SAARA HOPEA｜SAARA HOPEA｜1925–1984｜FINLAND
Saara Hopea majored in interior design at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki. After graduating, she began her career as a furniture designer, then worked as a draftswoman under Paavo Tynell at Taito.
In 1951, invited by Kaj Franck, she remained at Taito while working as a freelance interior designer, handling furniture and spatial design for the Wärtsilä (parent company of Arabia and Nuutajärvi) gallery/showroom. Her outstanding work was recognized, and she joined Nuutajärvi as a designer in 1952.
Sharing a common philosophy with Kaj Franck to design essentials for post-war life, she created numerous products and art pieces. Her activities were diverse, including packaging, logos, exhibition spaces, and enamel product designs at Arabia.
Although she left Nuutajärvi in 1959 to take over the family business, her achievements as a glass designer are highly regarded despite her short seven-year tenure.
From 1959, she designed jewelry at her family's goldsmith workshop, Ossian Hopea, and after her marriage in 1960, she moved to New York with her husband and also worked on enamel designs. Later, from 1963, she lived in Nepal and India, designing textiles and other items. She returned to Finland in 1967 and continued designing jewelry at the same workshop until 1982.
She was an exceptional designer who demonstrated outstanding talent in various fields.
She received silver medals at the Milan Triennale in 1954 and 1957.
