Design Research is often noted today for being the first U.S. proprietor of the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko.
Sani begins her performance sitting in a ball chair, with three female backing dances in black and white Marimekko dresses, and two female backing singers in black dresses.
Their trip to Europe allowed them many rare opportunities, such as touring the renowned Ulm School of Design and meeting designers including Armi Ratia, creator of the Marimekko image.
Though a small town, Alajärvi has a few shops, namely Marimekko, Supermarket, Tokmanni, Lidl and a few others.
The school has during its history educated many professionals in key positions around the world in such companies as Honda, Toyota, Apple, Marimekko, Nokia and H&M.
Lesley Jackson, in the aptly titled chapter Op, Pop, and Psychedelia in her textbook Twentieth Century Pattern Design, writes that "from Finland the exuberant all-conquering Marimekko burst on to the international scene" in the 1960s; she illustrates this with one pattern by Vuokko Nurmesniemi, and three by Isola – Lokki, Melooni, and inevitably Unikko.