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 |
