Tsaikka glasses are a Christmas classic—so what does a zipper manufacturer have to do with them?
Say “Tsaikka” and you can smell the spicy scent of Christmas. The classic mulled-wine glass might never have existed without a meeting between a zipper manufacturer and Timo Sarpaneva.
Timo Sarpaneva designed the Tsaikka glass in 1957. Tsaikka is made of thin, mold-blown glass and held in a lace-like metal holder. The holder is both decorative and practical, so you can enjoy a hot drink without burning your fingers.
Tsaikka is clearly related to the narrow, tall tea and toddy glasses of the 19th century, with richly decorative holders sometimes made of silver. In Finland, Tsaikka quickly became the mulled-wine glass associated with Christmas, and even though the glasses and holders were fairly fragile, its success was assured.
What makes Tsaikka special?
With Tsaikka, Timo Sarpaneva managed to combine industrial design with homely practicality in a unique way.
Sarpaneva’s widow Marjatta Sarpaneva has explained in an interview how it all began. A metal zipper maker reached out to Timo, noting that leftover metal from production formed a beautiful lace-like ribbon. He suggested turning the metal ribbon into Christmas ornaments, for instance. But the ornaments never happened—what emerged instead was a classic glass.
Tsaikka glasses went into production at the Iittala glass factory, and they quickly became popular for both everyday use and festive tables.
Have there been different versions of Tsaikka glasses?
The model has been produced in several colorways: most commonly clear glass, with rarer variants blue and purple. There have also been versions encircled by a gold-colored or red metal holder. The form itself has stayed the same from the start. Today, only clear-glass Tsaikkas are in production.
Tsaikka still embodies Sarpaneva’s idea of an object that is at once beautiful and useful—design that comes alive when you pick it up.
