Perspectives: AKKIKA

Annika Miller renders meticulous staples of Louisiana life in her work, from magnolias and cicadas to Carnival masks and the elusive courir de Mardi Gras chicken. Judging by the Cajun-specific subjects of her work, you’d likely be surprised to discover the Lafayette-based artist and maker was born and raised closer to the North Pole than to the cocksure alligators she animates under her brand, AKKIKA. Miller arrived in Acadia Parish eighteen years ago for a high school exchange program and never quite managed to leave, though a whirlwind romance may have upped the appeal of swamp life. Miller met her husband, Shane, on the bayou and married him six months later, trading in the subarctic temperatures of her native Finland for the ever-present heat and humidity of life below sea level. “I threw him off his jet ski on Mermentau River, and it was love at first sight,” she laughs.

Miller obtained her bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and then her master’s of architecture from Rice University. She worked at architecture firms in Texas and Finland before moving back to Lafayette, where she currently teaches industrial design at ULL’s School of Architecture and Design.

“I really love the culture of Louisiana that is so ingrained in everything that people do, and bringing that alive in different ways.”

While her ardor for Louisiana culture is evident, Miller’s Finnish upbringing is just as visible, albeit more subtle, in her designs. They exhibit a “Scandinavian flair,” she says, a subtle style typified by simple, clean lines, intricate detail, and a minimalist approach to color. Miller’s background in architecture informs her design technique and method—first she does an ink pen drawing, then makes a digital vector graphic that she can use to transfer her designs to different media, from prints and stickers, to wood and fabric. Using the laser cutter that resides in her living room, a 2D map of Baton Rouge can become a 3D design on maple plywood. “For me, a design is never really finished. My drawings can take on two or three different lives,” she says. “I’m constantly trying to figure out a way to make something new out of it; there’s that constant search for improvement or other applications.” The paper dolls and wooden puzzles available in her shop (the name “Akkika” is a nod to an old nickname of Miller’s) came to fruition because Miller wanted to make toys for her four-year-old daughter, Lumi, and started experimenting with format. The Parish Puzzle illustrates Louisiana’s sixty-four parishes and the year they were formed, allowing its assembler to learn the geography of our state.

One of Miller’s most impressive designs, the TUKI clutch, was born out of a free weekend and her need for a wallet. She produced different versions of the handmade wooden clutch over the course of a year before settling on the final product and kept all of the previous iterations to show her students how the design process can be “so much better than what you initially thought, despite frustrations.”

Though they’re an ocean apart, Louisiana and Miller’s hometown of Kuopio aren’t quite so different, she says. In both places, people value family first and share a love of the outdoors, as well as a thriving culture for makers, she says.

[Read this: Printmaker Pippin Frisbie-Calder uses a disappearing art to examine disappearing elements of our natural world.]

One clear contrast, besides the climate? “The food!” When they visit her family, Miller says she takes enough seasoning to last the lengthy stay or ships it ahead of time because oddly enough, Slap Ya Mama isn’t readily available in Finland. Miller’s reverence for Cajun cuisine, especially crawfish, can be found in her symmetrical illustrations of the crustaceans on stickers, pillows, pins, and paper and wood prints. Crawfish season is her favorite season of her home away from home. “I really love the culture of Louisiana that is so ingrained in everything that people do, and bringing that alive in different ways.”

Annika Miller is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is a member of the Mid City Maker’s Market in Baton Rouge. Her work is available for purchase at akkika.com.