Spaces: No-name room

Since renovations to the house are ongoing, I don't have any final full-room photos to share...and may not for a while. In the next few posts, I thought I'd show you a few corners, walls, and nooks and  here and there throughout the house.

These shots a room between the formal living room and the family room/dining area. We haven't decided quite yet whether to make it an office or a breakfast room. but for now it holds some of our favorite things.

My Remploy dropfront desk, full of pewter and silver treasures

Frank Lloyd Wright brass picture, vintage gooseneck lamp,
Bitossi bird, studio pottery, mid-century "flash cards,"
and various Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian pewter and silver

My daughter's vintage camera, Carstens floor vase,
and repro George Nelson clock

A favorite Ib Kofod-Larsen chair

Corner built-ins with some favorite Scheurich pottery,
Festivo candleholders, Frankoma pieces, along with
 vintage glass beaker and mortar and pestle
from my grandfather's drugstore

Festivo finds

I've bought a number of Timo Sarpaneva Festivo candleholders to sell in the store, but until recently, I didn't have any of my own. Right before Christmas, I picked up a 2-ring and a 3-ring to display with glass Christmas trees. I liked the way they looked on my credenza so much that I decided I needed several more.

Yesterday on Ebay, I picked up three more...a 1-ring, another 2-ring, and a 4-ring. I was lucky enough to get all three for less than most stores ask for a single 1-ring, so I was pretty pleased with my bargain, especially since I've read on a couple of retail sites that Iittala has stopped exporting their candleholders to the United States. I guess that means I'll be searching Ebay and Etsy for the larger ones to complete my collection. I'd at least like to get a 5-ring and a 6-ring before they get hard to find.

My bargain Festivo candleholders

Scandinavian glass markings

If you are new to collecting Scandinavian glass, here are some sample markings that might help you identify pieces when you run across them in the wild.

Ekenas vase by John-Orwar Lake
20thcenturyglass.com

John-Orwar Lake signature
modernistglass.com

John-Orwar Lake signature
glassmessages.com

Holmegaard vase by Per Lutken
20thcenturyglass.com

Per Lutken signature
modernistglass.com

Peter Svarrer vase for Holmegaard
dba.dk

Peter Svarrer signature
starkeld.com

Michael Bang vase for Holmegaard
modernistglass.com

Michael Bang signature
modernistglass.com

Timo Sarpaneva Festivo candle holder for Iittala
rubylane.com

Timo Sarpaneva initials
ebay.com - judyjudyjudy00

Candles for Festivo

Someone asked the other day if candles were still available for Festivo candleholders designed by Timo Sarpaneva for Iittala. We had located some ball candles at one time that we sold for the Festivo pieces we had in stock, but they weren't footed like the originals.

Last night I happened to run across a site that has candles specifically designed for the line, and a little more searching turned up several sources for the round and the flame-shaped candles, including FinnStyle, Gift Chalet and Scandinavian South. Now that we know they're being manufactured again, a more thorough search will almost certainly turn up more sources.

The ball candles cost $2.75 each, the large Danish Drops range from $5.50 to 5.75, and the small Danish Drops are around $4.00, give or take a nickel.

Festivo candleholders by Timo Sarpaneva for Iittala
antiquehelper.com

Footed ball candles

finnstyle.com

Large Danish Drop candles
giftchaletauburn.com

Small Danish Drop candles
giftchaletauburn.com

Iittala ad
classic-modern.co.uk

Large Danish Drop candle
redlinevintage.com

I apologize for the poor quality of the color chart images. These appear to have been scanned from a catalog and placed on the company's website.

Timo Sarpaneva

Timo Sarpaneva (1926-2006) once said, "At the age of eight or nine, I held a piece of ice in my hand until I'd made a hole in it with my warm finger." The Finnish designer's experience was to be recalled in many of his transparent and concave pieces of glass. He worked in metal, wood, textiles and porcelain, but glass is his best-known medium. 

Sarpaneva went to work for Iittala glassworks in 1950 as an independent designer. He created their famous logo, a lower case i in a circle, which they used for the rest of the century.

His Grand Prix from the Milan Triennale in 1954 brought him international acclaim. The series for which he won the prize included Orkidea ("Orchid"), Kajakki ("Kayak"), and Lansetti ("Lancet"), which were produced by Ittala. In 1954, House Beautiful magazine chose his Lancet II vase as "The Most Beautiful Design Object of the Year."  

Sarpaneva was art director for the Pori Puuvilla cotton mill from 1955-1956. He then opened his own studio in 1962 and begain to design for more companies, such as his line of covered casseroles and pans for Rosenløw and his glass designs for Corning in the United States and Venini in Italy.

Both his Finlandia collection of "bark glass," which was first produced in 1964, and the Festivo series of candleholders (called Senator in the United States) had a rough textured surface resembling snow and ice, which was accomplished by using a mold made of charred wood. They became a huge successes in the 1960s and are still extremely popular today.

From scandinaviandesign.com and r20thcentury.com

Lancet II
arcadja.com

Kekkerit glassware
tuhattori.com

Crocus vase
modernistglass.com

Finlandia vase
botterweg.com

Finlandia bowl
christies.com

Festivo candleholders
starkeld.com