Artek Aalto Marimekko Bench 153B - Kivet

A limited edition collab between two design icons.

In celebration of their 90th anniversary, Artek has joined forces with Finnish design house Marimekko for products such as this Aalto Marimekko Bench 153B. The collaboration merges Marimekko’s art of printmaking with Artek’s wood-bending technology. For the Bench 153B, originally designed by Alvar Aalto in 1945, a Marimekko pattern has been applied to the birch veneer surface of the bench using marquetry. This wood-working technique turns the pattern’s shapes into contrasting wood grains, resulting in a striking shimmering effect that changes with the lighting in your space. Keeping with Artek and Marimekko’s commitment to reducing their environmental impacts, the marquetry technique minimizes wood waste. 

Lightweight and versatile, the Bench 153 can live in many areas throughout your home. The legs of the bench employ Aalto’s famed “L-leg” innovation, a process that involves making slits in the wood, and inserting and gluing wood veneer strips. The Bench 153 can be used as seating or as an attractive way to display items such books, plants, folded blankets or decorative objects, or as a place to store shoes in an entrance hallway or porch. Made in Finland, the Artek Aalto Marimekko Bench 153B measures 17.5h x 28.5w x 15.75"d. Both Alvar Aalto and Artek are represented in MoMA’s collection. Work by Marimekko has been featured in the MoMA exhibitions Items: Is Fashion Modern? (2017–2018) and Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000 (2012).