SOLD! ➽ Designer Modernist designer Ilmari Tapiovaara was born in Hämeenlinna, Finland in 1914. He studied interior design & industrial design at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, graduating in 1937. While still a student, he worked for Alvar Aalto in Artek’s London Office (1935-36). After school, Tapiovaara worked as an assistant for six months at modernist architect Le Corbusier’s office in Paris. The following year, he became artistic director of Asko Oy, the largest furniture manufacturer in Finland at the time; he remained there for three years. From 1941-1951, he was artistic & commercial director for the cabinetwork factory at Keravan Puuteollisuus. Around that period, he & his wife, Annikki, began taking on interior design projects for clients such as the Domus Academy (1946-47) & the Tech Student Village (1951). Tapiovaara was a great admirer of Finnish architect-designer Alvar Aalto, & his work was decidedly function-driven. He also had a strong sense of social responsibility; set against the backdrop of Finland’s postwar era, Tapiovaara took a democratic approach to design, believing everyone should have access to affordable, good design. During the late 1950s, he traveled to Paraguay to design furniture on behalf of the UN development program; he did a similar project in Mauritius during the mid-1970s. Tapiovaara also taught: He was employed as a teacher at the design school of the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1952-53, & he taught interior & industrial design at the Institute of Industrial Art in the 1950s & later from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. Tapiovaara exhibited extensively & earned several honors, including gold medals for his chairs at the Milan Triennials in 1951, 1954, 1957, & 1960; a Good Design award in Chicago in 1950; the Finnish State Design award in 1971; a prize from the Finnish Culture Foundation in 1986; & the Furniture Prize of the SIO Interior Architects’ Association of Finland in 1990. He passed away in 1999. Notably, in 2014, the Designmuseo in Helsinki hosted a retrospective of his work, including furniture & drawings, on the centennial of his birth. ➽ Maker Edsby Verken was a Swedish furniture company active in the 1960s & most notably known for wooden chair manufacturing. “Fannet” chair contains original maker & designer stamps. ➽ Design Period 1960s. ➽ Style “Fannet” chair is prescribed in the Scandinavian Modern style. Gracious curvy but minimal structure creates a distinctive nordic identity. ➽ Country of manufacture Sweden. ➽ Detailed Condition The chair is in excellent vintage condition. The wooden structure was polished & covered in black matt paint to give it a contemporary look. ➽ Size Chair measurements are: Width 18 inch, Depth 16.9 inch, Height 31.1 inch, Seat Height 17.3 inch. ➽Color The color of the wood structure is matt black. ➽Materials The structure is made from teak & beech plywood, covered with black matt paint. ➽ Package You will receive your chair
