Cooper Hewitt says...
Founded in 1881 by Swedish glassblower Petrus Magnus Abrahamsson, Iittala initially hired Swedish workers and became known for its high quality wares. The A. Ahlström firm acquired the Karhula and Iittala glass factories in 1915 and 1917 respectively, after which the combined company became known as Karhula-Iittala. During the 1930s, the firm sponsored design competitions, two of them won by the modernist architects (and husband and wife) Alvar and Aino Aalto. In 1946, Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala won the company’s glass design competition, and subsequently became its chief designer, helping the firm, and modern Scandinavian design, gain international kudos in the post-war years. Major designers engaged by the company from the mid-twentieth century to the present include: Timo Sarpaneva, Kaj Franck, and Oiva Toika of Finland, Australian Mark Newson, and more recently, the French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. From the 1950s onward, Iittala has been recognized for its work with designers, and a corporate philosophy that emphasizes functional and timeless design. The company eventually became the largest utility and art glass producer in Finland.
