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Showing posts with label Timo Sarpaneva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Timo Sarpaneva. Show all posts

Friday, January 9, 2015

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

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

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

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Jonas Forth's surprising facts about Finnish design

While tooling around the Interwebs the other day, I ran across a list called 20 Surprising Facts about Finnish Design Icons, written by Jonas Forth. To be more accurate, there are 24 surprising facts, because Jonas was apparently feeling generous the day he compiled the list.

I'm only going to tease you with a few of them, because I want you to go to his site and let him tell the rest of the stories.

From jonasforth.com


The iconic Fiskars scissors by Olof Bäckström were meant to be red, green or black but due to the production manager using what was left in the moulding machine from making plastic juice pressers, some of them turned out orange. They took a vote and orange won 9-7.




The metal holder that surrounds the glass in Timo Sarpaneva’s Tsaikka series was made from recycled zipper waste. His brother Pentti, who made jewellery, experimented with similar ideas.




The best way to identify a real Aalto 60 stool is by how the screws are attached to the bottom of the base. They’ve basically been made the same way since 1933.

Monday, October 21, 2013

So much Sarpaneva

Since I mentioned Timo Sarpaneva in yesterday's post, I thought you might like to see a veritable treasure trove of his work that I ran across recently while researching another topic. Oh, how I love serendipitous discoveries like this!

We've had our share of Festivo over the years, but Freeforms has a outstanding variety of pieces from which to choose, each lovely in its own right. I can't imagine having this much of Sarpaneva's work in the store at one time.

All images from freeformsusa.com


Cardinal's Hat bowl in clear and purple glass

Smokey purple bowls

Decanters in colored/clear glass and two-tone bowl

Devil's Churn vases and bowl

Drinking glasses

Finlandia vases

Glass spheres with internal filament

i-glass bottles and decanters

i-glass bowls

i-glass decanter and glasses

i-glass bottles and vases

i-glass bottle and decanters

i-glass stacking decanters

i-glass decanters

Orkidea vases

Sunday, October 20, 2013

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.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Pentti Sarpaneva

Pentti Sarpaneva
Pentti Sarpaneva (1925-1978) was a Finnish jewelry designer. The older brother of more famous glassworker and sculptor Timo Sarpaneva, he was a graphic designer before he began to work with metals in his thirties.

He worked primarily in silver and bronze, occasionally using local stones such as rose quartz, smoke quartz and amethyst in his designs. It is thought that memories of his shamanistic, blacksmith grandfather and the landscape of his native Finland must have influenced the textures of his pieces, which evoke molten metal, melting icicles, volcanic lava and tree bark. His work reflects an interest in nature in Finnish design at the time.

His bold, modern design was produced by the firms of Turun Hopea and Kalevala Koru. While it evoked strong emotion, it was unlike any other jewelry being produced in his country at the time, and it was not particularly well received by the public.

From hopea20.com, modernsilver.com and watchprosite.com


Ring
watchprosite.com

Bracelet
watchprosite.com

Pendant
watchprosite.com

Pendant
lysandercollection.com
Pendant
wigerdal.com

Pendant
watchprosite.com


Necklace and ring
rubylane.com

Pendant
ebay.com - oppis46

Necklace
ebay.com - oppis46

Pendant
watchprosite.com

Pendant
watchprosite.com


And is it just me, or does Eric Clapton bear an uncanny resemblance to Pentti Sarpaneva? I know I've been a bit Clapton-obsessed for the past 40 years or so, but surely I'm not the only person who sees it.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Glass therapy

Glass has a very calming, almost hypnotic, effect on me.  Perhaps it's the texture. Or the fluid lines. Maybe it's the heft when I hold it in my hand, which is often surprising, considering the fragility of the object. Whatever the reason, glass is magical to me, and I'm in a glass mood today. Here are some pieces that make me take a deep breath and relax.


Gul vases by Otto Brauer for Holmegaard
retroware.wordpress.com

Tapio Wirkkala Kantarelli vase
artartworks.com

Decanter by Bertil Vallien for Kosta
antiquehelper.com

Bowl by Timo Sarpaneva
jacksons.se

Kaleidescope vase by Tapio Wirkkala
modernity.se

Tapio Wirkkala satinated Lichen bowl
antiquehelper.com

Midnight  vase by Vicke Lindstrand for Kosta
retropolitan.bigcartel.com

Coquille bowl by Paul Kedelv for Flygsfors, in our store

Vase by Bertil Vallien for Kosta
trocadero.com

Vases by Vicke Lindstrand for Kosta
modernistglass.com

Tapio Wirkkala Kugelvase collection
curatedobject.us