The textile pattern NEAN is an homage to diversity. Designer Maria Vinka was inspired by the world’s flags, and created a pattern where the flags had new colours and were combined with traditional Swedish gingerbread figures.
Maria has talked about the pattern coming about at the time of growing unrest in Iraq: “I felt like the whole world was reeling. I thought we should all come together and get a greater understanding of the world. So I filled the gingerbread figures with my interpretations of flags, that was my vision of what the world could be like.”
NEAN entered the IKEA range in June 2002. On its launch, the product developers at IKEA described the ideas behind the pattern: “With NEAN, Maria wants to turn the world as we know it upside-down, and get us to see that whatever borders we put up, Earth is still one big, round whole. NEAN is also a good description of our own company, which can be found around the globe with co-workers of all cultures and nationalities.”
