The golden age of Finnish design

Glass, ceramics and textiles from Finland won prize after prize in Milan, and Marimekko turned patterns into a lifestyle.

After the wars Finland needed export goods and a new image of the country. At the Milan Triennales of 1951, 1954 and 1957 Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva, Kaj Franck and others won major prizes. Wirkkala's Kantarelli glass and Sarpaneva's sculptural glass for Iittala became internationally known.

Kaj Franck designed simple, stackable everyday goods: the Kilta service for Arabia of 1953 was sold in separate pieces and could be combined freely. Armi Ratia founded Marimekko in 1951, and the patterns of Maija Isola and Vuokko Nurmesniemi became symbols of a new, free lifestyle. Eero Aarnio's Ball Chair of 1963 brought in plastic.