finnish design

Finland was later than its neighbouring countries, Sweden and Denmark, in developing a global design identity. The first one was presented at the Milan Triennales in the early 1950s by Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva, who displayed highly expressive art glass.

Since that time, Finnish design has tended to be more sculptural and more upscale than other Scandinavian designs, and a successful design publicity machine has developed to maintain that image.

In addition to glass, Finland is known for its unique furniture, ceramics, and textiles. Finnish furniture, from Aalto to Kukkapuro, combines a respect for the materials’ inherent qualities with a deft sense of proportion and a sense of quality, while Arabia has adopted the Swedish practice of hiring artists to work in its factories for ceramics. However, Finland probably excels at printed cotton textiles because brands like Marimekko and Vuokko are well-known abroad for their vibrant, eye-catching textiles. Finnish design has a distinctive personality as a result of these incredibly unique contributions.

Ornamo Book of Finnish Design

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The 1962 Ornamo Book of Finnish Design showcases mid-century modernism in Finland, featuring sleek furniture and playful textiles, with light age browning on upper edges.Read More →

Ulla Procopé. Finnish Designer featured image

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Ulla Procopé (1921 – 1968) was a Finnish designer and ceramicist. She studied at the Taideteollinen Korkeakoulu, Helsinki, to 1948.Read More →

Womb Chair - Eero Saarinen

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Its name expresses its purpose: “It was designed on the theory that a great number of people have never felt secure and comfortable since they have left the womb.”Read More →

Aune Siimes Featured Image

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Aune Siimes (1909 – 1964) was a Finnish ceramicist. She attended Taideteollinen Korkeakoulu in Helsinki from 1932 to 1933.Read More →

Bertel Gardberg Candlesticks

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Bertel Gardberg was a Finnish jeweller and metal worker. Between 1938-1941 he studied at Taideteollin Korkeaukoulu, Helsinki. He began his working life in Copenhagen. Gardberg moved to Helsinki where he maintained a studio between 1949-1966. He was responsible for stainless steel and silver designs produced by the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie; Galeries Lafayette department store, Paris and Kilkenny Design workshops, Dublin. Although he was known for his metal wares, he also worked in wood and stone.Read More →

Tapio Wirkkala Tumblers

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Tapio Wirkkala is widely regarded as one of Finland’s most influential designers. Wirkkala began his career as a sculptor inRead More →

Finnish Design - featured image

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Finnish Design has contributed significantly to the country’s economy and international identity. This beautifully conceived study examines the influence of Finnish modernism and its essential characteristics. The book extensively demonstrates how architecture works in the tension between art and business. Numerous photographs, posters, and illustrations depict every conceivable element of Finnish design’s rich diversity.Read More →

Arttu Brummer glassware

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Arttu Brummer was a Finnish interior and glassware designer. Brummer set up his own interior design office in 1913. Read More →

Borje Rajalin featured image

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Borje Rajalin is a Finnish Jewellery Designer.

Rajalin worked at Bertel Gardberg’s silversmith from 1952 – 1956.  His design work included technical equipment, plastic fittings, cutlery, stainless steel table and cookware and with Anti Nurmesniemi in 1972 a train for the Helsinki Railway.  They collaborated with station designers to make the metro stations modern and chic.  Rajalin produced silver designs for Bertel Gardberg and jewellery for Kalevala Koru.  He taught at Taideeteollinen Oppilaitos and was the director of Taidetelinen Ammattikoulu in Helsinki.Read More →

Marjatta Metsovaara Finnish Textile Artist

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Metsovaara’s style ranged from designs made up of organic forms in vibrant hues to muted neutral tones. She designed for 10 mills in Finland and abroad by 1967, and she made both printed and woven textiles. She ran her design studio and weaving mill in Urjala, Finland.Read More →

Marimekko featured image

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Marimekko, one of the most well-known Finnish textile companies, was founded by Armi and Viljö Ratia in Helsinki in 1951 as the trendy and innovative arm of their parent business, Printex, which they also formed two years earlier. At Printex, Armi Ratia created bold, experimental printed cotton textiles. Still, after this failed to catch the popular imagination, she founded Marimekko.Read More →

Armi Ratia photo of dress in black and white

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Ammi Maria Ratia (1912 – 1979) was the co-founder of Marimekko Oy (‘Mary’s frock’) Clothing was created to free women from 1950s’ tight, body-shaping dresses and move them into fresh, free-flowing dresses, skirts, trousers, and shirts.Read More →

Design in Scandinavia Exhibition featured image

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Brilliant examples of contemporary home furnishings were shown from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and exposed Americans to Scandinavian design, inspiring a shift towards mid-century design.Read More →

Aimo Okkolin featured image

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He made deeply cut crystal objects that were often coloured. He used a lot of nature subjects. The most famous is “Lumpeenkukka”. This glass object, designed by Okkolin in 1960, was Riihimäki Lasi’s best-selling single object. Okkolini’s glassware was presented to several foreign heads of state. He continued working for Riihimäki Glass until 1976 when glassblowing by hand was stopped. After that, he worked as a freelance designer. He was granted a state artist’s pension in 1980. Read More →

Riihimaki Glass - Finnish Glass Factory

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Riihimäki Glass was a Finnish glass factory. The factory, established in 1810 for the production of domestic glassware, began production of window glass in 1919. It purchased various small factories, including the factory in which the Finnish Glass Museum is located today. After buying the Kaukalahti glassworks in 1927, Riihimaki became the largest glass factory in Finland.Read More →

Gunnel Nyman glassware

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Nyman worked for all the great Finnish glass manufacturers of the 20th century: Riihimaki from 1932—47, Nuutajarvi-Notsjo from 1946—48, and Karhula from 1935—37 (and at littala from 1946—47). She designed for both production and studio glass.Read More →

Antti Nurmesniemi featured image

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Between 1949-50, he was a furniture designer at the Stockmann design office, Helsinki; 1951—56, he was furniture and interior designer in the Viljo Revell architecture office, HelsinkiRead More →

A Finnish long pile rug model Friends of Finnish Handicraft.

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The Friends of Finnish Handicraft aims to document and promote typically Finnish textiles. The association was founded in 1879 by Fanny Churberg and inspired by the Swedish Friends of Handicraft association, founded five years earlier. The association has always worked closely with artists and architects and, from an early date, cooperated with, e.g. Jac Ahrenberg. The association collected and published a pattern book of traditional textile patterns in its early days. Read More →

Lisa Johansson-Pape featured image

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Between 1928-30, she designed furniture for Kylmakoski; 1928—37, she was a textile designer for Friends of Finnish Handicraft. From 1952, its artistic director, 1937—49, was furniture, textile, and interior designer for Stockmann, Helsinki. Read More →

Rut Bryk featured image

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In 1942, she worked for the pottery Arabia, Helsinki; from 1959, she was a freelance ceramics designer with Rosenthal, Selb. From the 1960s, she worked for Vassa Cotton Company.Read More →