Aino Aalto Riihitie Small Planter Pot Sets, Blue & White Gloss

Aino Aalto (born Aino Mandelin-Marsio, 1894-1949) was a pioneer of Finnish design. Born in Helsinki, Finland, she received her architecture degree in 1920 from Helsinki Polytechnic. In 1924, Aino joined famed Finnish architect Alvar Aalto's firm. That step proved fateful for Aino both professionally and personally when she soon married Alvar, creating a lifelong partnership that built an international design legacy. The couple worked closely until Aino's death, collaborating on several projects that have left a significant mark on global design.

Independently from her husband, Aino is also known for her own individual contributions which helped bring modern Finnish design to the international arena. Her architectural exhibitions for Artek received the Gran Prix at the 1936 Milan Triennial. Aino also won the gold medal at the same competition for her "Aalto Glasses" which were inspired by the circles created by throwing rocks in the water. Eighty years later, the versatile, stackable "Aino Aalto" glassware continues to be a timeless classic for Iittala. Aino Aalto also designed buildings, interiors, furniture and textiles.

Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four young idealists: Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen, and Nils-Gustav Hahl. Their goal was "to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living by exhibitions and other educational means." In keeping with the radical spirit of its founders, Artek today remains an innovative player in the world of modern design, developing new products at the intersection of design, architecture, and art.

The name Artek is a synthesis of "art" and 'technology'—concepts central to the international modernist movement that came to prominence in the 1920s. It was Walter Gropius, a key proponent of modernism, who coined the motto 'art and technology—a new unity.' Technology was understood to include science and industrial production methods, while the conception of art extended beyond the fine arts to encompass architecture and design. Modernism aimed to achieve a fruitful union of these two spheres. This same aspiration guided the founders of Artek in their naming of the company.

The Artek collection consists of furniture, lighting, and accessories designed by Finnish masters and leading international designers. It stands for clarity, functionality, and poetic simplicity.