Dina’s flea-market hunt for vintage Finnish glass—“My best find is a Nanny Still Tzarina bottle”
At 55, Lapland-based Dina Solatie makes great finds because she knows exactly what she’s looking for: Finnish glass design she admires.
I comb flea markets for vintage Finnish glass. My favorite designers are Nanny Still, Helena Tynell, Tamara Aladin and Gunnel Nyman. I garden, and I photograph vases with flowers against Lapland’s magnificent landscapes.
My hobby began as a child, when my parents set the holiday table with Nanny Still’s sugar bowl and creamer from the Harlekiini series. Their festive forms and colors were completely different from our everyday dishes. I’ve inherited old books on glass from my father.
“I never buy glass with cracks or chips.”
I never buy glass with cracks or chips. I’ve picked up cloudy vases for a song, and I use them freely as flower vases.
I’ll never forget when I found a yellow Grapponia vase, which I used to think was tacky and old-fashioned. Now it feels like a little piece of art. I’ve also found two yellow Grapponia wine glasses, and their nubbly, embossed surface makes drinking an experience.
The best flea market is Vintikki in Rovaniemi, where vintage Finnish glass turns up, too.
My best find is a pink 1960s Tzarina bottle by Nanny Still, which I snagged for a reasonable price via a social media group. When I look at it, I can almost feel the breath of its era—how someone dared to make something both refined and a bit quirky, entirely in its own style.
I regret that I didn’t buy Helena Tynell’s lilac Sun Bottle, which was in perfect condition. It went so fast I didn’t have time to decide.
Maybe someday I’ll find the amethyst-colored cheese dome from Nanny Still’s Sulttaani series at a reasonable price.
Find more of Dina’s discoveries on Instagram at @kukkia_ja_maljakoita.
