Glass, gorgeous glass...

Inspired by Dana's post about the wonderful effect of glass, over at Mid2Mod, I'll throw in a few of my own mid- century glass favorites from Norway and Finland.

The Festivo- line of candle holders were designed by finnish artist Timo Sarpaneva in 1966. I remember when my dad arrived from a business trip to Helsinki with a couple of these as a gift for my mom some time in the seventies.

 

 

I guess I'm a hopeless nostalgic, I find myself drawn to stuff from my childhood, things that bring out fond memories. This bowl and plate from the "Greenland"- line by norwegian artist Arne Jon Jutrem was on my mom's coffee table.

What I always regarded as a typical 70s design actually date from the mid fifties. Designed for Norwegian manufacturer Hadeland, the line won a gold medal at the "Triennale di Milano" in 1954. The pieces are really heavy, and are characterized by the myriad of bubbles in the emerald green glass.

 

 

I love the Ultima Thule line! Tapio Wirkkola designed these gorgeous pieces for ittala in 1968, and they are still in production. When this design was unveiled in the 1960s, it represented something new in the glass industry and contributed to Iittala’s international breakthrough.

Thousands of hours were spent to perfect the glass-blowing technique that’s required for the ultima thule collection, whose unique pattern is created when the molten glass burns into the surface of the wooden molds. The resemblance to ice is striking, when the sun shines through the glass it glows like wet, melting ice. Oh my goodness... I've managed to get my hands on 4 dessert bowls (have a look here), but I'm constantly on the lookout for more pieces. The decanter is truly gorgeous and very high on my wish list!