Iittala’s glass blowing experts turn Haapaniemi’s Vulpes foxes into art glass objects, making his imaginative world come alive.

Iittala’s new Vulpes foxes are exquisite objects of contemporary glass art and are designed by Klaus Haapaniemi, an internationally known artist whose work is loved for his wondrous, imaginative visual worlds that combine nature, fairytales and fantasy to mystical elements.

His close collaboration with Iittala's skilled art glass teams have given birth to new collection of glass art based on artists detailed drawings.

The blowers have succeeded in the challenging task of creating mouth blown Vulpes objects. The foxes are made by combining complicated hot and cold working techniques using the highest precision. The artist’s vision, practiced techniques and the best-in-class blowers give the foxes their unique features and characteristics that hold true to Haapaniemi’s vision.

To Haapaniemi, the fox is an intriguing motif that connects to mythology. “Foxes are veiled by a certain mystery, though at the same time they are very common animals. The fox is portrayed in fairy tales and beliefs where it often outwits its opponents with its superior intellect, reminding us of the importance of independent thinking.”

In Finland the fox lights up the northern lights by swishing its tail in the night; in Japan foxes are messengers and the carriers of light. All this makes the fox a very special animal to explore, the artist says. “A fox transforms well to in to a glass object: the fragility and the transformation has both feminine and masculine elements, yet the same time difficult to craft, sometimes unpredictable and fragile material. Glass has foxy character.”

Klaus Haapaniemi´s Vulpes are true collectors´ items that will keep and increase their value over time. They are not only distinctive interior elements, but they also work, for example, as a centrepiece at the festive dinner table.

There are two foxes to choose from: a copper-coloured, standing Vulpes Red Fox and a blue-shaded Vulpes Silver Fox. A certificate of authenticity signed by Klaus Haapaniemi is enclosed with the product.

Klaus Haapaniemi has previously created two collections of unique glass objects for Iittala. He is best known for the decorative ceramic tableware Taika (2007) and Tanssi (2015) for Iittala.

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