Erika Aittamaa
Maria Erika "Riiga" Olofsdotter Aittamaa, née Kruukka, (22 February 1866 – 15 December 1952) was a Tornedalian artisan, famed as the inventor of the Lovikkavante mitten.
Also recorded as Maria Erika Aittamaa · Maria Erika Olofsdotter Aittamaa
Erika Aittamaa
- Name
- Erika Aittamaa
- Birth Name
- Maria Erika Olofsdotter Kruukka
- Born
- 22 February 1866
- Birthplace
- Junosuando, Sweden
- Died
- 15 December 1952
- Nationality
- Sweden
- Occupation
- fashion designer · artisan
- Languages
- Meänkieli
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wikidata · Q4934659 · wikipedia · Erika Aittamaa
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Erika Aittamaa • Birth Name — Maria Erika Olofsdotter Kruukka • Born — 22 February 1866 • Birthplace — Junosuando, Sweden • Died — 15 December 1952 • Place of death — Junosuando, Sweden
Biography
Biography
Aittamaa was born to a poor family with many children. A part of the Finnic Meänkieli-speaking population of the Norrbotten County in northern Sweden, 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. Demand for Erika's mittens became so great that she taught others how to make them. 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.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1866
Erika Aittamaa was born on 22 February 1866.
1952
Erika Aittamaa died at Junosuando församling.
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Pajala parish.
Birth place
Junosuando församling.
Death place
Literature
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Erika Aittamaa, revision 1367181502 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Citizenship
1- SwedenPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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