Iittala: Masters of Glass

Some 32 participants from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Hungary recently took part in the Iittala Cup glass-blowing championships in the northern Finnish town of Iittala, which has been organized by the Finnish design company of the same name every two years since 1984. Cup winner Finn Keijo Kopra, said four hours of training each day in the past few weeks has finally paid off. "What we really wanted was to keep the trophy here in Finland--it won't ever go to Sweden again," said the 54-year-old, who has worked for Iittala for the past 40 years. Most of the participants were Iittala's own glass-blowers and have trained for years to become masters of the art.

Iittala, some 120 km (74.56 miles) northwest of Helsinki, has become synonymous with Finnish glass design since the company launched its glass factory in the town in 1881. Not able to make the trip to Finland anytime soon? Find an inspiring piece of Iittala glass in Amazon.com's Iittala store.

--AndreaLeigh