Ahkera Liisa 1309, purple

Helena Tynell designed the Ahkera Liisa (Busy Lizzie) art glass bottle for Riihimäki Glassworks in 1968. The mould blown glass bottle was produced in two sizes at the Riihimäki glass factory from 1968 to 1969. The purple Ahkera Liisa glass bottle can be used as a flower vase and it makes a beautiful decorative object on its own too. 

The Ahkera Liisa is part of the Pirtti glass series designed by Tynell, also known as the Vanha Kartano (Old Manor) series. The Ahkera Liisa bottle was made in several different colours such as purple, green, blue-grey and clear. In addition to the Ahkera Liisa bottle, the glass series also includes glass objects called Piironki, Aurinko, Aitanlukko, Emma and Kaappikello.

Helena Tynell

The Riihimäki Glassworks began its operations on February 2nd, 1910. Mikko Adolf Kolehmainen and Aatu Paavo Kolehmainen together with Hjalmar Gabriel Paloheimo, Karl Alfred Paloheimo and Wäinö Bonsdorff founded a limited company with a purpose to build a glass factory in Riihimäki. The first glassware of Riihimäki Glassworks was blown on July 26th, 1910. The production of the glass factory was initially household glass, but already at the turn of the same year, a glass grinding factory was built on the site, where crystal glass grinding started in 1911. The production of packaging glass, such as bottles and cans, began in the same year. From the 1920s onward, Riihimäki Glassworks started to pay more attention to the design side of glass production.

In 1928 organized its first glass design competition. The competition was won by Henry Ericsson, who was later hired for a position of an artistic assistant at the Riihimäki Glassworks. Gradually, art and tableware glass became an important part of the factory’s production. Riihimäki Glassworks employed several notable artists and designers such as Gunnel Nyman, Arttu Brummer, Nanny Still, Aimo Okkolin, Timo Sarpaneva, Helena Tynell and Tamara Aladin. The production of art and tableware glass in Riihimäki Glassworks was discontinued in 1976. The production for window glass had already ended the previous year. Riihimäki Glasswork continued to manufacture packaging glass and plastic packaging until 1990 when all operations were discontinued.