"You can miss everything else, but not this: midsummer in Sweden. This is our tradition, going back a long time, to celebrate the 24 hours of daylight of midsummer, the occasion everybody waits for after a long, dark winter."
Marja Kullberg, Swedish in marriage and Finnish by birth, is presenting a table setting in this year's Art of Dining exhibition. "I shall call my table 'Nightless Night,' and make a modern version of the traditional midsummer table. I shall keep it simple and elegant, as I love simplicity and clear, bright colors. The Swedish midsummer festival is full of light and brightness."
Marja has always been creative and artistic. "Even when I was very small I was making things with my hands, working my dreams, as all young girls dream." Her father in his business flew his own small airplane, and "I always wanted to follow him," she said. "I thought, one day I will be flying out into the world and getting interesting experiences." After studying handicraft and design at college, she worked as a designer in one of Finland's biggest textile factories. "Then I thought that was really what I wanted, designing, and I forgot about flying."