I’ve grown up with Iittala, having lived in Finland the first four years of my life and that brand being heavily present in my childhood home in the form of stemware and vases. So when my new pals at Iittala’s Swedish PR company wanted to send over a gift I was more than happy to accept.
Especially happy since the gift was a couple of the new styles for 2013 of Vitriini, those cute square glass boxes that came out a few years ago. They’ve been on my wish list for quite a while but I couldn’t really justify the need for yet another container of any kind. SO happy to accept these though. The colors were quite the surprise though. I didn’t know what I’d be getting and while the white/clear one was a given favorite the salmon one came as a bit of a shock (I must be easily shocked). My first instinct was that I would have nowhere to put it but within an hour or so it had grown on me and now I love it.
Where to put them into use though? I went around the house and found the perfect spot for them both. They now collect our spare change in the entry hall. 10 kronor coins in the small salmon one and the rest in the larger clear/white Durat one.
Thank you Maria and Iittala!
28 Comments
Lucky you! I love them 🙂
Oh to have friends like Iittala! I really like the cute little boxes as well. What a great gift!
Love these! I would have been scared of the salmon one, too… 🙂
I might be ready to love them both, jut that the bold logo, not so much…
They are beautyfull- thanks for sharing!
When I was a teeanger I went to summercamp in Finland where we also visited the Iittala headquarters. Being 16 I instantly fell in love with their designs (and later, at camp with some cute finnish boys…) as they somehow really touched me. At this time Iitalla was totally unknown in Germany and hard to get (pre-internet times!). Being a student I was on a tight tight budget but saved for more than 5 months or so to afford a Savoy vase that is still one of my faves in my pad. When I finally started to work I could afford some Iittala, but the vitriini are on my wishlist, too. They have an amber one that is amazing.
I love iittalla as well. And now I’m grown up I realise what amazingly good taste my mother had 🙂
De kan gärna få sända det till mig med.
nicolezh – There are SO many nice ones. I also love the cork bottom ones, the grey ones and the trays that can go underneath a set.
oh lucky you! they are lovely!
Jag blir nyfiken hur du har stylat elementskyddets hylla i hallen. Jag har efter inspiration från dig “tvingat” min man att bygga ett liknande. Nu är det klart och superfint men inspirationen har trutit, så än så länge har jag varken spegel, belysning eller pynt…
Gabriella – Det ser fortfarande ut ungefär så här http://www.chezlarsson.com/myblog/2011/12/the-radiator-cover-part-ii.html men minus julpynt och ljusslinga och i stället mina två Vitriini, block-lampan från Design House Stockholm och det lilla kakfatet med Berså som syns här http://www.chezlarsson.com/myblog/2012/08/cake-stands.html Rund spegel, sakerna på rad typ och sen på eftermiddagen när Wille kommer hem stylar han över hela med diverse kepsar, hörlurar och skolgrejer 🙂
Å, jag älskar de där boxarna! Smart idé att ha pengar i. De brukar ju alltid ligga och skramla löst i hallen 🙂
My parents are Finnish, and living in Canada they surrounded themselves with all things Finnish. So, I too saw Ittala on a daily basis. I have collected a few things, but I just can’t let my husband wash anything. He doesn’t understand why you can’t take the red dot sticker off! In my house that was something that was NOT done! 😉 Does anyone else HAVE to leave those stickers alone, or is it just my family?
Paula R. – It’s debateable whether to keep the stickers on or not. On drinking glasses I remove them and sometimes on other items too like votive holders. Here I might keep them. Or not. Some people say to remove them because it’s flashy to keep them but on older Iittala you can’t even remove tem. I have a vintage Savoy vase and its sticker isn’t a sticker but the logo’s in the glass itself. Also if you look to the future it might be fun for the coming generation to know what’s what. I’m always excited when I go thrifting and the original sticker’s still on the vintage glass ware and pottery.
The salmon one is lovely!…and the label with your name in it, is VERY Benita 🙂
I am conflicted about the stickers, too! So far, I’ve taken them off the drinking glasses, but not the vases/bowls.
Definitely cute glass boxes with awesome colors. Had considered treating my self to the blue, but it was a toss up between the vitriini glass box and the nappula white candleholders. Nappula won and I love them!!! I get more use out of the candleholders. Working on my Alvar Aalto vase. 🙂 Mother’s Day is around the corner! *wink* Question unrelated: I hate to be nosey, but I have to ask … next to the boxes on the shelf, I see something that looks to me to be (let me see if I can describe it correctly) a light that looks like a block of ice with a light bulb in it. You took a picture of it not to long ago. Wasn’t sure if it was at your friends home or not. Hope I’m making sense. I’ve been looking for that online and was wondering if you have it, how do you like it.
It’s this one: http://www.designhousestockholm.com/collection/lighting/blocklamp.html
There are two sizes and this is the small one. I love it !
What a lovely colour that salmon! I don’t even remember seeing it live. Must go to Iittala shop some day, must have few more Vitriini…
Beautiful covet-worthy little boxes! A question: I have no Nordic language knowledge and am wondering about the correct pronunciation of Iittala: is it ee-TAHL-uh? Would like to know I am saying it properly. Does the double “i” produce its own unique sound? Where does the stress fall? Haha can you tell I’m a language geek? 🙂
These have been on my wishlist, too. It’ll be extra hard to resist now that’s I’ve seen that clear/white one.
RC – I know very little Finnsh actually and its VERY different from Swedish but from what I understand everything is pronounced exactly as it’s written so two i means a long i which sounds like a long e for English speaking people. So yes, your phonetics seem about right but maybe more of an ah at the end rather than an eh :).
“I’ve grown up with Iittala, having lived in Finland the first four years of my life and that brand being heavily present in my childhood home in the form of stemware and vases”
You lucky one!
To those who wonder how Iittala is pronounced I would recommend playing with Google Translate. Just write the word and select language from finnish to finnish and listen. 🙂 At least it sounds almost right.
I love anything Iittala! Just pleases my eye all the way. Last week visiting family in Finland picked up a lovely turquoise Teema container….I have no use for it at the moment, but I just love the look of it.
Love these! Have to say though, I always cringe when I see those stickers! In my book, they should be removed the second you open the packaging! 😉
Lo-lo-lo-love these! I so hope to get one for my 30th bday coming up in May. Clear/Wood is my favorite.
I think you should keep the stickers on. 🙂