Maker (03)
The makers · (03)
Idman
Idman Oy · Pori, 1897; Helsinki from 1920
- Founded
- 1897, Pori, as a shop for lamps, glass and porcelain
- Founder
- Karl Hjalmar Idman (1872–1924)
- Name
- Hjalmar Idman Oy, Helsinki, 1920; Idman Oy from 1928
- Designers
- Paavo Tynell, Tapio Wirkkala, Mauri Almari, Maria Lindeman
- Taito Oy
- Majority of the shares from 1953
- Later
- Bought by Nokia in 1981; renamed SLO-Idman in 1988
Karl Hjalmar Idman opened a shop selling lamps, glass and porcelain in Pori in 1897. The company was registered in Helsinki as Hjalmar Idman Oy in 1920, with shops in Helsinki, Kuopio and Tampere, and became Idman Oy in 1928.
Idman made and sold light fittings under its own name. Designers who drew for it include Tapio Wirkkala, Mauri Almari and Maria Lindeman. In 1953 Idman, until then the largest retailer of Taito’s fittings, took a majority of the shares in Taito Oy and combined the two factories. Tynell’s later fittings were made and sold under the Idman name.
Nokia bought Idman in 1981. After a merger with SLO the company was renamed SLO-Idman Oy in 1988, which ended the old Idman name.