Take them off. It is weird and strange and feels very "look what I bought" to leave it on. But I am biased I rarely wear anything or buy anything that advertises itself or its brand.

I definitely think they should be taken off, but I just cant be bothered. Usually they fall off after a few times in the dishwasher.

I agree with loudlyquiet that you should take them off, for the reason she states. But as a graphic designer and type geek I can fully understand why you might be hesitant to do so.
It's a really nicely designed logo that adds considerably to charm of the glasses. Too bad it's made of adhesive backed plastic plainly meant to be removed.

Leaving them on is tacky. I wouldn't think it so much a "look what I bought" but more "gee, I'm too lazy to get some Goo-Gone."

Take them off! Leaving them on is as tacky as leaving the designer label on the cuff of your coat.

Labels in any context are tacky to me.

Take them off!

This is an ongoing issue in our household. My SO leaves labels--and price tags!!--on everything. Drives me crazy. I often find myself frantically scratching price tags off of bottles of wine as we approach our friends' front doors. It's such a small thing, but it really pushes my buttons.

@sarahknowseverything: Last week I went on a job interview, and the interviewer had a label on the cuff of his suit jacket, and as he led me back to his office for the interview I noticed that the vent of his jacket was still tacked closed. He told me the job I was applying for required "dogged attention to detail" and wanted to know if I thought I was up to the task. I wondered to myself if pointing out the label and tacking was part of the test.... ha ha.

Needs to be removed for sure.

I think the labels are supposed to come off. It's a sticker. It's not as if the label has been etched into the glass. Besides, it's probably going to come off anyway after a few times in the dishwasher.

Remove them.

You wouldn't buy clothes and wear them with the tags still on, right?

In Sweden everybody keeps the labels on. Especially on the above shown glassware. I have a friend who I always for his labels, but he's convinced that there's supposed to be there. And also, he's the kind of guy who likes to show that he payed a lot of money for something.

It's a sticker, remove it. Why is this even a question? I don't mean to sound snarky, I'm just really surprised that someone would consider keeping a brand/graphic/sticker.

WAIT!

While we're on the subject...

Please ask people with long winter coats to remove the "100 Cashmere" satin tag from their sleeve.

This. Makes. Me. Insane.

Gracias.

In glassware, about the only way (unless it is inscribed) to verify the manufacturer is with labels. It affects the value - someone may be considering selling them at some point.

If it were meant to be left on, it wouldn't be a sticker.

FYI Not sure if I learned this on here AT or elsewhere...Peanut butter trick has been working great for me to remove sticky labels and adhesive from new glasses, dishes and plastic items. Just spread a little on let it sit for a couple minutes, then wash everything off with dish soap and hot water.

This might be my only chance to bring this up. People, if you have a flat panel TV with Energy Star/tech stickers on the front baffle, rip' em off! Thank you.

Swampfox_12 - Thank you! Stupidly, I've never noticed that it was a sticker. I thought it was actually on the tv...but it isn't anymore.

Remove, as the design itself should already point out that it is no ordinary glasswear.

This is like the folks who leave the plastic protective sheets on their cellphone screens - then wonder why they can't see the display very well...

Perhaps it is a pride thing. The Finns I know would opt to leave them on.

Honestly, I think either way the design is beautiful enough, though the sticker adds to the authenticity of the product. With so many iitala knock-off/wannabes out there, I can the logic in leaving the sticker in tact. Especially for resale as somebody else mentioned.

Remove it.... whats next? leaving the little tags on Timberland boots, or on Coach bags, or worse....leaving
the stickers on a baseball cap! ....oh wait....people already
are doing that nonsense! Like "dtremit" said...if it was to be permanent...it wouldnt be a sticker.

leave it on if you value it, I have a lot of b-quality iittala (my mothers cousin works for I) and it comes whitout the sticker, so if your proud of your A-quality glasses, leave it. If you don't care: take it of.

You always keep on an iittala sticker. They are not easy-peel for a reason. They are well designed for a reason. Your grandkids will thank you.

Those labels are not meant to stay on the glass. You wouldn't put your mouth on it to drink. They will fall off with 2-3 washings anyway, or simply soak them overnight and they fall off.

Worst: leaving the little metal/leather "Coach" dogtags on a Coach bag. Throw it awaaaaaaayyyyyyy.....

@AMP: If they were designed to stay on, why wouldn't the company have just made the logo a permanent painted on feature, rather than a sticker?

I love when I find things at the thrift store with the iittala stickers still on them. There usually isn't any other marking on iittala glassware so the stickers make IDing the good stuff much easier.

So along these lines: do people leave the little sticker on Wusthof knives? They are quite lovely, actually, but the knife does say "Wusthof" on it if anyone cared where I got them. Besides, they get pretty icky over time if you leave them on and hand wash.

But @eastlaker: As someone who owns two beautiful vintage Coach purses, I have to disagree about Coach tags. Given that the chain is brass and the tag is leather (and, in the old days, these were both higher quality than they are now) the tag is meant to be a part of the purse that one can decide to show or not show. Most, clearly, show.

They come off easily in warm water or peeled.

oh this is soooo popular in sweden, leaving stickers in glassware, porcelain, you name it.

find it boring.

The only reason for leaving stickers on things (of good quality) it to impress someone else. If not now, at some fantasy future date when you plan to "sell" the items and prove their value to the buyer. If that's important to you, if you are that shallow, by all means keep the stickers on. Me, I'd already KNOW that the stuff is good, and think leaving the labels on is tacky. So mine would go away. Immediately!

People only leave the stickers on to show off.

It's a glass people keep it real, there are people starving in this world. It's meant to be drank out of, it's not an ornament.

Who cares?

Remove them. You`ll know that it`s Iittala, those who know Iittala`s glass will recognize it without a sticker, and others will not care, whether you leave stickers or not.

Okay, if you`re still in doubt, a special Salomon-ish solution for you: move the stickers from the edge to the bottom of the glass. Or leave a "forgotten" sticker on one piece. Just for show.

If you think about selling the glass at some point, save the box it came in and place the stickers somewhere inside. Shouldn`t hurt much it`s resale value.

Oh wow, I had no idea the energy star label was a sticker. It's one of those things that just looks like it's supposed to be there.

As for the glass, take them off. If I were drinking at your house, I'd think it was a brand new glass and then wonder if you washed it before you handed it to me...

I can't believe this is even an issue. The labels are met to authenticate and identify the product before you purchase it and then you remove it!!!!!

Unsanitary and tacky to leave it on. It is a sticker... imagine the residual yuck stuck to the edges.

If you have a number of iittala glasses or objects, you could remove the stickers from most of them and leave one or more on for display.

I removed the iittala sticker from a beautiful votive holder that can stand alone, but I kept the tiny Orrefors Sweden sticker on a large geometric bowl.

BTW the tags on coat sleeves are for the store to quickly identify the various blends or makers.

@designporn: I disagree, emphatically. It doesn't matter if the tag is "good quality." It's a tag.

Of course, people can choose to leave it on, but it was never meant to stay there. I'm sure it makes Coach terrifically happy that people do, of course. It's free advertising.

This observation goes for anything else with a tag. If you like logos and being a vehicle for advertising, go for it, I guess.

I agree with dtremit - if it was meant to stay on, it would have been etched into the glass or painted on, not just a sticker. I'm with someone who posted above - if I saw the tag on the glass at someone else's house, I more than likely would be tempted to pour out the drink, wash the glass, remove the tag, and then get myself a glass of water or whatever I was drinking.

It's customary in Finland to leave the stickers on the iittala products, including glassware. I've had the famous i sticker on my glasses for decades and don't find it unsanitary. Also, the i stickers generally stay affixed unless you determinedly remove them.

I am curious about the origin of the Finnish custom of leaving the i sticker in place. Perhaps it's an homage to Timo Sarpaneva, one of Finland's greatest designers and the creator of the i logo. Does anyone know? Otherwise, I'll be sure to ask the experts at iittala on my next visit.

Ben Horn
FinnStyle.com

It's a sticker. You know, like the kind your kid's teacher hands out.

If you handed a glass to me like that, I'd wonder if you just bought them and whether you'd washed them first.

greetings, im an american that has been living in Finland for three years now. just to let you know the stickers are supposed to stay on, that's if you like to flash to your guests your beautiful iittala collection. everyone here keeps them on, another great place that they have here and i don't think they have in the states as of yet is called pentik :)

I'm surprised that so few Americans have any knowledge of Scandinavian glassware and its traditions. The Iittala label is meant to stay ON the glass. There is no reasonable comparison here to keeping price tags or other labels on clothing. The label on the glassware is simply part of a long-standing tradition. As an American who spends a lot of time in Europe I have been made aware of this tradition on a number of occasions. Europeans who own Scandinavian glassware, even for example in Germany--from where I am writing this, leave the labels ON. It is specifically "tacky" and a sign of American ignorance to remove the labels from Scandinavian glassware. I'm very tired of explaining this over and over again to American friends. Note the following from the Ebay Buyers Guide on Ittalla:

"Most Iittala products are marked with the distinctive red circle with an "i" sticker, particularly if new. Alterantely, they may be inscribed "Iittala" or with the artist's name, as in the case of the art glass above. However, often [American] people remove the stickers, making the Iittala difficult to identify if it's an unknown or unusual pattern. In general, DO NOT REMOVE THE "I" STICKERS FROM YOUR IITTALA ITEMS. Although you may think that it makes them more attractive, it could in the long run decrease the actual value of the piece. Removing the sticker makes them less identifiable, so keep the stickers on unless absolutly necessary."

I guess the choice "remove or leave" the "i" stickers is actually a question if you bought all this glass to enjoy its beauty yourself, or to show off to other people. I may sound archaic, but I find the latter rather un-classy. Would you wear your new dress / suit with the price tag still on?

wdawis1798: you quote that removing stickers from Iittala items "makes them less identifiable". Well, this means they are NOT unique. If so, why should I pay big bucks for something identifiable by a mere sticker only? Porsche and Ferrari still would be easily recognizable without their hood plaquettes, but if you say that the only visible difference between Iittala item and some "no-name" one is the STICKER... well, that piece of foil is not worth the big difference between the price tags.

Everyone has their opinions but I'm from Finland and the stickers are meant to kept on. You can buy Iittala second value glassware that does not have the sticker, sticker is only put on 1st quality products and if it's removed the value will be decreased. Again if you are not planning on selling them or leaving them for inheritance go ahead remove it, those who know and appreciate the design and quality DO NOT REMOVE the stickers. I hope this was helpful. I for once always hand wash my Iittala glassware, after all it is a design product and it's not unsanitary at all. Hope this helps coming from the origin of the product!