20 Facts About Iittala

Iittala, founded as a glassworks in 1881, is a Finnish design brand specialising in design objects, tableware and cookware.

Iittala has strong design roots in glasswares and art glass which can be seen in, for example, the early designs of Aino Aalto glasses designed by Aino Aalto in 1932; Alvar Aalto's Savoy Vase from 1936; Oiva Toikka's Birds by Toikka glass birds collection that has been made since 1962, his glassware set Kastehelmi from 1964 and Tapio Wirkkala's glasses Tapio from 1952.

Over time, Iittala has expanded from glass to other materials, such as ceramics and metal while keeping with their key philosophy of progressive elegant and timeless design, such as Kaj Franck's Teema ceramic tableware from 1952 and Timo Sarpaneva's cast iron pot Sarpaneva from 1960.

Iittala focuses on timeless design which can be seen not only in older creations but in the modern classics such as cookware Tools designed by Bjorn Dahlstrom in 1998; Heikki Orvola's Kivi candleholders from 1988; Alfredo Haberli's ceramic Origo tableware designed in 1999 and the Essence glasses from 2001; Anu Penttinen's Vitriini from 2010 and the tableware Sarjaton using ceramic, glass, wood and textile as materials, designed by Harri Koskinen, Aleksi Kuokka, Musuta and Samuji in 2012.

Iittala products are made in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Romania.

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Up until 1910 – 1920 Iittala glassworks produced glass wares using imported moulds resulting in products being very similar within Finland and abroad.

In 1932, Goran Hongell, was hired by Karhula-Iittala and became the first designer hired for a Finnish glassworks.

Since 1994 the Iittala glassworks took over the production where they are still being made to this day.

Some changes at the Iittala glassworks included the conversion of a single special crucible furnace and the old 4 crucible furnace into 6 crucibles.

Iittala was not only responsible for designing lamp glass and printed matter but he was involved in advertising and exhibitions.

Sales of their products in Finland were continuously under competition from the ever-growing import of foreign glassware but Iittala enjoyed continued success until the oil crisis of the mid-1970s, when it had to cut back on its operations.

In 2007 Iittala was bought by Fiskars and is, a group within the Fiskars Corporation.

Structurally the Iittala Group has been merged into Fiskars Corporation and within the main 3 division of Fiskars are Home, Garden and Outdoor.

In 1932 Goran Hongell, was hired by Karhula-Iittala and became the first designer hired for a Finnish glassworks.

Karhula-Iittala collaborated with many other designers including Gunnel Nyman and Lisa Johansson-Pape.

At the Fairs in Helsinki in 1950, Karhula-Iittala was awarded gold for their products and the public voted Tapio Wirkkala's Kantarelli as the most beautiful object at the exhibition.

Iittala set high standards for their products as Loflund recounts that Timo Sarpaneva's Orkidea of which only a few could be made in an hour sometimes had only one pass inspection and at times none at all were passed.

The design and high quality of Iittala's products ensured Iittala receiving high praise throughout the world as their winning of the magazine House Beautiful's Most Beautiful Object of 1954, for Orkidea shows.

Iittala's best known set Otso is from 1978 and since 1981 Otso is part of the collection of Modern Art in New York.

Iittala's creations were simple and unadorned with a spirit of modernism combined with attenuated art deco.