Iittala
In order to battle the modern-day plague of “throwawayism”, Finland’s celebrated fragiles manufacturer Iittala commissions lasting design. The final bulwark against rampant consumerism is the legacy object, whether dedicated to eating, drinking, cooking or decorating. The original Iittala glass factory was built in a village of the same name in 1881, beside a lake where everything its master glass artisans needed—wood, water and sand—lay close at hand. Today, having worked with icons like Alvar Aalto, Kaj Franck and Tapio Wirkkala, the company continues to add superlative talents like Harri Koskinen and Renzo Piano to its list. Examples of this modern timelessness include Korento dinnerware by Klaus Haapaniemi, which captures the richness of the north’s brief but exuberant summer. Haapaniemi’s patterns recall classical floral filigrees of the past, but in a robustly graphical and wholly contemporary manner. Iittala’s cutting-edge traditional design is no oxymoron; it is as sustainable as sustainable can get.

