Best Products: The Teema Collection by Kaj Franck
Email from 5.2.08

I first saw the Teema collection at OK in Los Angeles over three years ago (below) and it was the mugs that caught my eye. I just wanted them immediately. There is something about mugs that can do that to you. They seemed perfect....

2005 4 7 ok (15)

Founded by Larry Schaffer, OK is definitely an influencer in my design life and Larry is about as good as it gets at synthesizing world design for an American sensibility. Since then, I've seen them in a few places AND now stock the small mugs so that we can sell them out of our AT Store.

Teema is the name given to the Iittala collection designed in 1962 by Kaj Franck (1911-1989). Still in production, it is lush AND spare (if such a thing is possible) and based on familiar and basic shapes – a circle, a square and a rectangle.

In fact, Kaj Franck was famous for removing everything "excessive" and became known as the Conscience of Finnish Design. Can you imagine someone in America EVER behaving like that? (Those pesky Finns.)

The collection extends from mugs to plates to bowls to platters and you can definitely go whole hog and do your whole house with this stuff. I like the white. One of our readers, Robert, did and he has a great collection (above). But pace yourself. I've collected a number of links below for you to browse and purchase.

Best,