Lisa Johansson-Pape studied at the now called Aalto University of Arts, Crafts and Design from 1917-1927. After her graduation she got employment as a draftsman at the Finnish Handarbetets Vänner (eng. Friends of Handicraft) where she also got to design several textiles, for which she was awarded a gold medal at the World Fair in Paris 1937. Johansson-Pape left her full-time employment at Friend of Handicraft the same year but returned for several projects until 1985.
Johansson-Pape went on to work as a furniture designer at the interior design office of the department store Stockmanns, where she stayed until 1942 when she began working at their fittings factory in Orno. For Stockmann, Johansson-Pape made several well-known modernistic lighting fixtures for public spaces such as the Stockholm School of Economics. For restored churches Johansson-Pape used new materials in her lighting such as metal and acrylic.
From 1948 Johansson-Pape worked together with Iittala that produced her handblown glass shades. During the 1950’s Johansson-Pape was awarded a silver medal at the Milan Triennal in 1951 and gold medals in 1957 and 60 for her lightings. Of Johansson-Pape’s most prolific pieces one can mention the dining table lamp 61-100 in perforated brass from 1950. She was involved in the Finish participation at the World Fair in New York 1939, and in several other craft exhibition in Finland and abroad.
As a furniture designer Joansson-Pape is best known for the stool Apila (eng. Four-leaf clover), made of pine with a seat in the shape of a four-leaf clover that she designed for Kervo-Stockmann in the 1950’s. During the 1960’s Johansson-Pape worked as a teacher at the Aalto University. She passed away in 1989 at the age of 82.
