Oiva Kalervo Toikka (29 May 1931 – 22 April 2019) was a Finnish

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

, best known for his designs for Iittala.

Biography

Oiva Toikka was born in Viipurin maalaiskunta, the rural municipality surrounding then-Finnish

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

, now part of Russia. He grew up in a farm and was influenced by the rich history of the area. Oiva Toikka was renowned for his designs for glassware for the Finnish design company Iittala. Originally trained in ceramics at the

University of Art and Design Helsinki Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture; ; ), was formed of two separate schools: the faculty of architecture (previously part of the Helsinki University of Technology) and the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH, known in ...

, he took up glass design later in life. Some of his best known works are the Kastehelmi and Flora tableware from the 1960s and the Pioni and Krouvi collections from the 1970s. Along with his glassware designs, Toikka is best known for his designs for the Iittala "Birds by Toikka" series. From 1972 until his death in 2019, Toikka created over 400 mouth-blown glass birds. Although Toikka originally worked at the Nuutajärvi glassworks in

Urjala Urjala (; , also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population density (in ...

, his designs are currently produced at the Iittala glass factory in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

. Toikka enjoyed success, too, in other creative outlets. He worked as a stage and costume designer, generally with Finnish director , whose autobiography he illustrated. In his later years, he was also associated with productions by the Finnish National Theatre and the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet (; ) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the Töölönlahti bay in Töölö, which opened in 1993, and is state-owned throu ...

. He has also occasionally contributed textile designs to the

Marimekko Marimekko Corporation () is a Finland, 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 it ...

collections. Toikka's awards include the Lunning Prize in 1970, Finnish State Award for Crafts and Design in 1975, Pro Finlandia Medal in 1980, Kaj Franck Design Prize in 1992, Finland Prize in 2000 and Prins Eugen Medal in 2001.

References

Literature

* Hannes, Alfons & Kermer, Wolfgang & Eisch, Erwin: ''Die Sammlung Wolfgang Kermer, Glasmuseum Frauenau: Glas des 20. Jahrhunderts; 50er bis 70er Jahre'', pp. 56–58. Schnell & Steiner, München–Zürich, 1989 (Bayerische Museen, 9.) * ''Birds by Toikka 2008''. Publication of the Iittala Group. Helsinki, 2008. * Dawson, Jack: ''Oiva Toikka: Glass and Design''. Werner Söderström, 2007.

External links

Glass on wings — Oiva Toikka.
thisisFINLAND.fi.
Oiva Toikka
at Design Museo {{DEFAULTSORT:Toikka, Oiva 1931 births 2019 deaths Artists from Vyborg Glass artists Finnish designers Finnish interior designers Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal