Kaarna mug

Ulla Procopé (1921-1968) was a well-known Finnish designer of ceramics. Procopé completed her ceramics studies at the University of Art and Design in 1948. After graduating, she was employed for the hand-painting department at the Arabia factory in Helsinki. After a couple of years, Procopé moved to the model and decoration department of the factory.

In 1956, Procopé proceeded to the product design department led by Kaj Franck, where she worked until 1967. During her career, Procopé specialized in ceramic tableware and designed both models and decorations. Among the best-known designs by Procopé are for example Ruska, Valencia and Liekki.

Göran Bäck (1923-2003) was a Finnish ceramic artist who had a long career in the Arabia factory. Bäck began his career as a pottery maker in the early 1940s in a workshop in Kronoby, Ostrobothnia region, owned by his sister Rakel Bäck. Bäck also worked momentarily as an apprentice at the Arabia factory, before in 1945 he left to practise more about the pottery maker profession in a small pottery workshop in Inkeroinen and in a pottery factory in Kauniainen. Later in 1945, Bäck returned to the Arabia factory and began working as a pottery maker at the Ara-department of the factory. In 1946, Bäck was transferred to the factory’s product design department, where he began working as a pottery maker for the designer Kaj Franck. Bäck’s job was to create three-dimensional prototypes of the sketches drawn by Franck.

In 1947, Bäck momentarily returned to his sister’s workshop, until a year later he returned to work again at Arabia’s product design department. Bäck worked there as a pottery maker until 1957 when he began his one-year product design studies in Germany on a scholarship provided by the Arabia factory. After his studies, Bäck returned to the Arabia factory and began working as an independent designer in the industrial design and production series department. Bäck's first major work was the design of the A-model tableware in 1959. The GB-model tableware is probably the best known of Bäck's designs. Bäck also designed decorations for his tableware models such as Kultavanne, Kanerva, Inari, Kasino and Kuusamo. Bäck retired from the Arabia factory in 1986.