Antrei Hartikainen
HISTORY
Meeting Antrei means, above all, encountering a passion and jumping on a moving train—that of a young cabinetmaker who thinks big, moving from one station to the next, with each stop bringing new challenges in working with materials, experiments, exhibitions, awards, and projects with Finland’s leading design firms. We joined him on a Saturday morning. Just outside the beautiful village of Fiskars, he opened the doors to his workshop and showed us his latest creations. Furniture returning from an exhibition in Helsinki stood alongside pieces still in progress. The northern light bathed the workshop in a beautiful glow, illuminating the vases and sculptures from the MELT collection and inviting us to come touch them.
We loved the combination of wood and glass, the sculptures’ highly unconventional shapes, and the role of chance in the creation of these pieces, where each one is a surprise. We also loved Antrei’s high standards, modernity, and pursuit of excellence.
In 2018, Antrei received his country’s Young Designer of the Year Award and was shortlisted in 2019 by the Dezeen Awards as one of the year’s emerging designers.
