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The Venice Glass Week 2020

The international Festival dedicated to the art of glass presents its fourth edition: #TheHeartOfGlass, which will take place around Venice, Murano and Mestre from 5th to 13th September 2020. This year’s event place a special focus on the “making” of glass, with the aim of helping to support and relaunch the Murano glass industry. Alongside events including exhibitions, demonstrations and guided tours, the Festival will offer a programme of online initiatives, in order to sustain links with international audiences.

My sculpture is inspired by the microscopic world and how something invisibly small can change the World. Photo by Massimo Pistore

The Floating Furnace, a travelling programme of demonstrations with different stops around the Lagoon. The Venice Glass Week places a special focus on the production of glass, and aims to help relaunch and revitalise the sector – primarily that of Murano – which has faced extreme difficulties as a result of months of closure due to Covid19. The aim is to (re)ignite the passion for the ancient art of glass amongst citizens of Murano, Venice, the Veneto and Italy, and to reach this audience The Venice Glass Week is going to extreme lengths: it is bringing the art of glassmaking out of the furnaces to meet the city’s residents and visitors. Photo: Nexa -Event & Travel Designers, Photographer Federica Lazzarini.
For the first time the Festival has a “title-hashtag”: #TheHeartOfGlass, placing a special focus on the production of glass, and aiming to help relaunch and revitalise the sector – primarily that of Murano – which has faced extreme difficulties as a result of months of closure due to Covid-19.

I’m honored to exhibit my glass installation in The Venice Glass Week HUB in September. Cassiopeia reflects Scandinavian aesthetics and light through organic surfaces. Each sculpture is made from mouth blown studio glass and shaped by hand. The design philosophy behind the ‘Cassiopeia’ is to create poetic interpretation of the weightless yet strong nature of glass. How it allows to see to the deepness of the Universe though the lenses of telescope and into the smallest details of life in the
microscopic world.

The theme in 2020 is “The Heart of Glass”. The festival is promoted by the Town Council of Venice and conceived by three of Venice’s principal cultural institutions with considerable experience and expertise in the field of glass – Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, Fondazione Giorgio Cini – LE STANZE DEL VETRO and Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti – along with the most important trade association, the Consorzio Promovetro Murano, which also manages the Vetro Artistico® Murano trademark of the Veneto Region. Once again in 2020 The Venice Glass Week has been officially designated by the Regione del Veneto.

Address:
The Venice Glass Week Hub
Palazzo Loredan
sede dell’Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti
San Marco 2945
30124 Venice
Italy

Exhibition open to the public: 5th – 13th September 2020 (10am to 6pm)

In line with the strict regulations prescribed by the Italian national health authority in relation to Covid-19, a limited number of visitors will be allowed into the building at one time. All visitors will be required to wear masks.

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Icy glasses by Sini Majuri

The new edition of drinking glasses by Sini Majuri are inspired by Nordic nature.
Each Icy glass has it’s own breath and charisma because the movement of the ckracking ice is frozen inside the glass during the glass blowing process. The combination of smooth and cracked surface flirts with light and shadow. The design project is supported by Taike, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

The Icy glasses are perfect for serving chilled drinks and cocktails. Studio made drinking vessels are expertly handcrafted in Finland. Each mouth blown object has unique icy surface texture and is signed by hand. The design philosophy behind Icy series is to create elegant, timeless and durable everyday objects. The glasses gain their value from their high quality and design.

Icy glass collection studies old glass blowing tech with Norden mood. Each piece has a unique broken surface that mimics melting and frosted texture of ice. The technique used is called crackle and it was developed in Venice in 16th century.
Icy glasses are inspired by the atmosphere in Lapland.

The designer tumbler with Scandinavian aesthetics offer a satisfyingly weighty feel in the hand. The moment when a unique Icy glass is used is special. When light is gleaming trough the glass with icy texture, the shadow looks like moving water.

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Icy glasses are studio made in Finland. Glasses are signed by hand.

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Purple color edition of Icy glass has a soft color hue that highlights the unique surface texture.

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Dimensions: 8 Ø x 10 H cm
Available in clear and purple colour.
Made in Riihimäki, Finland.

 

 

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Sini Majuri wins three A’ Design Awards from Italy

A’ Design Award and Competition is the worlds’ largest design competition awarding best designs, design concepts and products & services. Image by A design Award.

Sini Majuri has been honored with two renowned Silver A’ Design Awards and one Iron Award. The Rainforest glass series won the Silver from Furniture, Decorative Items and Homeware Design Competition. Also Majuri’s work Iceberg won a Silver Award at Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design Competition Category. The Iron award was given to Majuri’s Spike lamp design at Lighting Products and Lighting Projects Design Competition Category.

The collection aims to create vases that have unusually thick glass as their material. The space for inner part of the vase is minimized. Almost hidden. This makes the vases appear voluminous, yet light.

The Rainforest vases are a mixture of 3D designed shapes and traditional Scandinavian steamstick technique. The hand shaped pieces have extremely thick glass with weightlessly floating splashes of color. The studiomade collection is inspired by the contrasts of nature, and how it creates harmony.

The A’ Design Competition is organized annually in Como, Italy. Image by A’Design Award.

The Silver A’ Design Award is a prestigious award given to top 5% percentile designs that has achieved an exemplary level of originality in design. Entries to the A’ Furniture Design Awards are peer reviewed and anonymously judged by an expert jury panel of prominent academics, important press members and experienced professionals. Nominated furniture designs are voted on pre-determined evaluation criteria to highlight only the leading furniture design works.

Icebergs are interior sculptures. By connecting mountains, it is possible to build mountain ranges, mental landscapes made of glass. The surface of each recycled glass object is unique. Thus, each object has a unique character, a soul. Sculptures are handshaped, signed and numbered in Finland. The main philosophy behind the Iceberg sculptures is to reflect the climate change.

Spike lamp plays with contrasts. It is inspired by punk culture and calm Scandinavian mood. It is a voluminous piece, with warm light that is focused into a small pointy area under the piece. The Spike lamp has a aggressive appearance because of the metal spikes pointing towards the viewer. At the same time there is something calm about the smoothness of the ceramic surface and warm light. The lamp creates tension in a interior. Like an individual from a subculture.

The object is made in a two sided plaster mold by JP Studiokeramiikka. The outer surface of the ceramic object is spray glazed. The light is a dimmable LED. The diameter of the ceramic part is 350 mm x 320 mm. With the spikes the diameter of the lamp is 450 mm x 370 mm.
The Spike lamp has a aggressive appearance because of the metal spikes pointing towards the viewer. At the same time there is something calm about the smoothness of the ceramic surface and warm light. The lamp creates tension in a interior.

A’ Art Design Award aims to highlight the excellent qualifications of best art designs and greatest art design concepts worldwide. The A’ Design Accolades are organized and awarded annually and internationally in multiple categories to reach a wide, design-oriented audience. The ultimate aim of the A’ art Design Competition is to create a global awareness for good design.

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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.

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Cassiopeia lamps for Salone del Mobile, Milan

59th edition of the Salone del Mobile is postponed to 2021.
Cassiopeia lamp is made from recycled Iittala factory’s glass.

It’s inspirational to be part of the Salone del Mobile 2020, internationally known as Milan Furniture Fair. Last year I visited Italy several times because of Venice glass week and A’Design Awards. I feel fortunate to be able to return once again! The Italian design atmosphere is wild and wonderful. After every visit my mind is full of new ideas for glass.

The bumpy surface of the Cassiopeia lamps looks like ice.
The first Cassiopeia item can also be found from Bukowskis online auction
that is open till 4.2.2020. The material is recycled glass.

One of the projects that I will exhibit at the fair will be Cassiopeia. In the Glass Studio Hytti that is located at Suomenlinna fortress island, we use recycled Iittala Factory’s glass. In Cassiopeia I wanted to create an organic shape by gathering large glass sharts on the surface of the piece. This gives the object extremely rough texture that is carefully melted until all the sharp edges have been smoothed into bumpy ice like overlay.

The early prorotypes of the Cassipeia can also be found from Unionin26 design shop in Helsinki. It’s good to get some feedback before the trip to Milan, because there is still time to make the final adjustments to the project. I’m specially interested to highlight the recycled material as the basis of the design. There is somethign poetic about using broken glass as the material of a new piece.

Where to find:

  • Salone del Mobile 2020, Milan
  • Sini Majuri Webshop

Salone del Mobile Milano is postponed to 2021.

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Dreams exhibition opens in Gallery Pictor

H.E. Gabriele Altana, the ambassador of Italy in Finland opened the Dreams exhibition in Gallery Pictor, where my glass is exhibited together with the ceramic art of Heini Riitahuhta.

It was a fun coincidence that Italy has been an important part of my year. There was a golden award from Italian A’Design Award and invitation to Venice glass Week. In 2020 I’ll also exhibit some new works in Milan Design Week. So maybe fate is trying to get me to stay in Italy.

The beautiful gallery space used to be a fire station and they still had the original fire truck door and large windows. It was great to meet many friendly people at the event and open the stories behind the glass sculptures.
The first pieces from the Deserted town series were premiered in the Dreams exhibition. It is a story about subconsciousness and dream logic – a optical riddle that hide details that can only be seen from exactly right angle. Gemini graal piece has multiple layers with houses and trees. It’s about finding ones soulmate. On the wall you can see Heini’s ceramic piece.
This artwork by Heini Riitahuhta was specially created for the exhibition in Gallery Pictor.
It was a great joy to see my glass next to Heini’s wonderful ceramic art pieces. Heini’s art is full of color and interesting technique twists. This piece was my favorite, because there is something very hypnotic about it.
Roller coaster sculpture was blown in Riihimäki. There is intensive dark blue color behind the soda bubbles. When the sculpture is illuminated from the right angle, the shadow has a surprising hue. The sculpture is solid glass.
Earlier version of the icebergs was also exhibited in Venice. Glacier is a icy landscape that mirrors the nordic mood.
Hedge Maze graal piece has multiple image layers with lots of hidden details. On the reverse side, the images are dark blue, like a shadows of a forest.

Thank you all for the fun opening! The exhibition is open till 7.12.2019. So there is still time to visit and dream along!

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New edition of Jungle Collection premiered in Dubai

1000 VASES exhibition in Dubai presents a unique selection of vases in the Dubai Design District during the Art Dubai 2019 Festival. Sini Majuri has been invited to take part to the international show with her latest edition of the Jungle Collection.

Sini Majuri’s glass vase collection Jungle was first introduced by DutZ Collection in 2018 and exhibited in design fairs around Europe, China and Japan. In 2019 there will be 3 new models premiered in Dubai. The theme in the new pieces is “Rainforest”. Eacn object is solid glass and shaped by hand. The technique used is Timo Sarpaneva’s Steam Stick.

The event redefines both the space of the exhibition and the very presentation of an object, here the vase: a functional, everyday object that rises to the rank of fine-art object thanks to the work and imagination of these designers. This medium is therefore perfect to show all the plurality of the artistic scene today.

2019 edition of Jungle collection will be premiered in Dubai. The shape of the objects is inspired by Timo Sarpaneva’s Steam stick-technique.


The public will be invited to discover, throughout the duration of the exhibition, the creations of young independent designers: unique pieces, made in a multitude of materials and reflecting the personality, the universe and the sensitivity of each.

This overwhelming volume of vases compels us with its richness, its diversity and reveals to us all the artistic expertise of these creators. A profusion of vases which is nothing less than the reflection of the inventiveness and the creative intensity which they show, provoking in us this much desired emotion.

To show the singularity of each designer while confronting him with what surrounds him to better understand the dynamism of the current creation, is at it’s core, the philosophy of the project 1000 Vases.

1000 VASES

19 – 25.3.2019
Opening 19.3. At 6.30 – 9 PM

Dubai Design District (d3)
Atrium of building No.7
PO Box 333 300
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
GPS: Lat: 25.18629 Lng: 55.29914

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A Glass Journey in Toronto and New York

Exhibition venue for the Nordic Glass exhibition is Harbourfront Centre

A lakeside view opens through the huge windows of Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Behind the centre rises the CN Tower, the landmark of the city. The building, surrounded by skyscrapers, is filled with Scandinavian art. The self-portraits of Iiu Susiraja cover the walls of the Portraits at Home exhibition. The next space is occupied by massive ceramic works of Anders Herwald Ruhwald. The exhibition, called The Hand is the Mind is the Bomb that Blows, lives up to its name. Nordic Glass gathers up nine skilled Nordic glass artists, who rewrite the history of Nordic glass in the 21st century.

The description of the exhibition:

Nordic glass was at a high point in the mid-20th century. Famous glass factories like Orrefors, Iittala, Holmegaard and Kosta Boda; and designers such as Tapio Wirkkala and Alvar Aalto were synonymous with good design and refined taste. This heyday created distinctive identities for all four countries—Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland—and collectively added to the Scandinavian Modern aesthetic. Sadly, few of the glass factories remain due to market pressures and outsourcing. However, these economic realities have not lessened the association of well-designed and crafted glass within Nordic countries. The situation has given rise to a bright new generation of glass artists and designers; ones with independent spirits focused on self-expression, experimentation and entrepreneurship. This exhibition highlights a group of glass artists shaping the future of Nordic glass for the 21st century.

My objects in the exhibition are glass mountains. These interior design sculptures can be organized to form either scenic ensembles, glass installations or mental landscapes. Glass imitates the characteristics of ice by frosting and cracking. It is the aesthetic of quietness.

I’m exhibiting Icebergs in the Norden Festival

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Opening party of the Norden Festival was full of interesting art folks.

During my journey I had the also the chance to visit New York and meet with design gallerists. I was delighted to visit for example Usagi Gallery, where my Sade sculpture was on display during the NYX Design event. Meeting with my contacts in Toronto also gave ideas to some possible future collaboration projects. It was extremely interesting to visit design and art businesses both in Toronto and New York as well as glass galleries of northern parts of USA. Glass was blown in tourist attractions, schools and culture centres. The Nordic Glass exhibition is open in Toronto until the summer of 2019. Welcome!

Visiting Usagi Gallery in New York

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Design Pier Hong Kong

 

designpier

I was invited to the annual Design Pier 2018 exhibition in Hong Kong. It’s wonderful to be one of the 20 young talents that are highlighted in the show! This year Finland has a special role in the exhibition: we have two designers in it. I’m so happy to represent Finland with Lincoln Kayiwa! The idea in the exhibition is that each object tells a story – True tales by design.

I will exhibit two very opposite projects; The Jungle collection and Icebergs. The contrasts in nature and the way they create harmony was what I desired to capture in the Jungle collection. The rhythm of the glass making process ensures that each object has a unique colour play inside the glass. The movement of the glass creates vivid illusions in thick material that come to life when the object is illuminated. The Jungle collection is also introduced in European Design Fairs in Munich, Hamburg, Gorinchem, Stockholm and Frankfurt by DutZ Design.

 

design pier 2018
Iceberg: I wanted to create a playful interior object that people can arrange into landscape like installations. Icebergs also works as a individual sculptures. The surface of each object is always unique. When hot lava like-glass is touched with icy cold metal, it ripples and creates a wavy texture. It is in a way a fingerprint of the glass that can not be reproduced. I wanted the ice peaks to have multiple surface textures that also create interesting optic illusions and reflections. When light is gleaming trough the glass, shadow looks like water.

 

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Glass mountains has been exhibited in Scandinavian Pavilion of The Interior Lifestyle Tokyo Japan 2017 and in Designboom Pavillion in Toronto Interior Design Show 2018.

 

Stories are fundamental to human existence. Stories structure our thinking, the way we live our lives and make sense of our experiences. Objects tell stories too. Stories of the culture they come from, stories of the people who dreamed them, their struggles and their success. Stories of a creative process that formed them, the materials they are made up from. Stories of how they transformed human environments.

Design Pier’s new exhibition guides its guests into the world of creation and presents twenty international cutting-edge designers and design brands whose products connect with us on an emotional level because they have a story to tell.

Finncham

Design Pier Exhibition
28th – 31st March
Opening 27 March at 7 PM
Lanson Place Hotel,
133 Leighton Road,
Causeway Bay,
Hong Kong
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Future Classics: A Glass Vase Collection to Netherlands

It has been inspirational journey to design a line of luxury vases for Dutz Collection. The 9 object collection will tour European design fairs during 2018. As a Finnish glass designer it is a great joy to see that a series of high quality studio glass is introduced in commercial setting with a strong message: quality is value. Here is a glimpse to the first prototypes made in Riihimäki. The collection is inspired by the nature.

In this prototype I have wanted to capture the feeling that I have when I look at the nature, green treetops of old oaks. How the leaves are moving. How does it sound like. (Pics. Sini Majuri, Veikko Väänänen)

The premise of my glass design is to create objects that gain their value from the quality, design and material. My ambition has always been to create future classics. When I started to design the vase collection to Netherlands, I really wanted to capture the beauty of the glass material. I wanted the shapes to reflect serenity of the medium and to be weightless and strong at the same time.

The core of the collection is to create pieces that have soul: The vases are mouth blown and shaped by hand, signed and numbered. Each piece has unique color play inside the glass.

Sometimes a very simple object can became multi-dimensional, when you use glass medium. There is for example the visual layer of glass: how does the glass reflect, how will the colors look in different lighting. Above all there are also the historical layers of glass which comprice the origin of Finnish glass making and the rare knowledge behind the craftsmanship. It is interesting to contemplate the project from these perspectives and say once again: Quality is value!

Pic. Heidi-Hanna Karhu

On ollut kiinnostava projekti suunnitella hollantilaiselle Dutz Collectionille korkealaatuinen mallisto sisustuslasia. Yhdeksänesineinen kokonaisuus lähtee kiertämään eurooppalaisia design-messuja vuonna 2018. Suomalaisena lasimuotoilijana on ilo nähdä, kuinka Riihimäellä käsityönä valmistettua lasia viedään suurina erinä rohkeasti kaupallisille areenoille näin viestien: Laatu on arvoa!

Lasimuotoilussani lähtöajatuksena on aina ollut suunnitella esineitä, jotka kestävät aikaa: tulevaisuuden klassikoita. Harvinaislaatuisella käsityötaidolla veistetyt esineet viestivät alkuperän tärkeydestä, koska niissä käytetään puhtaita materiaaleja ja ne on suunniteltu ajatuksella materiaalin parhaita ominaisuuksia hyödyntäen, signeerattu ja numeroitu.

Kokonaisuuden teemana on luonto ja sen tunnelmat. Olen saanut suunnitteluuni inspiraation kotiseutuni vanhoista puista ja metsien äänimaisemista. Dutz Collectionin mallistossa esineet ovat massiivista, jopa veistoksellista lasia. Ne ovat muodoltaan samalla vahvoja ja keveitä. Joskus hyvin yksinkertainen muoto voi olla moniulotteinen, kun käytetään lasimateriaalia, koska lasin visuaalisuus heijastaa, peilaa ja antaa mahdollisuuden läpinäkyvyydellä leikittelyyn. Suupuhallettua lasimallistoa voi tarkastella myös suomalaisen lasinvalmistuksen historiaa vasten todeten: Laatu on arvoa!