Born in 1974, artist Anu Penttinen set out to push the boundaries of color and form with glass as her medium of choice. After graduating from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki in 2002, the creative founded her own design company, NouNou design, just a short year later. While her business is situated in her hometown of Helsinki, Penttinen now lives 90 miles north of the capital in Nuutarjärvi, a community known for glassworks. It is the urban environment and rich history there that serves as inspiration for the pioneering designer.
Penttinen is most well-known by her work with iittala, for which she created the iF product design award-winning Vitriini boxes in 2010. The glass containers serve as a beautiful organization system for tiny treasures, and can be mixed and matched to create stunning combinations. That same year, Penttinen also made contributions to design giant Marimekko with a colorful line of tableware called Sukat Makkaralla. Meaning Socks Rolled Down in Finnish, the name perfectly captures the playful pose and relaxed rolled shape of the pieces. With instant classics such as these already under her belt, we have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll see from Penttinen.
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