practice is rooted in the narrative of materials, craft and techniques – designs with authenticity, merging artisan with industrial manufacturing. Her work effortlessly balances aesthetics, functionality, boldness, and reduction.

Born in Canada, Salonen studied design in the U.S. and at Aalto University in Finland and received a degree in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Her career has taken her across Canada, U.S. and Finland, enriching her projects with a global perspective. Salonen has also contributed to the field by teaching Product Design, and MFA Color & Material Design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Salonen’s artwork has been acquired by Mercedes Benz, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Her work has been published internationally in media such as Monocle, Azure, The Globe and Mail, Finnish Design Yearbooks, Design Boom, and CNN Style, among others. She has also been featured on the cover of Finland’s principal business newspaper, Kaupalehti.

“My practice seeks to find equilibrium through the narrative of form, material, and lightness.”