Designer: Aino Aalto

Aino Maria Mandelin (1894–1949), later known as Aino Aalto, was born in Helsinki into a large family and pursued architecture studies in the city’s technical university, graduating in 1920. Soon after, she joined architectural offices in Helsinki and later in Jyväskylä, where she met and married Alvar Aalto in 1925. Their partnership extended into professional life, Aino not only contributed to building design but also took a leading role in interior planning from the late 1920s onward.

Leadership at Artek & Milan Prize

In 1935, she co-founded Artek with Alvar, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, steering the company's creative direction as its first artistic and later managing director. Her functionalist approach to household items earned international acclaim: she won first prize in a 1932 Karhula-Iittala design contest, followed by a gold medal at the 1936 Milan Triennale for her pressed-glass collection.

Iconic Glassware for Karhula

Her most enduring contribution to design is the Bölgeblick series, created for Karhula-Iittala in 1932. This range, named for the rippling circles reminiscent of water, remains in production today under the Iittala label. She also designed early versions of the “Aino Aalto” glasses, which featured soft wave-like contours that hinted at the shape of her husband’s later Savoy Vase.

Lasting Influence & Legacy

Aino’s designs, grounded in simplicity and everyday functionality, became benchmarks for Finnish modernism. Her glassware is preserved in museums like MoMA and continues to be produced. Beyond glass, she quietly shaped Scandinavian interiors and furniture through her tenure at Artek. Today, her name lives on through the classic glassware series that bear it and through renewed interest in her role as an architect and designer in her own right.