Tapio Wirkkala
Encyclopedia
File:Wirkkala.jpg
Tapio Wirkkala (2 June 1915 – 19 May 1985) was a Finnish
designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design. His work ranges from plastic ketchup bottles and metalware to glass, ceramics and plywood in a range of styles. He designed the Finnish markka banknotes introduced in 1955. His range was immense, designing glassware, stoneware, jewelry, and furniture for mass production, as well as individual sculptures in several media.
Among his most famous works have been the design for the Finlandia vodka
bottle (1970-2000) and for Iittala
's Ultima Thule set of kitchen glasses. Both glassware items feature a dripping icicle
look, and in the case of Iittala's popular glassware set it took thousands of hours to develop a glassblowing technique that would produce the effect.
Wirkkala did much of his initial design work using a traditional Finnish carving knife, the puukko
. Wirkkala designed his own version of the knife. The Tapio Wirkkala Puukko was built by Hackman Cutlery and marketed by Brookstone in the US in the early 70's.
Tapio Wirkkala (2 June 1915 – 19 May 1985) was a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design. His work ranges from plastic ketchup bottles and metalware to glass, ceramics and plywood in a range of styles. He designed the Finnish markka banknotes introduced in 1955. His range was immense, designing glassware, stoneware, jewelry, and furniture for mass production, as well as individual sculptures in several media.
Among his most famous works have been the design for the Finlandia vodka
Finlandia Vodka
Finlandia Vodka is produced from Finnish-grown six-row barley and pure glacier water.The barley is distilled into a grain spirit using a continuous multi-pressure distillation system at Altia Corporation's distillery in Finnish village of Koskenkorva...
bottle (1970-2000) and for Iittala
Arabia (company)
Arabia is a Finnish ceramics company, founded in 1873, and currently owned by Fiskars. Arabia has specialized in kitchenware and tableware.The original Arabia porcelain factory is located in Toukola ; it continues to be one of Fiskars Corporation's production centres.Ulla Procopé was a well-known...
's Ultima Thule set of kitchen glasses. Both glassware items feature a dripping icicle
Icicle
An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from an object freezes. Typically, icicles will form when ice or snow is melted by either sunlight or some other heat source , and the resulting melted water runs off into an area where the ambient temperature is below the freezing...
look, and in the case of Iittala's popular glassware set it took thousands of hours to develop a glassblowing technique that would produce the effect.
Wirkkala did much of his initial design work using a traditional Finnish carving knife, the puukko
Puukko
A puukko is a small traditional Finnish belt-knife with a single curving cutting edge and a flat back.- Design :The basic components of a puukko are a hilt and a blade along with a sheath, which can be attached to a belt. The blade is short, typically less than 100 mm.The flat back allows the...
. Wirkkala designed his own version of the knife. The Tapio Wirkkala Puukko was built by Hackman Cutlery and marketed by Brookstone in the US in the early 70's.