Tapio Wirkkala Silver Necklace « Crescent Moon » (Kuun Sirppi)

Tapio Veli Ilmari Wirkkala was a Finnish designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design.
Wirkkala was born in Hanko in 1915. He attended the Töölö co-educational school in Helsinki. His father, Ilmari Wirkkala, was a cemetery architect, and mother Selma (nee Vanhatalo) a wood-carver. His sister Helena Korvenkontio and brother Tauno Wirkkala were also artists. His range was immense, including glassware, stoneware, jewelry, and furniture for mass production, as well as individual sculptures in several media.
His success as a glass designer began in 1947 when he designed the Kantarelli vase for Iittala, and the mass-produced Tapio collection was launched in 1954.
He also designed the Finnish markka banknotes introduced in 1955. In the early 1950s, Wirkkala worked as the artistic director at the Helsinki Central School of Industrial Design.
Among his most famous work have been the designs for the Finlandia vodka bottle (1970-2000) and for Iittala’s Ultima Thule set of kitchen glasses. Both glassware items feature a dripping icicle look, and in the case of the Iittala’s glassware it is said to have taken thousands of hours to develop a glassblowing technique that would produce the effect.
(source : Wikipedia)