Karhula-Iittala and Artek.
Alvar Aalto glass designs.
The Savoy or Aalto vase; the most recognized art object.
Alvar Aalto.
The Pension chair by Alvar Aalto, 1946. the Pension chair is a later refinement of the bent cantilevered leg Aalto originally designed in the late 1920's.
Aalto # 60 Stool. Also available with four legs.
Today I went to the Karhula-Iittala glass factory in the village of Iittala, where they freely blow liquid glass as well as into wooden forms. Designers such as Alvar Aalto, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Oiva Toikka and many others have designed some of the most iconic glass ever. Apparently you need to have twenty five years of glass blowing experience to become a " master blower". Karhula-Iittala has a very large collection of products, which we became the exclusive agents for Canada and which we exhibited at a number of industry events.
Tapio Wirkkala.
Timo Sarpaneva.
On my visit to Artek I met Åke Tjeder, the managing director. It is the distributor and retailer of Alvar Aalto's furniture as well as a retailer of many other products and it also functions as an art exhibition space. Åke Tjeder was a very charming and elegant gentleman. He showed me around and explained the various features of the Aalto furniture. I liked most of it and placed orders, however I was not too sure about the # 66 chair. I was having some difficulty accepting the constructive aesthetic of the back of the chair being attached to the legs with screws. Ake was very persuasive about the chair being a best seller and a great success, so I agreed to order some. Today I have them in my home around the Aalto extension, dining table and I have learned to appreciate them. Åke was very kind to offer us six months credit on our first order.
Aalto tea trolley.