Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Designed in partnership with architect Matti Lampén, the strikingly modernist Hotel Aulanko in Hämeenlinna — as well as the impossibly plush, sheepskin-upholstered Aulanko armchairs for the project — is just one of the many examples of architect and furniture designer Märta Blomstedt’s contributions to the functionalist movement in Finland during the 20th century.
Born in the city of Turku, Blomstedt studied architecture and graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1922. She married fellow student Pauli Blomstedt and together they established an architectural firm. They completed the Finnish Savings Bank in Helsinki and began work on the Hotel Pohjanhovi in Kannonkoski and the small Kannonkoski Church when Pauli died in 1935.
Matti Lampén, another architect who worked on the bank, aided Blomstedt in completing much of her husband’s unfinished work including the Yaskelyaynena Cottage — a Russian heritage building — and the Pohjanhovi Hotel. In 1938, the pair opened a firm together, Blomstedt & Lampén, and designed the Hotel Aulanko and took on a number of WWII restorations, builds and renovations including the Lindström and Sörnäisten Factory and the Pajarin Church.
Not unlike the well-known SAS Royal Hotel designed decades later in Denmark by Arne Jacobsen, Hotel Aulanko was intended to be a complete work of art, wherein the textiles and furnishings — produced by the likes of Paavo Tynell, Taito and Alvar Aalto for Artek, the company he cofounded with his wife, Aino — made up part of the whole.
Prior to Lampén’s death, Blomstedt & Lampén initiated work on a large city plan for the Oravikoski Mining Community which included housing units, apartment buildings, row houses and detached homes as well as community buildings like a cinema, nursery school and sauna. Blomstedt brought in architect Olli Penttilä to help complete the project. Blomstedt and Penttilä went on to design the Vuorimiehentie II building on Blomstedt’s old university campus as well as apartments in Oulu, Finland.
Today, Blomstedt’s 1930s-era Aulanko sheepskin lounge chairs — which may have been inspired by Danish designer Fleming Lassen's Tired Man armchair — remain highly sought after for their historical significance and quality. As an active member of the Finnish Association of Architects and founding member of the 1943 Association of Women Architects, Märta Blomstedt leaves behind a legacy of important milestones for female designers, Finnish architecture and Scandinavian modernism.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Märta Blomstedt seating and other furniture.
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Birch, Bouclé
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Elm
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Lambskin
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Fabric
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Upholstery, Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Iron
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Ash
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Bouclé, Birch
1770s Irish Antique Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Mahogany
21st Century and Contemporary British Scandinavian Modern Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech, Oak
2010s Mid-Century Modern Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Oak, Walnut
1940s European Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech
1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Beech, Sheepskin
1940s Italian Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Fabric, Wood
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Metal
1940s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin
Early 20th Century Czech Art Deco Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech, Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Scandinavian Modern Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Beech, Oak
1970s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Brass
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Fiberglass
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Elm
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Ash
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Ash
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Elm
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Elm
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Elm
1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Märta Blomstedt Furniture
Sheepskin, Wood