Antti Aarre Nurmesniemi (30 August 1927 in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

– 11 September 2003 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

designer. He is perhaps best known for his coffee pots and his interior design work.

Biography

Antti Nurmesniemi's work includes enamel

coffee pot A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...

s and furniture such as the Jakkara

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

stool, as well as

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

work. He has been referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Finnish Design", and he won the

Lunning Prize The Lunning Prize was instituted by Frederik Lunning, owner of the New York agency for Georg Jensen. The prize was awarded to eminent Scandinavian designers, two each year, from 1951 to 1970. The recipients were selected by a group of peers fro ...

in 1959. He was married to

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

designer Vuokko Eskolin-Nurmesniemi, known for her striped designs for

Marimekko Marimekko Oyj is a Finnish textiles, clothing, and home furnishings company founded by Viljo and Armi Ratia in Helsinki in 1951. Marimekko made important contributions to fashion in the 1960s. It is particularly noted for its brightly colored pri ...

. Nurmesniemi was involved in the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

design of the Palace Hotel from 1951–1953. with Olli Borg and Olavi Hänninen.

Eero Aarnio Eero Aarnio (born 21 July 1932) is a Finnish interior designer, noted for his innovative furniture designs in the 1960s, such as his plastic and fibreglass chairs. He was born in Helsinki. Aarnio studied at the Institute of Industrial Arts in ...

worked for him for a short time, and they are credited together in at least one source for the Ball Chair design in the 1960s.

Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant, Mrs Plunket Greene, (born 11 February 1930)The Mary Quant exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2019-20 stated her year of birth as 1930, and that she became a student at Goldsmiths College around 1950. is a ...

put the chair in her Bond Street store known for mod fashions. Aarnio also came up with the Bubble Chair, while Nurmesniemi designed the steel and leather covered poly-foam Triennale chair in 1960; Tecta Möbel's F 10 fiberglass, rubber, aluminum and chrome plated steel chair in 1968; the chrome and fabric covered foam Tuoli chair sold by Cassina in 1978; and the wicker and tubular steel D 35 ca. 1984.

Works

*''Antti Nurmesniemi: ajatuksia ja suunnitelmia'' (Reflecting and Designing), Kaupungin taidemuseo. (Helsinki) 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurmesniemi, Antti 1927 births 2003 deaths People from Hämeenlinna Finnish designers