The soft gentleness of the many shades of blue brings a calming element to interiors, making it a popular choice and longstanding favourite throughout the world. It is also a colour with many symbolic references. Blue radiates peace of mind and is the colour of dreams, spirituality and intuition. The powerful big blue of the sea links continents and the prosperity of many nations has been achieved by way of the great blue rivers. It is the colour of melancholy yet also the colour of many wedding day traditions.

Blue has a special significance for Iittala’s home country, Finland. The blue skies, thousands of lakes and the deep blue moments before the evening darkness arrives have a strong hold on Finnish people’s hearts and imaginations. It has become the national colour for the Northern country.

Iittala joins the celebration of Finland’s 100 year anniversary in 2017 with a colour from its extensive glass colour library: the truly blue ultramarine. The deep, glowing colour has been made with a special glass recipe in Iittala’s glass factory in Finland as a tribute to the clarity and true warmth of the Finnish national character. The colour has been selected from the colour library of Iittala that contains hundreds of complex glass colour recipes and variations.

The Kivi votive by Heikki Orvola, the Alvar Aalto collection and the Kartio tumbler by Kaj Franck have used the ultramarine blue colour for some years over the last decade, and the colour has now been revived in the Kastehelmi range by Oiva Toikka. The mouth blown blue Finland 100 Dove by professor Oiva Toikka also honours the anniversary of the artist’s home country.

All ultramarine products, including the Aalto vase and the Finland 100 Dove, are produced by the most skilled glass-blowers in Iittala’s glass factory. These products, except for the Kastehelmi plates, are packed into blue gift packages and the Aalto items are engraved with a reference to the centenary. A limited and numbered range of 2,017 Finland 100 Doves is being produced for the occasion.