I Found Pictures of the Fabric from 2009!
This post continues my earlier investigations in Finland:
- I Purchased Old Anttila Catalogs and Conducted Investigations in Finland: Here's What I Found (March 2024)
- More Investigations in Finland (July 2024)
After chatting with u/TontsaH, they recalled possibly getting the fabric/curtains in the summer of 2009 before the school year started. Because of this, I requested long-distance loans of NetAnttila catalogs for summer and fall 2009 from the Central Archives for Finnish Business Records.
NetAnttila catalogs for fall 2009 (left) and summer 2009
Fabric \"Figures\" on the summer catalog
And as you can see, I found the fabric listed in the catalog of summer 2009. The fabric, called "Figures," was available in two colors—listed as turquoise and purple/lilac—and was on sale for 30% off at that time. Based on this and previous information, we can now confidently say that the photo of Celebrity Number Six was taken before November 2008.
What This Tells About the Fabric's Origin Date
We now know for certain that the fabric was created before the summer of 2009. Additionally, the fabric's name (Figures) gives us an even earlier time frame.
A previously found online listing for a fabric called Figures from December 2008 or January 2009 turned out to be correct after all. Based on the sequential number of the image files, I'm pretty sure that the fabric's image was added on the NetAnttila website before late November in 2008, suggesting the fabric was created some time before that.
Image recycled from my previous post
More Clues from the Anttila Catalogs
The NetAnttila catalog for Fall 2009 had another interesting spread for bedsheet:
It seems to me that an Elvis bedsheet—and possibly another one called Marilyn Monroe—were done using very similar techniques. They come from the same in-house brand (Anno Collection), and I wouldn't be surprised if they had been designed in the same place.
I didn't find a listing of the Marilyn bedsheets on NetAnttila's old website, but the Elvis duvet cover set was listed on the website on June 21, 2009. Its image is not visible, but the image file name (7557952.jpg) can be seen in the source code.
I checked some of the available image files from The Wayback Machine, but I couldn't pinpoint the exact time the image of the Elvis bedsheet was uploaded to the NetAnttila website. (It seems that it was added around the same time as DVD's for the Bond film You Only Live Twice, Miss Marple, the animation series Once Upon a Time… The Americas, as well as a "Safari Build a Road" toy, and a CD collection of wartime music that first came out in 2006.)
(UPDATE: As I mentioned in the comments below, the Elvis design seems to be based on this photograph.)
What Next?
Previously, subreddit member u/marjin1412 contacted a Finnish fabric designer who had worked for Anno. The designer listed three ways how Anno acquired new fabrics:
- Designing fabrics in-house. Anno only had one in-house designer who was mostly in charge of trend reports and coordination, and it's unlikely that they designed the Figures fabric.
- Getting designs from Swedish Åhléns (who had connections with India or China). A long-time worker for Ahlens was contacted and they did not recognize the fabric. Nobody from Sweden has also come forward telling they used to own the fabric, making this option a bit less likely.
- Purchasing fabrics from fairs, mainly Heimtextil. Heimtextil is an annual trade fair for textiles that takes place in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2008, the fair was held in mid-January, fitting the timeframe of the Figures fabric.
It's also possible that the fabric reached Anttila through some other path not mentioned above. For example, if the Elvis fabric came from the same designer but was created after the Heimtextil fair, it could imply that Anttila had established a more direct connection with the design company. (UPDATE: The Elvis fabric came out in 2008 or earlier, see below.)
While tracking the source of the fabric will not necessarily reveal the identity of Celebrity Number Six, it can still offer some leads for the search. For example, if the fabric was designed in Finland—which now seems unlikely—we could focus more on celebrities popular here.
And if nothing else, these catalog listings have now helped us narrow down the timeframe for the source pictures.
UPDATE: Highlights from the Comments
In the comments below, there's some new information about the Elvis fabric. I posted what I believe to be the source photo for the Elvis fabric. People found more pictures of the Elvis fabric, and some even remembered owning them. The oldest found picture of the Elvis bedsheets comes from a blog post from August 4, 2008. I tracked down the blog's owner (that would be a story in itself!) and messaged her, and she confirmed that she bought the bedsheets from Anttila.
In other words, the Elvis bedsheets were sold in Anttila in the summer of 2008 or a bit earlier, making it possible that Anttila acquired them at the same time as the Figures fabric.