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January 11, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of Eero Aarnio’s most well-known design, the Ball Chair. On January 11,1963 Eero Aarnio finished the drawing of a chair which was to become one of the twentieth century’s most famous designs, but it wasn’t until the Cologne Furniture Fair in 1966 when the Ball Chair caught worldwide attention and became an instant sensation. During the last 50 years the Ball Chair has found its way into homes around the world, appeared in movies, music videos and advertisements, has been illegally and extensively copied, and has been presented in exhibitions and museums internationally.

The owner and chef Hans Välimäki of Chez Dominique in Helsinki has invited Eero Aarnio and Oiva Toikka to display their work in the restaurant's summer show during the Helsinki 2012 World Design Capital Year. The show will run until early September.

The Ghost lamp, manufactured by Melaja Ltd, has won the 2012 red dot award in the product design category. This is the second time the red dot prize has been awarded to Eero Aarnio in the past two years.

Eero Aarnio is one of the eight designers invited to design a milk carton for the Finnish dairy company Valio for their Valio Milk Design carton series. The cartons will be in stores from November 2011 until April 2012.

In their Design Awards 2011 competition the Wallpaper Magazine has chosen Eero Aarnio's Kubo bright light as the winner in the "Best brightener" category.

Eero Aarnio’s The Tree, manufactured by Martela, has won a Green GOOD DESIGN™ Award 2010 in the product design category. The international design award was granted by the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

Eero Aarnio is one of the 12 recipients of the 2010 Pro Finlandia medal which has been awarded in the field of arts annually since 1945 and is presented by the president of Finland.

A collection of Eero Aarnio's products by Melaja and Plastex will be presented at the Hirameki Design x Finland exhibition in the Living Design Center Ozone, Tokyo from October 29 through November 7, 2010.

Eero Aarnio is one of the designers featured in DesignStory, a new online retail community where members have access to limited time sales events at designer discounts on high-quality design furnishings for the home.

Eero Aarnio's Kubo bright light, manufactured by Innojok, has won the prestigious red dot design award 2010. The winners of all the red dot awards will be on display in July 2010 in the red dot online exhibition and at the red dot design museum in Germany for one year.

Eero Aarnio is presenting 12 limited edition numbered and signed Pastil chairs in special pastel colors in the Finnish contemporary art and design group show "Stressed Beauty", which is part of an international exhibition called "Art Paris+Guests" in Grand Palais, Paris. The exhibition runs from March 18-22, 2010.

Eero Aarnio is one of the Finnish designers participating in the Helsinki Madrid FinDesign Exhibition which runs from November 4, 2009 through January 10, 2010 at the Contemporary Art Center in Matadero, Madrid. The Tree, Swan lamp XL, Cognac XO chair, Piccolo table, Dino, Flamingo lamp and Double Bubble XL lamp are on display at the exhibition.

The Kaj Frank Design Prize Exhibition presented by the Design Forum Finland will be on display at the Habitare 2009 fair in Helsinki from September 9 through September 13, 2009. Eero Aarnio was the recipient of the design prize 2008 and samples of his production including many of his most recent designs will be shown at the Habitare fair.

A new showroom specializing in Eero Aarnio's most recent products will open on May 5, 2009 in the Unikulma store, in Helsinki. The showroom is a collaboration between Eero Aarnio and Unikulma, which is a Finnish company specializing in customized beds. Eero Aarnio's new bed Avion for Unikulma will be featured in the store.

The new Swan XL lamp, distributed by Martela was launched at the Milan Furniture Fair on April 22, 2009. The Swan XL floor lamp is a larger version of the Swan table lamp.

The Pirkanmaa Association of Arts and Design (Modus) is presenting the Kaj Franck Design Prize 2008 Exhibition at the exhibition center of the visual arts TR1 in Tampere from April 4 through May 5, 2009.

Eero Aarnio's designs The Tree and the Swan, Flat Light, Pinja and Origo lamps will be on display at a group exhibition called "Enjoy...Finland" at the Bistolfi Interiors Showroom in Rome from February 13 through March 8, 2009. This exhibition is part of "Experience...Finland", an event dedicated to Finnish architecture, design, music and food.

Eero Aarnio has been chosen as the recipient of the 2008 Kaj Franck Design Prize in Finland. The award is given to a designer or a team of designers with solid professional achievements. The purpose of the prize is to support a designer or a team innovatively creating industrially made products. In addition to granting the award, the Design Forum Finland also presents an exhibition of Eero Aarnio's works in their gallery in Helsinki from December 11, 2008 till January 11, 2009.

A new version of the classic Ball Chair, Ball Chair Audio was introduced at the High-End and Hi-Fi Fair in Helsinki, and at the Helsinki Design Week in October, 2008.
The Ball Chair Audio has two new features--armrests and stereo sound system which is designed to accommodate laptops, mobile phones, iPods and other MP3 players. The Ball Chair Audio is only available at www.designeeroaarnio.com.

On June 26, 2008 Eero Aarnio received Europe's most prestigious award for industrial design, the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award, for his Trioli chair designed for the Italian company Magis. The Compasso d'Oro award is granted by ADI, the Italian Association for Industrial Design for a product manufactured in Italy. The prize originated from an idea by Gio Ponti to acknowledge and promote the quality in the field of industrial design in Italy and it was first awarded in 1954 in Milan.

One of Eero Aarnio's most recent designs, a room divider "The Tree," distributed by Martela will be introduced at the Milan Furniture Fair on April 16, 2008.

A new website www.designeeroaarnio.com, launched in April 2008, sells exclusively Eero Aarnio's products including all of his original classics as well as his latest designs.

The Finnish entertainment company Apaja which specializes in online community services has recently included Eero Aarnio's designs into their virtual furniture gallery for Finnish Playray (Aapeli) users. The Aarnio collection (Ball Chair, Bubble Chair, Pony, Pastil and Double Bubble Lamp) will be available later on all Playray locales as well.

On November 30, 2007 Eero Aarnio was awarded an honorary title of professor by the President of Finland. Honorary titles can be granted to Finnish citizens as a public recognition of their service to society.

The retrospective exhibition of Eero Aarnio’s works "Retropop, Phantasie und Tagträume" will be on display at the Finnish Embassy in Berlin from November 8, 2007-January 4, 2008.
In addition to Aarnio’s classic designs, two new lamps designed in 2007, the Swan for Melaja Ltd. and the bright light Origo for Innojok Ltd. are also included in the Berlin show.
The exhibition is organized by Kunsthalle (Taidehalli) of Helsinki and prior to Berlin, the show has been to Mexico City, Washington DC, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki.

Eero Aarnio has designed for Plan Suomi (Finland) a "piggy bank" called Plan Pastilli which is shaped like his Pastil Chair. Plan Suomi is part of Plan International, a development agency focusing on the well being of children around the world. In addition to the small Plan Pastilli, Aarnio also designed a big Plan Pastilli which can be used in public places for collecting money to help children in need. The Plan Pastilli was presented to the press and public in August 2007 in Helsinki.

The Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City is presenting Eero Aarnio’s retrospective exhibition “Fantasias del Pop,” which first opened in Helsinki in 2003, then traveled to Oslo in 2004, and to Copenhagen and Washington, DC in 2005. The exhibition is organized by Kunsthalle (Taidehalli) of Helsinki and it is open to the public from January 26-April 15, 2007.
The interest in Eero Aarnio’s designs has been tremendous in Mexico with numerous requests for interviews in the media. An article by Antimio Cruz from Eme-Equis Magazine, an article by Ania Eckbo from Architectural Digest Mexico and an article (also an English translation) from Newsweek Latin America by Tanya Mordacci can be viewed in PDF format. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Update: More than 55,000 people visited the exhibition.

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