What Iittala is known for
Finnish glass modernism — Aalto vases and Teema tableware since 1881. Stocked at Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
Iittala takes its name from the Finnish glassworks village where the company was founded in 1881, and its design language has since become a byword for Nordic modernism in glass and tableware. The house built its identity through collaborations with some of Finland's most significant designers: Alvar and Aino Aalto's sculptural, freeform 1936 vase -- its silhouette inspired by the lakes of the Finnish landscape -- remains in continuous production and is held in major design museum collections. Kaj Franck's Teema tableware series, originally launched as Kilta in 1953, established the now-influential idea of mix-and-match, stackable dinnerware built around simple geometric forms rather than a single matched pattern. Later, glass artist Oiva Toikka introduced the Birds by Toikka series, individually mouth-blown decorative glass birds that have become collectors' objects in their own right. Iittala's flagship retail presence in Finland is its Helsinki store on the Pohjoisesplanadi, renewed and reopened in August 2016 as a 217-square-metre showcase of the full product range, from everyday glassware to art-glass pieces, staffed by specialists trained in the brand's materials and history.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Finnish glass modernism, Aalto vases and Teema tableware since 1881
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Where next
- La Soufflerie — Paris
- Au Bain Marie — Paris
- Alberta Craft Gallery & Shop — Edmonton
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement