Harri Koskinen was born in Karstula, Finland in 1970. He studied at University of Art and Design in Helsinki. He became famous vertically overnight when he presented his Block lamp at the furniture fair in Cologne and Milan. Block consisted of a single light bulb encased in a slab of glass made to look like a block of ice.
Many leading design brands in Finland soon followed, including stackable kitchen containers for Arabia that were simple and versatile in their design. He has begun to work with more international manufactures and recently designed a watch for the Japanese company Seiko. In 2000, he was named Young Designer of the Year by the Design Forum Finland.