Artek (company)

Artek

Company type	Osakeyhtiö
Industry	Furniture (manufacture and retail)
Founded	1935; 89 years ago (1935) in Helsinki, Finland
Founders	Alvar Aalto, Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen, Nils-Gustav Hahl
Headquarters	Kamppi  , Finland
Parent	Vitra
Website	www.artek.fi/en/

Artek is a Finnish furniture company. It was founded in December 1935 by architect Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino Aalto, visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl. The founders chose a non-Finnish name: the neologism Artek was meant to manifest the desire to combine art and technology. This echoed a main idea of the International Style movement, especially the Bauhaus, to emphasize the technical expertise in production and quality of materials, instead of historical-based, eclectic or frivolous ornamentation.^[1]

The original aim of the venture was to promote the furniture and glassware of Alvar Aalto and Aino Aalto, and to produce furnishings for their buildings.^[2] Before 1935 the Aaltos' designs were manufactured by Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas Oy in Turku. That company was renamed Huonekalutehdas Korhonen Oy and moved to Littoinen, but now both companies are owned by Vitra (furniture). Artek have their own in-house designers, such as Ben af Schulten. Originally, the studio was set up ostensibly to assist Aalto's architects' office with interior designs for his buildings. Since Aalto's passing in 1976 the company has sold design objects by other Finnish designers, such as Juha Leiviskä, Ilmari Tapiovaara, and Eero Aarnio. Other non-Finnish designers affiliated with Vitra, like the Bouroullec brothers, work with Artek as well if their designs are found to fit within the Artek portfolio. Artek currently operates three stores: a main store and a 2nd Cycle showroom in Helsinki, and a store in Tokyo.