Works and factories

Glassworks, ironworks and porcelain factories laid the foundations of Finnish design long before it got its name.

Finland was part of Sweden until 1809 and then a grand duchy under Russia until 1917. The Fiskars ironworks had been founded as early as 1649, the Nuutajärvi glassworks in 1793 and Iittala in 1881. Arabia started in 1873 as a subsidiary of the Swedish Rörstrand, to reach the Russian market.

The Finnish Society of Crafts and Design, founded in 1875, and the Friends of Finnish Handicraft of 1879 worked for better design and for the preservation of textile craft.