
‘Imperfect’, ‘disruptive’ and ‘unpredictable’ are not words often associated with Finnish design, least of all with Iittala, one its founding fathers. But new creative director Janni Vepsäläinen is not afraid to use all three and apply them to the 143-year-old company.
During Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024, she unveils her first collection within a former nuclear reactor in the city. It is not your average debut; London-based composer and artist Damsel Elysium performed a piece using glass ‘instruments’ ranging from two-meter-long hand-blown horns to bells and bottles, all hand blown in the IIttala factory near Helsinki.