Annikki moved to South Dakota from Finland as a young woman, when she married into a Finnish-American family that had been farming the area for generations. As an 11-year old, Annikki learned to weave rag rugs and continues the tradition today with several looms that she keeps in her farmhouse studio. She has taught her children, as well as many others, Finnish weaving techniques and still lives on the family farm. Annikki has participated as a master artist in the South Dakota Arts Council’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program several times.