Collaborating with Santtu Mustonen

The Finnish artist Santtu Mustonen’s work has always been inspired by textural materials that are translucent and optical, which lends themselves perfectly to the medium of glass. Although he’d never worked with glass prior to his work with Iittala. 

 

Mustonen describes his experience with the master glassblowers at the Iittala Glass Factory in Finland as “powerful” because it was there that he truly got to see glass come to life. “Seeing moulds catch fire, glass shattering, it’s hot and still the outcome is something subtle and magical. Glass as a material will inspire and haunt me forever.”

Our new collaboration with Santtu Mustonen is Kartta (“map” in Finnish), which features glass sculptures inspired by an imagery map. The sculptures are made using a special mould technique created by Mustonen. Each glass art object is mouthblown at the Iittala Glass Factory and is engraved with the designer’s name. Kartta is available in two sizes and four vibrant colours, making it the ultimate gift for glass art collectors and lovers.

We commissioned Mustonen to create the striking pattern to honour our 140th anniversary. Mustonen approached the special project as a way to reflect on the past and look towards the future while also still living in the moment. The reflecting qualities of the pattern motifs are slightly imperfect, mimicking the way we add our own nuances to memories. The dynamic visual is meant to leave space for the future.