The dramatic fire
The howl of the fire whistle in the night , blackened shreds of roof flying through the air and the immense whooshing noise of the fire woke up the glass village in June 1950 . Everyone who could jumped out of bed , quickly put on some clothes and ran to the glass factory . The glass hot shop was in full blaze . They were able to limit the fire , but the hot shop was lost . At the site of the destruction , the mood was devastating : it was not the start of the summer holidays but instead , the beginning of the end . This was what was on most people ’ s minds , as the factory owner had under-insured his property and could not continue operations . The Wärtsilä Yhtymä conglomerate , however , saw possibilities in Nuutajärvi . The corporation bought the factory , renovated and modernized it . For example , it hired the factory ’ s first artistic director , designer Kaj Franck . It also started a fruitful co-operation between glassblowers and artists .