"RUSKA" VASE S

ULLA PROCOPÉ｜1921–1968｜FINLAND

Ulla Procopé was a Finnish designer.

She studied ceramics at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in Helsinki and joined Arabia after graduating in 1948. She began her career as a designer in the decoration department under Olga Osol.

In 1956, she transferred to the model design department led by Kaj Franck, where she worked as a designer until 1967.

In addition to wheel throwing and decoration, Procopé conducted experiments with glazes and firing techniques. Working closely with the factory laboratory, model makers, and kiln specialists, she developed products suited to mass production.

Her best-known designs include “Liekki,” and designed to be brought directly from the kitchen to the table; “Valencia,” and distinguished by its bold cobalt-blue decoration; and “Ruska,”, which brought a matte glaze to mass-produced utilitarian ceramics.

Through a succession of highly successful designs, Procopé became one of the most important figures in Arabia’s model design department during the late 1950s and 1960s. At the height of her career, however, she developed silicosis after prolonged exposure to fine mineral dust from ceramic raw materials at the factory. She died in 1968 at the age of 47.

RICHARD LINDH | 1929–2006 | FINLAND

Richard Lindh was a Finnish designer. From 1951 to 1954, he studied ceramics at the University of Arts and Design. While still a student, he founded a small studio in Helsinki in 1953 together with Francesca Mascitti Lindh, who later became his wife, and the two mainly produced utilitarian ceramics.

In 1955, he joined Arabia’s Art Department. He later held a number of leading positions within the company, serving as director of the Applied Arts Department from 1959, the Product Design Department from 1964, and the Art Department from 1973, before leaving Arabia in 1989.

Lindh worked across a wide range of fields, from art pieces to tableware. He is especially known for planters such as the SN model, and for the many products he created with simple, modern forms. In 1970, he received the Finnish State Design Prize.

ARABIA｜1873–｜FINLAND

Arabia was founded in 1873 in the Arabia district on the outskirts of Helsinki as a subsidiary of the Swedish ceramics manufacturer Rörstrand. Production began the following year in 1874. In 1916 Arabia separated from Rörstrand’s ownership and became an independent Finnish company.

In 1929 a tunnel kiln measuring 112 meters in length—one of the largest in the world at the time—was introduced, establishing an efficient mass-production system. This development enabled Arabia to grow into one of the leading ceramic factories in Europe.

In 1932 Kurt Ekholm was appointed Art Director and organized artistic activity at Arabia into a dedicated art department. He created an environment that allowed artists to work freely and established a structure in which product design and artistic works could develop side by side.

One of Arabia’s defining characteristics was its production system, which was divided into three closely connected fields: the Art Department, the Applied Arts Department, and the Product Design Department.

Artists such as Toini Muona, Friedl Kjellberg, Michael Schilkin, Birger Kaipiainen, Rut Bryk, and Kyllikki Salmenhaara worked within the art department. Their works gained international recognition from the 1930s onward, playing an important role in both the cultural identity of Arabia and the development of Finnish ceramic art.

In the 1940s Friedl Kjellberg developed Rice Porcelain using a delicate pierced porcelain technique. Mass production began in 1950 and continued until 1974, becoming one of Arabia’s most iconic artistic porcelain series and gaining international acclaim.

Influenced by the rise of Functionalism in Northern Europe during the 1930s, Ekholm introduced the AR tableware series (Sinivalko) in 1935, presenting a new direction that would later shape the development of Nordic modern design.

In 1945 Kaj Franck joined Arabia as a designer. Together with designers such as Kaarina Aho and Ulla Procopé, he led a major renewal of product design. The Kilta series, introduced in 1953, became a major success as a modern tableware design characterized by simple geometric forms and versatility.

Arabia has received numerous international awards since the 1930s. In particular, at the Milan Triennale of the 1950s (1951, 1954, and 1957), many works from both the art department and the product designers were awarded prizes, establishing Arabia’s international reputation.