Description
Designer: Oiva Toikka
Made: Finland
Pressed Glass
Kastehelmi (“dewdrop” in Finnish) draws inspiration from dewdrops glistening like a string of pearls under the morning sun and refers to the circles of delicate bubbles in the pressed glass that give each piece in the collection its distinct character. Oiva Toikka came up with the idea to use droplets of glass as decoration when trying to find a way to hide joint marks left in the production process. The droplet enhances the optical quality of Iittala’s glass recipe resulting in a glass that is like no other.
Oiva Toikka (1931-2019) is one of the great personas of Finnish glass design. His imaginative, rich and bold glass art is a departure from mainstream Nordic design. Toikka’s individual style is also evident in the utility objects he creates as they often deviate from the traditional clean-lined puritanism of Finnish design aesthetics. Toikka has won several prestigious awards including the Kaj Franck Design Prize and the Prince Eugen Medal. In 1993, Toikka was given the honorary title of Professor of the Arts by the state of Finland.
