Where to place your art glass objects?

There has been a long tradition for the beautiful glass objects made in Finland. One of the biggest and most notorious manufacturers is Iittala, the company that has been specialised making everyday glassware and art glass.

One of the Iittala’s most popular art glass series is the Birds from Oiva Toikka. This extensive collection of different kind of glass birds is popular gift to give from farewells to weddings, and many Finns collect these beautiful birds.

Finding the right place in home for any beautiful glass object is challenging due the nature of the glass. The glass designer Oiva Toikka, the designer also behind the Birds, says that glass has its own will. The will is interpreted by the glassblowers.

Glass breaks down easily. According to Toikka, this ability underscores the will of the glass. When the glass object gets broken on the manufacturing process, it tells that something is not right. 

 

Glass object that gets broken after purchasing it is not treated right. As everyone know hard hits will break the glass, but sanding or direct sunlight can also affect the glass object and make it to blow up. Even it is tempting to keep glass objects next the window (as the light is reflected so nicely through them), glass objects should not be placed there. The sun does not only break the glass, it also affects to the color of the glass.

Another harmful for the glass is sound. Sound waves affect to the glass and may lead to sudden break of the glass object. The most harmful is to place the glassware on the top of the piano. In many families the piano is the most expensive, and therefore the most presentable piece of interior decoration, and the desire to place a beautiful glass object on top of it is tempting. That should be considered illegal in every case, since it ads the probability of the glass object to get broken.

The correct place for storing and presenting glassware is in the middle of the room or in shelves. Window sill might be used in some cases, but the plausible loss of glass art object should be then taken into account.

Iittala Kastehelmi

The Kastehelmi range of glassware (Kastehelmi translated from Finnish is “dew pearl”) is one of the most well know glassware from Iittala in Finland. The decoration of these glassware looks like there would be small, different sized pearls rhythmically receding from the center.

The designer of Kastehelmi is Oiva Toikka, very well know Finnish glass artist. The actual story of the design process is more practical than the fragile name and outlook gives to understand. The idea of using droplets of glass as decoration came to Toikka from the technical challenge: he was thinking of the ways of covering the joint marks left on the surface of pressed glass pieces by the production process. For the designer’s sake it must be said, that the manufacturing method would have needed only one pearl, but it was by aesthetic reasons the designer added full load of pearls to the mold.

This design was one of the first works Oiva Toikka did for the famous Nuutajärvi glass factory. Kastehelmi series was announced in 1964, and it was instantly a huge success. The series was in production constantly until 1988, but in 2010, Iittala started the Kastehelmi production again, bringing the most popular pieces again on the market.

Kastehelmi series includes plates, bowls, small mugs and coasters; plates in five different size and bowls in three. Additional to the transparent glass Kastehelmi has been made in grey, red, brown, turquoise, olive green and emerald. New colors introduced in 2010 are light blue and apple green.

During its production years Kastehelmi become so popular, that copies of it were introduced by other manufacturers. One factory in England developed the copy of Kastehelmi and tried to get a monopoly for selling this product in England. It was discover that their model was an exact match of the original Kastehelmi. There was a mistake in the original plate - two of the pearls were connected to each other – and the same was in the English copy. The English manufacturer was accused of the plagiarism and they had to withdraw their products from market.

Vattenblänk from Marimekko

 The first time I saw Vattenblänk fabric from Marimekko, I could not believe it was really part of the Marimekko’s collection. On a white background there are shapes of light blue, pink, green and indigo mixed around and on top of each other. It didn’t look at all like the stylish Marimekko patterns I was aware of. And that was the reason I wanted to know more about the fabric.

Vattenblänk is Swedish, meaning the shimmering of water. That has been the designer Astrid Sylwan’s inspiration when creating the pattern. It illustrates the movement of the water, but includes a powerful element and edgy shadows that is also present in the water movements.

The designer is the Belgian born Astrid Sylwan, who currently lives in Sweden. She is a visual artist, whose work is characterized by strong colors and a clear post-painting. Vattenblänk is actually a really typical piece of work from her – all her work produces the similar kind of patterns and reflections. In her interview by Marimekko she tells that she gets inspired by immense art experiences, but tries to find the inspiration for her works from within herself – and relaxes by doing garden work.

But how on Earth did Astrid Sylwan end up collaborating with Marimekko? It was Marimekko’s artistic director, Minna Kemell-Kutvonen, who saw her work in a Swedish interior design magazine and contacted the artist. Astrid Sylwan was interested straight away: in her interview with Marimekko she tells how she lived her childhood surrounded by Marimekko as her mother decorated her room with Marimekko fabrics (namely the Unikko design by Maija Isola).

It was actually challenging to create the shapes and the forms of Vattenbänk. Later the artist has said that putting nine different colors in industrially printed fabric was not an easy task, but in the end she was satisfied.

And now comes the punch line: Astrid Sylwan has said that her Marimekko design is similar to her paintings. Their design is balancing next to breakdown. Her artwork – and this is what she says – are pretty, but they do not try to please or charm. After reading this I respect her as an artist, making a bold movement into industrial design. But still, I do not like the fabric.

Marimekko Tasaraita Cups

Tasaraita, which is Finnish for equal stripes, is a Finnish design icon. The simplest pattern – two different colors of stripes is repeated – was designed by Annika Rimala in 1968 for Marimekko. Tasaraita is probably the most popular, well-known and widely used design pattern in Finland.

Today, Tasaraita can be seen in coffee cups as well. Tasaraita coffee cups are designed by Sami Ruotsalainen based on the original print of Annika Rimala. The cups come in two different shapes: one does not have a handle with a volume of 2 deciliters, and the other bigger one has a handle and a volume of 2,5 deciliters. The former comes in colors of white and red, or white and yellow, and the bigger one with stripes of white and red, or white and black.

The look of the Tasaraita cup is traditional, yet modern. The shape of the cup is from Marimekko’s Oiva cups, which are also designed by Sami Ruotsalainen. The look of the cup is direct, but some extra softness is provided by rounded edges and ends. Generally the smaller, handle-less cup looks more rounded or “soft” than its bigger brother.

If one puts these cups on the table in Finland, everyone knows the reference and the talk will turn to nostalgic memories related to the Tasaraita pattern. However, Tasaraita cups do not need to have this history to survive, as they look good without the reference points as well. The cups can be easily combined with any white tableware, specially with the Marimekko’s Oiva series, where the form is the same.

It has always been the idea of Marimekko to create something new and give an opportunity to young talented designers. This time they have taken something from their tradition and still have been able to create a new, fresh way to look at everyday objects.

Scandinavian Morning in Athens

Not all Scandinavian design reflects the Scandinavian nature or climate, but it can still be genuinely Scandinavian. One good example of this is the Kaj Franck’s “Morning in Athens” sculpture designed for Iittala.

For this sculpture, the designer is told to have been inspired by the beauty of Greece. “Morning in Athens” is made of five transparent, hand-blown glass orbs attached together by a pendant. There are three different combinations, varying the size of the orbs and their positioning in the pendant. When the pendants move, the orbs make a sound that reminds one of the church bells in Athens on a clear Sunday morning.

Although the inspiration comes from Greece, the style and disposition follows the Scandinavian tradition. The sculpture is a minimalistic design produced with mass-production methods and therefore available for all. It was originally manufactured at the Nuutajärvi factory from 1954 to 1975, and reproduced for two years during 1992-1994 (nb: The Nuutajärvi factory is the oldest glass factory in Finland, and is well-known for its hand-blown glass). While celebrating Kaj Frank’s 100^th birthday anniversary, Iittala brought “Morning in Athens” back to production again.

The length of the one pendant is 63 centimeters, so there are many variations of its use. It can be hung next to a window, when the beauty of the hand-blown glass comes out with light reflecting from the orbs; it can be use as singular design object or with many of the pendants together, as a screen or divider between spaces. The church bell noise comes out only when two or more pendants are hanging next to each other, so one should consider owning more than one of them!

The Flower Power Lamp

The Flower Pot lamp, designed by Verner Panton in 1969, is the lamp of its era and a good example of Scandinavian design.

In the era of the 60s, the flower power generation took over declaring love, peace and harmony for everyone; students revolted in France and Italy, and man was sent to the Moon. The design for that era was bright, colorful and extremely playful – exactly what Verner Panton knew best. He designed his lamp with the happenings of the era in mind – therefore the name, The Flower Pot lamp.

At the same time as being the voice of the hippie era, the design of The Flower Pot lamp is simple and minimalistic like Scandinavian design is thought to be. The lamp consists of two semi-circular, different sized spheres facing each other, and a simple stand for the table lamp models. The colors of the lamp are all bright but only one color is used throughout the whole lamp; this simple design and style makes the lamp an imposing design piece. That was probably also in Verner Panton’s mind when he designed this lamp: for him, the color was even more important than form as he believed that colors aroused feelings.

When offered to the market, The Flower Pot lamp became incredibly popular. The pendants hung in restaurants and exhibitions, and soon in everybody’s homes as well. When many of them with different colors were placed near each other, an almost psychedelic atmosphere was created.

Related to the Panton’s design it is often said, that Verner Panton successfully interpreted the times of the hippie movement and Moon landing. One good example can be seen in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, where one of the Verner Panton’s chairs is featured. And when this interpretation is added to the fact that Panton’s design is truly Scandinavian, one may understand that Panton was able to create undeniably unique pieces of design. Someone has said that “an object cannot become a design icon until it has stood the test of time and appears quite naturally in different settings, giving it a symbolic aura of its own.” We agree that The Flower Pot is just that.

Cultural importance of Scandinavian design

In any given country and culture, design has great importance in both cultural and in economic terms. Finnish design’s cultural significance is in creating and maintaining the national identity as well as individual identity. Finnish design is also part of the Finns’ memory and history. The bright and happy fabrics of Marimekko in 1960s were part of many Finns’ youth and their parent’s generation has good memories of Kilta tableware. Finland is known around the world from, for example, Alvar Aalto, Jean Sibelius and a significant design of its own as part of the greater movement of Scandinavian design. 

Scandinavia refers to the countries of Northern Europe

 

Scandinavia refers to the countries of Northern Europe: Denmark, Sweden, Norway. However, when talking about Scandinavian design, Finland is also included. Designers of these countries have all developed their own distinctive style of design since the 1950s. Simple, sleek and functional – that is how Scandinavian design is often described. Natural materials like wood and minimalistic style are also connected to the Scandinavian design and derive largely from cultural influences. But what is the most distinctive feature for Scandinavian design is the manufacturing method: Scandinavian design is about low-cost mass production.

Background of Scandinavian design

The ideological background of Scandinavian design is from 1950s and it includes the emergence of a particular Scandinavian form of social democracy, increased availability of materials and the new methods of mass production. The wood that the designers used at the time was light coloured and the supporting structure was often exposed which added to the drama of the elegance of the designs. Because machine production was in vogue, the Scandinavians were adapting finished edges, curved corners as well as overall smoothness in their unique and artistic way of design.