World class – Finland’s impact on design..

In the 1950s and 1960s, Finnish Design won global fame. The breakthrough came at the Milan Triennial in 1951, when Finland was awarded six Grand Prix prizes, four honourable mentions, seven gold medals and eight silver medals. Finnish designers today rank among the most exciting in the world and their work and influence can be seen everywhere in graceful and sophisticated forms serving basic everyday functions in architecture, design and homeware…

At the following triennial Finland took a quarter of all awards on offer. Names such as Gunnel Nyman, Kaj Franck, Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva were on everybody’s lips. Marimekko, founded by Armi Ratia (1912-1979), revolutionised the conventions of “good taste” and colour, homes were given facelifts, and various enduring modern design classics emerged, including Olof Bäckström’s orange-handled, ergonomically-designed Fiskars scissors from 1967.

It was time to bridge the gap between the traditional and the modern, to combine elements from the traditional and the contemporary. In an attempt to bring beauty into the everyday world, with a new accent on natural materials and uncluttered shapes. The Functionalist architect Alvar Aalto, who designed the interior elements of his buildings, from furniture to lightning, led the way.

Artek was founded in 1935 with the prime aim of marketing his designs, such as the timeless Aalto vase which you will still see on sale in Finnish stores. Industry played its role in the process by accepting affordable utility ware for serial production alongside expensive one-off works of art. Ordinary homes acquired objects which elsewhere would have counted as elitist rarities.