Linnut

Origin

The name Linnut is Finnish for birds. The collection was developed together by Magis, Iittala and Oiva Toikka, and takes its starting point from Birds, the blown-glass birds which Toikka has made for Iittala from the 1970s onward. The lamps date from 2019. Eugenio Perazza, founder of Magis, recalls the moment he saw that a transparent plastic handled in a new way could replace glass and give a collection of glass objects a second life — and the glass objects he had in mind were Toikka's Birds.

Design Language

The birds are made of rotational-moulded polycarbonate, a material chosen because it can echo the richness of blown glass. Magis's head of development, Enrico Perin, explains that the team found few manufacturers in Italy combining rotational moulding with polycarbonate. A transparent sheet can be layered onto a second, opaque sheet, and differently coloured granulates add patterns and shades to the glossy surface, so the result differs from one object to the next. Each lamp is unique, and irregularities in its surface pattern count as marks of distinction. The lamps are rechargeable, with an ABS base, a coloured polycarbonate body, LED technology and a touch switch that includes a dimmer; the battery is charged by micro USB-C, and the collection is for indoor use only.

Key Pieces

Four birds make up the collection: Sulo (offered in sizes S and L), Siiri, Kirassi and Palturi, named after the birds themselves. All are movable, cable-free light sculptures. One can be carried to the terrace for a late summer dinner, a child's room as a night light, or the entryway as a friendly night owl. Switched off, the lamps still work as decorative sculptures.