Flutted glassware (Wahaca Glassware)

Milagros has worked with Wahaca, a chain of restaurants inspired by Mexican street food, to create a collection of glassware. The recycled glassware is clear with ribbs. The ribbs are created by fluting. We worked closely with this client to supply a tumbler, hi-ball, shot glass and carafe with dimensions that would provide the volumes and look and feel that they required. The distinct character of the glassware we supplied now forms part of the Wahaca brand identity. As part of this commission we worked with glass technology consultants in the UK and the craftspeople in Mexico, to ensure that the glass was durable enough to withstand the rough and tumble of the restaurant environment. Glass and the techniques used to work it date back thousands of years.

According to Pliny, the Roman historian, it was the Syrians who, in 5000 BC, accidentally discovered glass through observing a combination of natural materials catch fire during cooking. By 4000 BC it was used in the Middle East to decorate beads. By the Bronze Age, or about 1150 BC, coloured glass was widespread and used for cooking and drinking vessels. The earliest clear glass object dates from 800 BC. It is from Nineveh in Assyria and can be seen in the British Museum.

However, until the industrial revolution, glass was very expensive and its use was therefore limited. Its production requires a great deal of energy, and glass factories were often located near forests for the plentiful supply of wood needed to fuel the furnaces. Only in the last 200 years has glass become the ubiquitous material that we are all familiar with.

Milagro's familiarity with the glass making process mean that a number of different forms of glassware can be made available. The various production techniques employed in making glass effects the size, weight and finish of the resulting product.

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Flared tumblers
7.5 x 10cm
£4.50
BUY