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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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