Everyday Objects : Iittala Teema Dinnerware

Iittala is a Finnish company that creates 'essential objects that are made to enrich people's everyday lives'.  They are all about design that is functional, timeless and striking.  A perfect match for the Everyday Objects series, yes?  

When my husband-who-was-not-then-my-husband and I first moved in together we were really starting from scratch.  I had enough mismatched, cheap and a little bit nasty stuff to get us going but that really wasn't going to cut it in the long term.  But we got a massive head start when my lovely parents-in-law gifted us a stack of Iittala Teema dinnerware.  

The gift meant (and still means) so much to me - it was a sign of acceptance, a welcoming. And the choice of Iitalla was so utterly perfect.  In my design naivety I hadn't yet heard of Iittala but the pared back design, clean lines, bright colours and straight up usefulness really set my heart a flutter.  

Teema was designed by Kaj Frank (another name I hadn't heard of then, but who is now a firm design favourite) in 1952 and is based around three basic shapes - circle, square and rectangle.  It comes in a range of totally awesome mix and match colours.  And it's built to last - we still have that original set of plates and even though we use them day in day out they still look fabulous.

*The keen eyed will know that those stripey little bowls are not part of the Teema collection.  They're actually from Origo, designed by Alfredo Haberli in 1999.

*******

Everyday Objects is all about celebrating the design in our day to day lives.  Recognising those little things that bring a bit of happiness to our day through beautiful, thoughtful design or by reminding us of happy times gone by.  See all the posts here.