Nanny Still

Nanny Still (1926-2009), also known by her married name of Still-McKinney, was a Finnish designer of glass and ceramics. She studied at Finland's Central School of Arts and Crafts, receiving her degree in 1950.

In 1949, before finishing her education, she started to work as a glass designer for Riihimäki, Finland's largest glassworks, and remained there in some capacity until 1976, although she designed some pieces Norrmark, Heinrich Porzellan and Val Saint-Lambert. Starting in 1977, she designed glass and ceramics for Rosenthal Studios and continued to do so for the rest of her career. She also designed for Iittala.

Her work was shown in the 1954, 1957 and 1960 Milan Triennials, and she received the Diplôme d'honneur in 1954 for one of her pieces. She won an A. I . D. International Design award in 1965 for her Flindari decanter. Some of her most famous designs are the Harlequin (Harlekiini) series from 1959, the Saturn (Saturnus) series from 1960 and the Ambra series from the early 1960s.

From r20thcentury.com

Flindari bottle
modernity.se

Raillo vases
collectorsweekly.com

Pompadour vases
parfemtevaningen.com

Neptuna bottles
collectorsweekly.com

Harlekiini collection
collectorsweekly.com

Ambra candlesticks
designlasi.com

Grapponia bottle
carters.com.au

Glass and wood candleholder
moma.org

Saturnus candleholders
lasikammari.fi

Stalactite pendant lamp
ztijl.com

Mango flatware for Iittala
chow.com

Nanny Still
designicon.com

Medium rare

Sometimes what you think is a massive find turns out to be only medium-sized.

I was at an estate sale the other day, and I ran across an olive green vase with a clear base that looked really interesting.  When I examined it, I found a triangular label, but it was very small and worn, and the only thing I could make out was the word “Finland,” even with the +3.25 readers that I always carry in my purse (a necessity for most of us over 60).  Of course, the thought immediately ran through my head that I’d found something produced in the 1950s by Iittala…maybe a Tapio Wirkkala or a Timo Sarpaneva.  How cool would that be?  And for only $3.00!!!!

I paid for my unbelievable find and headed for the house…and my set of magnifying glasses.  Looking slightly like Sherlock Holmes, minus the hat, pipe and sideburns, I crouched over the vase with the super-size magnifier (the one with the even higher power inset), and a logo became visible, and underneath it I could barely read R-u-h…no, maybe R-i-i-h.  Adjusting the lamp and tilting the vase at just the right angle, I could finally decipher the words “RIIHIMAKI SUOMI FINLAND.”

Speaking not a word of Finnish and knowing only slightly more about glass, I did some research and found out that Riihimaki is the name of a town in Finland where a glassworks factory was started in 1910 by the Kolehmainen family.  The name was changed in 1937 to Riihimaen Lasi Oy.  In 1985 the family sold it and its name was changed again, and in 1990 it closed. 

With a little more detective work, I was able to determine that my piece was designed by Tamara Aladin, who started working for the company in 1959 and, along with Aimo Okkolin, Helena Tynell and Nanny Still, acted as a chief designer for the next 20 years.

Instead of being a 1950s design, however, my vase was more than likely produced for the 1976 Export collection, so it didn’t have quite the mid-century significance I had hoped, but it’s still a lovely piece and in perfect condition…and $3.00 was still a bargain, even if it wasn’t a total steal.

A Wirkkala in a similar shape
glassmessages.com

A Wirkkala in a similar color
trocadero.com

A Tamara Aladin in blue
fatlava.forummotion.com

My not-so-valuable Tamara Aladin vase
c. 1976