Oiva Toikka
Encyclopedia
Oiva Toikka is a Finnish glass
designer
. Born in Karelia
, he is renowned for his designs for glassware for Iittala
the Finnish design company. Originally trained in ceramics, he took up glass design later in life. Along with his glassware designs, Toikka is best known after 1973 for his designs for the iittala 'glass birds' series. Toikka's designs are produced at the glass factory at Nuutajärvi.
Toikka has also enjoyed success in a number of other creative outlets. He has worked as a stage and costume designer, generally working with Finnish director Lisbeth Landefort although in recent years, he has also been associated with productions by the Finnish National Opera. Through the years, he has also contributed textile designs to the Marimekko
collections from time to time.
Jack Dawson, who has studied Toikka's work tends to view it within the context of general trends in glass design as opposed to a strictly Nordic sensibility. Toikka himself has sought to look beyond his own era and has instead harkened back to an earlier aesthetic. When asked to define his work, Toikka has said: ”Baroque is exactly the right word to describe my work – after all, one of the word’s original meanings is ”an irregular pearl."
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
. Born in Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
, he is renowned for his designs for glassware for Iittala
Iittala
Iittala is a Finnish design company specialising in houseware objects made on the principle of "modern Scandinavian design". [N.B. The official logo of the Company is all in lower case - iittala. Using upper case for the initial i can cause some confusion as it may be mistaken for an L.] The Iittala...
the Finnish design company. Originally trained in ceramics, he took up glass design later in life. Along with his glassware designs, Toikka is best known after 1973 for his designs for the iittala 'glass birds' series. Toikka's designs are produced at the glass factory at Nuutajärvi.
Toikka has also enjoyed success in a number of other creative outlets. He has worked as a stage and costume designer, generally working with Finnish director Lisbeth Landefort although in recent years, he has also been associated with productions by the Finnish National Opera. Through the years, he has also contributed textile designs to the Marimekko
Marimekko
Marimekko is a Finnish company based in Helsinki that has made important contributions to fashion, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. They are particularly noted for brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.- Foundation :Marimekko was...
collections from time to time.
Jack Dawson, who has studied Toikka's work tends to view it within the context of general trends in glass design as opposed to a strictly Nordic sensibility. Toikka himself has sought to look beyond his own era and has instead harkened back to an earlier aesthetic. When asked to define his work, Toikka has said: ”Baroque is exactly the right word to describe my work – after all, one of the word’s original meanings is ”an irregular pearl."