It all started with a group of international students on an exchange at the University of Lapland. As part of their course work, they were to come up with gift ideas for UArctic. One of the proposals was a rocking glass; when placed on the table, it would gently swing back and forth. What made it special to us was a map of the Circumpolar North at the bottom and a groove just above it symbolizing the Arctic Circle.
The exchange students returned home, and the project was taken up by a group of industrial design students at the university. Several concepts, re-designs and 3D models later, the UArctic glass was born, just in time to celebrate our ten-year anniversary in 2011.
The glass you hold in your hand is based on the exact same model as the first UArctic glasses. A product of Finnish craftsmanship, it has been blown by a glass artist and master glassblower using the same wooden mold as the first set. And as you look inside the glass, you’ll see the sandblown map and the world the way we see it – with the Arctic in the centre.
