ROOM FOR A LADY: LOJA SAARINEN AT CRANBROOK

Room for a Lady: Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook tells the remarkable story of textile designer and entrepreneur Loja Saarinen. 

Trained in sculpture with experience in photography, model making, and design, Loja Saarinen emigrated from Finland to America in 1923 and worked alongside her husband, architect Eliel Saarinen, in the building of Cranbrook. She founded and led Studio Loja Saarinen from 1928 to 1942, creating handwoven rugs, curtains, and fabrics for clients around the nation with a dedicated team of Swedish immigrant weavers. The Studio’s painterly, geometric textiles complete the architectural vision of Cranbrook as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Loja’s story has remained too long in the shadows; Room for a Lady brings her artistic contributions to Cranbrook into the spotlight. 

Written and directed by the Center’s curator, Kevin Adkisson, Room for a Lady incorporates interviews, historic images from Cranbrook Archives, and new high-definition video of Studio Loja Saarinen textiles pulled from the vaults of Cranbrook Art Museum and displayed in their original settings to weave together a fascinating story of craft, architecture, and female entrepreneurship.

Guest experts featured in the film include family members Robert Saarinen Swanson, Eric Saarinen, and Susan Saarinen; Gerhardt Knodel, Director Emeritus and Former Fiber Department Head and Artist-in-Residence, Cranbrook Academy of Art; Lynn Bennett Carpenter, Artist-in-Residence in the Weaving Studio, Cranbrook Schools; and the Cranbrook Center’s Director Gregory Wittkopp, Head Archivist Deborah Rice, Curator Kevin Adkisson, and Decorative Arts Trust Marie Zimmermann Collections Fellow Nina Blomfield. 

The film was produced by Vincent Chavez and Elkhorn Entertainment and Media for the Center’s annual fundraiser, A House Party at Cranbrook, and premiered on May 21, 2022, at the historic Kingswood School, Cranbrook. The film runs 43 minutes.