Maja Sjöström (1868-1961) came from humble beginnings in the countryside of Skåne, but succeeded at an early age in gaining admission to the new course in pattern drafting at the Technical School in Stockholm in 1889-1892. Thereafter, her work at Handarbetets vänner, Stockholm 1893-1916, for 24 years, was of great importance for the association's development into the leading textile studio in the Nordic region. Especially during the years 1897-1915, she became the most prominent artist there because of her innovation, the breadth and variety of patterns of high quality she designed. Sjöström created works for many private clients, for the Swedish royal family, for public environments such as the Mittag-Leffler Institute, the Swedish Medical Society, Stockholm City Hall, Sofia Church and Storkyrkan in Stockholm, as well as works for the many exhibitions in which Handarbetets Vänner participated, in Sweden and internationally. Between 1916 and 1923, Sjöström was commissioned by architect Ragnar Östberg and the City Hall Committee to be responsible for the entire textile decoration of Stockholm City Hall, the largest textile commission of its time. Maja Sjöström was the only woman among all the men. After this commission, the artist moved to Rome, where she continued to work on private commissions and interior design projects. In 2023, it will be 100 years since Stockholm City Hall was inaugurated, and in 2024, the Friends of Needlework will celebrate its 150th anniversary, at least two good reasons in the near future to pay attention to Maja Sjöström's work again.