Artek was founded in 1935 by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl. The idea was “to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of habitation by exhibitions and other educational means." The founders of Artek advocated a new kind of environment for everyday life. They believed in a grand synthesis of the arts and wanted to make a difference in town planning as well as architecture and design.
Today Artek is renowned as being one of the most innovative contributors to modern design, building on the heritage of Alvar Aalto. Functionality and timeless aesthetics are the essential elements in the creation of every product that bears the Artek name. Artek’s furniture can be found in various types of spaces; from public spaces to homes, museums to schools and hotels to offices.
The creative hub of the company is Artek STUDIO, the unit where new products and ideas are developed. Artek is continuously searching for new materials and questioning existing solutions for sustainable design. The cornerstones of the company’s product development strategy are ethics, aesthetics and ecology. In Artek, this translates into a combination of high quality, timeless classics and strong ideology in design thinking.
Central to Artek's product range is Alvar Aalto’s furniture and lighting pieces including iconic designs such as E60 stool, A330S pendant light and 41 Paimio armchair. Under its new portfolio strategy, Artek is looking to extend the range and, to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary in 2010, has acquired the rights to Ilmari Tapiovaara’s furniture collection. In parallel, Artek also continues to work in close collaboration with prominent international architects, designers and artists, such as Eero Aarnio, Shigeru Ban, Naoto Fukasawa, Harri Koskinen, Juha Leiviskä, Enzo Mari and Tobias Rehberger.
Artek has its headquarters in Finland and is now owned by Vitra, who acquired the company on 6th September 2013. Artek has three stores in Finland; one in Helsinki, one store in Espoo and in Turku. Artek maintains close relations with the family of Alvar and Aino Aalto as well as the Alvar Aalto Foundation. The exchange of know-how is valuable for all the concerned parties.
While valuing traditions Artek has entered a new era. Combining the ideology of its founders and a contemporary and dynamic approach to product development, the company is more art and tech than ever. twentytwentyone is an official stockist of Artek and is pleased to offer their complete collection of furniture and lighting.