One of Iittala's favourite guest designers is the Argentine-born, Zurich-based smooth talker and master maker Alfredo Häberli. He designed the instantly recognisable Origo dinner service for Iittala in 2000 and overnight became a star in homes across Scandinavia.
He then followed this with two ranges of quietly revolutionary, but ever-practical glassware for Iittala, Essence in 2002 and Senta in 2003. In the same year he produced Kids' Stuff, which he regularly cites as his favourite creation. Currently developing a new range of glassware for Iittala, to be launched soon in Frankfurt, we took Alfredo Häberli to task over his recurring affiliation with Finnish design...
You moved to Switzerland at the age of 14 from Argentina; do you consider yourself Swiss or Argentine and what qualities have you inherited from both?
My emotions and motivation to work are Argentine I think. I love people; they inspire me to come up with new ideas and this is an Argentine quality. But the capacity to have a complex problem and reduce it to a simple idea, this is definitely Swiss. Engineering, research, innovation, these are Swiss qualities that I've inherited.
Are these qualities particular to Swiss design?
Yes, I think they define the mentality of form following function. Also a sense of invention and discovery feature highly.
Origa dinner service by Häberli for Iittala (2000)
Engineering seems to play an important role in Swiss design, compared say to Scandinavian, or Finnish design which has its roots more in functional, practical design for the home?
If you compare Scandinavian or Finnish design to Swiss design, they're more inspired by nature and day-to-day living certainly. It's simplicity that we have in common, not minimalism, but simplicity. I think this is why Iittala approached me and why I have such a good working relationship with them. They appreciate the fact I have a clear concept and a story behind my products: they're not just a shape.
Iittala stands for design for the home for everyday use, how important do you feel everyday good design is? What does it add to day-to-day living?
One of my favourite slogans is 'observing is the best way of thinking'. So I watch and remember details of how people use different things, and try to come up with solutions that make sense when people use my products. This is what motivates me and this is a common starting point with Iittala and Finnish design principles as a whole.
Do you feel beautiful objects in the home can be continually inspiring or do they lose a sense of being precious the more they're used?
I think we can be inspired by everything, even with designs we use everyday, if they make you smile briefly then that can be inspiring. One of the greatest things for me is in Stockholm or Helsinki when people recognise me on the street for my Iittala designs. Often they say thank you, they drink wine or coffee from my products everyday. It makes me smile, it's like receiving an Oscar for design and is the most rewarding reaction I could wish for.
Essence glassware by Häberli for Iittala (2002)
Iittala's principles are perhaps at odds with the current trend for very expensive design art being sold in galleries, where functionality is deemed less important than historical, limited edition or financial value. What are your thoughts on this?
I don't like this so much. I appreciate in some countries there is a hierarchy between different artistic disciplines of art, architecture, design or music. Consequently for some designers it's important they receive recognition that their products are as good as art. I prefer countries where all disciplines are working together for culture as a whole, whether you're a writer, an architect, a designer. I think this is very particular to Scandinavia especially, that you are considered part of the cultural movement. When you have just a very expensive piece of design that you feel guilty to use when its original intention was to be functional, I don't like or understand it. I have chairs from the 1940s and original prototypes by Kaj Franck, which I use. I think Kaj would want me to use them.
How does working with Iittala differ from working with other companies?
They respect my opinions at every stage. You start by talking and drawing ideas then making prototypes. We then go step-by-step through the entire in permanent dialogue. With Italians, they take an idea and run with it. But remember Finnish design companies were the first to use guest designers so they have long history and a very long tradition of designer-maker relationships.
Why did you choose to design 'Kids' Stuff, a range for children?
Iittala approached me actually. They knew I'd recently become a father to Luke, and obviously the project would interest me. So I started looking at what might work and what might help a child. At two, children begin to want the same as their parents, to mimic what they see them doing and using.
I was very keen to treat children the same as adults, to give them the trust with glass for instance instead of plastic, because this seemed to be the finest way to help them learn and it's a prime stage for learning. I also designed a small bird at the bottom of the glass, because for some reason children are fascinated by the bottom of the glass when they drink. So many children's products are so childish, which I think is wrong.
What I love about children is that they have a very strong sense of instinct: when you give them something, they know instantly whether they like it or not. I think we lose this sense the older we get. We need explanations and concepts to decide whether we like things.
I like to work with a childish sense of instinct in my work. On the phone when someone says they want to work with me, I feel instantly whether it will work or not. I think it's important to take this seriously and use this sense of instinct in my work.
Kids' Stuff by Häberli for Iittala (2003)
Have you always been in tune with your childhood intuition?
Yes, I think because I had a fantastic childhood, so I feel very positive towards it, and can remember so much. And now when I look at my children I see that design has changed so much, it's our responsibility to hand down designs they will remember as classics when they grow older and hand down to their own children.
