Artek
Finnish modernism, since 1935.
Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by Alvar Aalto, Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living.
Aalto's breakthrough was bending solid birch. His patented L-leg fixes directly to the underside of a seat, without a frame. Stool 60 followed in 1933 and has remained in production, in Finland, ever since.
KMS has represented Artek for many years, and the full Artek collection is available to order.
A shop for a new way of living.
Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four people: the architects Alvar and Aino Aalto, the patron Maire Gullichsen and the critic Nils-Gustav Hahl. Its purpose was to sell furniture and to promote modern living through exhibitions and education. The name joins art and technology.
Much of what Artek still makes was first designed for buildings. Aalto's chairs began as furniture for the Paimio Sanatorium. Stool 60 first appeared in the Viipuri Library, where hundreds of them were needed and had to stack.
A leg that needs no frame, no rail and no steam.
Solid birch, bent.
Aalto's breakthrough was a way of bending solid Finnish birch without steam. The end of a leg is sawn into thin layers, glued and bent into a right angle. The L-leg, patented in 1933, fixes straight to the underside of a seat. It needs no frame and no rail, and it became the basis of a whole family of stools, tables and benches.
The pieces are still made in Finland, at Artek's own factory in Turku, from Finnish birch. Many of the stools you will find in New Zealand schools, libraries and homes are decades old and still in use. Artek's 2nd Cycle programme collects and resells vintage pieces for exactly that reason.
The people behind the pieces.
Alvar Aalto
One of the founding figures of modern architecture. With his wife Aino, Aalto designed the furniture for his own buildings, the Paimio Sanatorium and the Viipuri Library. Bending Finnish birch, he gave modernism a warmer, more human material.
400 'Tank' Chair · 406 Chair · 611 Chair · 66 Chair · 60 Stool · 64 Stool · K65 Stool · Stool E60 · 90D Table · 153A Bench · 153B Bench · 112B Wall Shelf · Pendant Lamp A110 "Hand Grenade" · Pendant Lamp A330S "Golden Bell" · Pendant Lamp A331 "Beehive" · Pendant Light A201 · 901 Tea Trolley · Screen 100
Ilmari Tapiovaara
Tapiovaara was a pioneer of Finnish post-war design. He believed good furniture should be made for everyday use and made in quantity. His Trienna table (1954) uses a three-legged plan so that it never rocks, and fits naturally into a corner or a group.
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
Brothers from Brittany who have worked together in Paris since the late 1990s. Kaari (2015) was their first collection for Artek. It pairs oak with a thin curved steel brace, a reference to Aalto's bent birch.
Daniel Rybakken
Norwegian designer working between Oslo and Gothenburg, best known for his work with light. The Kiila coat stand is made of solid wooden legs held together by a bent steel joint.
Anything from Artek.
We hold a selection in Wellington. We can also order anything in the Artek collection, in finishes and colours we do not stock, and advise on how the pieces work together, from one stool to a whole library.
Artek · 22 pieces
Full collection
