Eero Aarnio(Finnish, b.1932) is a furniture designer best known for his plastic and fiberglass chairs. Born in Helsinki, he studied at the Institute of Industrial Arts before starting his own interior and industrial design office in 1962. For his early designs, such as his basket chair Jattujakkare, Aarnio used natural materials. His most well-known design, the Ball Chair (1962) is a hollow sphere made of plastic, with an opening on one side that holds a padded seat. The Bubble Chair (1968) is made by blowing acrylic through a steel ring to create a transparent sphere that is then suspended from the ceiling. In 1968, Aarnio won the American Industrial Design Award for his Plastil Chair, which is a curved, organic design made of fiberglass that floats on water. Many of his designs are humorous and playful, such as the Pony Chair and The Tipi, which is a chair made in the shape of a bird. Combining the Scandinavian tradition of simplicity with innovative use of materials, Aarnio creates furniture designs that are sculptural yet functional. His designs became iconic in popular culture during the 1960s, and his work is held in several museum collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He continues to design furniture, lighting, and everyday objects in his studio in Helsinki, where he lives and works.