Summer Collections

I’m delighted to receive four design awards from the international A’Design Awards! The summer 2022 collections Pikku, Purnu and Orinnoro as well as Suonenjoki vase designed for the city of Suonenjoki were awarded. It is especially meaningful that studio made glass is represented and appreciated in these sort of design forums in the United Nations International Year of Glass 2022. Furthermore it is great to launch these new collections with such a positive starting point as I have started new collaboration with Momono Design Store in Helsinki! If you are visiting Helsinki, you can find Momono from Yrjönkatu, near Design Museum. I have also started to collaborate with Taiko. You can visit my online gallery from here. It has also been a great honor to be chosen into international Homo Faber guide. You can find my site from here.

One of the most memorable projects have been an interview by Isabel Laine for her Bachelor thesis (Suomalainen lasitaide nykytaiteena. Esimerkkinä Sini Majurin nykylasi) for the University of Turku. The thesis is about the relationship of contemporary glass and contemporary art.

This summer I wanted to create something cute and small. Pikku is my first mini size vase and it is studio made in Suomenlinna island. Vases are inspired by soap bubbles and romantic movies. The philosophy of the Pikku is that the small details in our life are precious. In the hectic world it is important to pay attention to a single flower. Vase won a bronze award and was also noted in Avotakka magazine May issue. The vases can be found from Momono as well as from my studio.

Purnu jar is also something rather flirty, pink and smaller than my usual objects. As a designer I usually prefer using quite voluminous glass, which is still present on the thick bottom of the Purnu jar. Actually 20 cm tall Purnu is a miniature version of Orinnoro jar that is a 65 cm tall. The collection is inspired by marshmallows and pop culture. The design philosophy of the object is to reflect the Northern aesthetics with playful colors and simplified shape. Both Orinnoro and Purnu won Bronze and are created in Riihimäki, Finland at Mafka&Alakoski glass studio. Suonenjoki vase was designed for my home town, Suonenjoki. Therefore it was truly touching to also win an award from the vase.

This spring I have also been designing a new sort of project for the Finnish Craft & Design fair: an unique art piece for the event to use as their theme object. You can find the entire interview about the project from the link. The sculpture was made with traditional graal glass blowing technique and the theme of the piece is The Future. The idea of the sculpture is that one must see up close to see far too. When you look inside an object, you first look through lace, as if through a human craft tradition, inside a cell and into humanity. Hands support the future. At the same time, glass is eternal but fragile. Delicate and strong. It’s kind of a paradox.

The craft fair will be held in Tampere. Finland.

Exhibition in Suonenjoki

My exhibition Etiäinen reflects the beliefs and customs related to visiting traditions in Northern Savonia, mixing these with the pandemic experience. The dreamlike works are created from mouth-blown glass in Riihimäki, Suomenlinna and Nuutajärvi. Etiäinen, which premieres in the Kellarikalleria art gallery in Suonenjoki, is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Join the Virtual 360 exhibition by Rautalampilehti from here.

Cell-series. Join the virtual exhibition by clicking the image above. Pic by: Markku Leskinen, Rautalampilehti
Orinnoro series. Pic: Tuire Punkki, Savon Sanomat. Click the image above to read the entire article from the Savon Sanomat newspaper.

The exhibition also highlights the cooperation in the field of Finnish studio made glass. I have worked with Kari Alakoski and Marja Hepo-aho from Riihimäki for years now. They specialize in the creation of massive sculptural glass. For example the voluminous Cell and Orinnoro series are blown by these master glass blowers. The Miekkavesi sculpture also has a special mixture of two very different mediums: fish skin and blown glass. Designer and cobbler Tytti Porvari from Mikkeli has made a fish skin belt for the glass sculpture. There are also multiple layered graal sculptures blown by me in Lasistudio Hytti ry, in Suomenlinna island. The exhibition venue, Kellarikalleria also has a special role in my journey as an artist. It is the very firs place I have seen art as a child.

The Mayor of the town of Suonenjoki, Juha Piiroinen opened the exhibition in Kellarikalleria gallery. Pic by Olli Kokander.
Tytti Porvari finishing the Miekkavesi sculpture that combines blown glass and fish skin belt. Pic by Jari Ikonen
See a video from the exhibition by YLE by clicking the image above. Pic: Marianne Mattila, YLE

I have collected material for the exhibition through newspaper ads as well as local social media, asking what sort of customs people have in their family. For example, coffee drinking has a rich tradition. It is very precise which cup is offered to the guest or how when after the invitation it is appropriate to go to the coffee table. Also, if the spoon, a knife or a fork falls to the floor it can predict weddings, male or female guests.

In some families, Grandma knew to make coffee before the guests arrived because she had Etiäinen. The footsteps walked inside and sat in the living room for coffee. The quest soon walked in. Etiäinen, the name of the exhibition means an impression of a person, that walks before us, doing everything we are about to do before us. It’s in a way a living shadow of a person.

One important story in the exhibition is by a 17 years old woman that was planning a small wedding party with her sister during the first months of the Pandemic. She wondered if soap bubbles can spread the virus; How something innocent and beautiful can become frightening. This theme is mirrored in the Cell-sculptures of the exhibition.

Kahvi-sculpture mirrors the coffee drinking traditions, etiäinen-omens and pandemic experience as a dream like scene. Pic: Tuire Punkki, Savon Sanomat. Read the article from the link

The exhibition is open in Kellarikalleria, Suonenjoki 2 – 24.6.2021. After this it will continue to Gumbostrand Konst&Form in Sipoo and Art Museum Eemil in Lapinlahti.

Bumpy for DutZ Collection

Sini Majuri designs a collection of glass vessels for DutZ Collection. Bumpy vases are created in blue, gold and grey color. The collection is awarded with a Silver A’Design Award from Italy in 2021.

Collection plays with contrasts. High quality meet rough glass shards that look as ornaments when placed on the rim of the vessel. Calm Scandinavian color palette brings harmony to the studio made vases that are inspired by the textures of melting ice. The concept of the design is to flirt with organic shapes and poetic glass medium.

The collection is inspired by the melting ice. The icy texture in every vessel has it’s special charisma.
The shape of the vessel is oval. Every piece is mouth blown and shaped by hand.

Bumpy vases are mouth blown and shaped by hand.

Bumpy vase finds its place on the windowsill, side table or as a gorgeous centre-piece on the dining table. This model is suitable for just one flower branch, but it is also beautiful with nothing at all in it. Unique Bumpy vase fits well in every interior.

Sini Majuri in A’Design Award Grand Jury

Sini Majuri will be in A’Design Awards Grand Jury for the 2020 – 2021 competition after winning a Golden award from the competition in 2019. A’ Design Award Grand Jury Panel brings together the World’s leading design professionals, prominent academics, influential press members and leading experts in industry to recognize, cherish and value good design products, projects and services. A’ Design Award jurors are fully committed to acknowledge and distinguish good design in all its forms.

Sini Majuri will represent Finnish design in the award Jury.
The award ceremoni will be held in Italy in 2021.

The mission of the A’ Award and Competition is to provide a fair, ethical and competitive platform for companies, designers and innovators from all design fields with different experience levels, diverse disciplines and market focus to compete on, while providing them a global audience to showcase their success and talents to. The A’ Award and Competition aims to act as blender; to bring together designers, companies and the press. Learn why it is called A’ (A-Prime) Design Award.

For 2020 – 2021 there are 219 Jury Members forming the International Design Academy – The Grand A’ Design Award Jury Panel – The World’s Largest and Most Influential Design Award Jury. Sini Majuri will represent Finnish design and glass making in the jury. She is also the only jury member from Finland in 2020.

There are 218 Jury members in the 2020 award edition. The international award is based in Italy.
The annual gala is one of the worlds largest design events.

A’ Design Award and Competition is the worlds’ largest design competition awarding best designs, design concepts and products & services. The motto of the A’ Design Awards is “Ars Futura Cultura” i.e. Arts Cultivate the Future, Arts for the Culture of Future. The future is shaped by arts, design and technology, thus there is need of good design for a better future.

GLASRIJK TUBBERGEN 2016

Our team of glass artists are representing Finland in Glasrijk Tubbergen and exhibiting glass that is made in never before seen ways. In the glass blowing demonstrations we are also demonstrating rare Scandinavian glass blowing techniques. Our group is hoping to build long lasting cooperation between Finland and Netherlands. Therefore we are visiting local museums, galleries, companies and artists around the country. Welcome to see the exhibition and our cool demostrations!

Sini Majuri is combining 100-years old graal technique with modern 3D design creating 3 to 6 layered images inside glass. Her works are cartoon stories inside glass and exhibited in 30 international exhibitions around the world, for example in London, Toronto, Leerdam and New York.  The optical illusions of the glass material make her works surreal and dreamlike.

Marja Hepo-aho mixes hot glass with natural stone, combining these two elements into one. Her innovative approach to the medium push the limits of the art and functional glass bringing the unique handcraft to everyday use. Water is an important element in her works as she explores moving, frozen and raining water in her sculptures.

Kari Alakoski is a glass artist who was born near a glass factory of Iittala in 1956. The glass art has been part of his life ever since his childhood. He has blown Pro Arte products like Tapio Wirkkalas’ Kanttarelli and Timo Sarpanevas’ Orkidea as well as done also special series of Aalto-vases. The artistic nature of Kari Alakoski is described as experimental. His every work has something which breaks the conventional and makes it personal. Alakoski does his work often freely blown.

More info in Glass Is More Magazine.

 

Glass blowing demostration in Leerdam Blazerij

Thursday 29 September

15.00 – 17.00 PM

Zuidwal in het centrum van Leerdam

4141 BE Leerdam

 

 

Glass blowing demonstration 1 Tubbergen

Friday 30 September

13.00 – 15.30 PM

 

Glass blowing demonstration 2 Tubbergen

Saturday 1 October

13.00 – 15.30 PM

 

Glasrijk Tubbergen 2016

28.9 – 2.10.2016

Raadhuisplein 4, Tubbergen

The Netherlands