Yrjö Kukkapuro, master of chair design

Dense rows of fir trees punctured by frozen lakes and oxblood red cabins; children in snow boots navigating icy pavements; crystaltipped grass that crunches underfoot. The journey to the studio of Yrjö Kukkapuro on the outskirts of Helsinki is fittingly Finnish. But once inside, all Nordic clichés end. Rows of chairs with colourful legs and graffitisplattered backs are stacked in seemingly random groups; books, paintbrushes, sketches and models occupy every surface; sunlit walls are crowded with images and cuttings, and in the middle of it all sits 86-year-old Kukkapuro in his canary yellow cap.

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