Erika Aittamaa
Maria Erika Olofsdotter Aittamaa (22 February 1866 – 15 December 1952)[1] was a Swedish artisan of Tornedalian descent, famed as the inventor of the Lovikkavante mitten.
Erika Aittamaa | |
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| Born | Maria Erika Olofsdotter Kruukka 22 February 1866 Junosuando, Sweden |
| Died | 15 December 1952 (aged 86) Junosuando, Sweden |
| Nationality | Swedish |
Aittamaa was born to a poor family with many children.[1] A part of the Finnic Meänkieli-speaking population of the Norrbotten County in northern Sweden,[2] she lived in Lovikka with her husband and children and started to sell mittens to make money. In 1892 she invented the Lovikkavante, a special kind of mittens.[3] Demand for Erika's mittens became so great that she taught others how to make them.[2][4] During the 1930s a local teacher found that she could patent the design. The process however cost money and although the teacher found people who would fund the cost, Aittamaa refused to take charity.[3]
References
- "Erika Kruukka Aittamaa". www.kvinnofronten.nu. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
- Sjöman, Anders (2022-05-10). "Erika Aittamaa, Lovikka (1892)". Företagskällan (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-07-28.
- "Erika Aittamaa - Lovikkavanten". Tekniska museet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-05-31.
- "Maria Erika Olofsdotter Kruukka's 150th Birthday". Google. 22 February 2016.