Greta Skogster

Greta Skogster (from 1935 Skogster-Lehtinen; 1900–1994) was a Finnish textile artist, notable as the leading designer of the 1930s and 1940s and a pioneer of modern textile design in Finland.

When raw materials were in short supply during the war years, she created her now-iconic line of wallpaper designs using birch bark and straw.

Personal life Greta Skogster was born to a Swedish-speaking upper-middle-class family, as the daughter of banker Anders Skogster and millner Agnes Hilbinger.

She was married to Vuorineuvos William Lehtinen, a long-time managing director of the forestry and paper company Enso-Gutzeit (now part of Stora Enso); they had one son.

In 1964, the couple set up a charitable foundation in their name, with the aim of promoting international relations in the artistic and scientific spheres. They wanted to convert their home in the Kuusisaari district of Helsinki into an art museum, but were not successful in obtaining planning permission; they also planned to renovate a medieval Italian castle and operate it as an artists' residence, but that plan did not materialise, either.