Alkio vase, green

Riihimäki Glassworks' Alkio vase was designed by Finnish sculptor Kalervo Kallio in 1968. The Alkio vase is made of green pressed glass and its surface is enlivened by simple decoration patterns. The green Alkio vase suits small flower arrangements and it makes a beautiful decorative object on its own too. The Alkio vase can also be used as a candle holder. 

The Alkio vase was produced from 1968 to 1972. It was made in green, blue-grey and clear, which is also the rarest colour. The story of the Alkio vase is linked to the Alkio College, which is located in Korpilahti, near Jyväskylä in Finland. The vases were given in return for people who donated money to build the college.

Kalervo Kallio

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.