Recycled Coloured Hand Blown Glassware.
Bold and exuberant, the colours redolent
of Mexico. The glass is not for the faint
hearted or for those who favour the symmetry
of the production line. Each piece is
born from chance material and skill and
is a marriage between hand and eye.
Our glassware is made in a family-run workshop using Pepsi bottles and other discarded glass that are at the end of their reusable life. The glass is melted down and then blown, and each piece is shaped by hand and eye using techniques that date back thousands of years. The trace of the maker is captured as the glass solidifies – small ripples and optical distortions are an integral part of the glassware. It is not for those who favour the symmetry of the production line. We stock three ranges of recycled hand-blown glass: engraved glassware, clear glass, and coloured and two-tone glassware. Bold and exuberant and produced in an abundance of colours and combinations redolent of Mexico – turquoise and red, purple and red, turquoise and yellow, olive, plum, red and clear – our glassware includes jugs, wine glasses, bowls, vases and tumblers. All our glass is dishwasher-friendly.
We have worked with one family run workshop for fifteen years. We send them designs in the form of black and white line drawings, with lists of colours that we want each shape to be made in. They send us bales of shredded newspaper with a beautiful coloured glass buried within it.
Pepsi bottles at the end of their reusable life and other discarded glass objects are collected and melted down. Coloured pigments are added to vats of molten glass. The glass blower twists the pole into the crucible until he has a coloured slug on the end of it. This is then used to pick up a larger body of clear glass. The glass is then blown with the small amount of coloured glass forming a thin skin within the bubble. As it expands, while keeping it in continually motion, metal tools and damp newspaper are then used, to form the glass.
The glass is an evolving blend of Mexican sensibilities, traditional techniques and designs commissioned by buyers. The founder of the business, Gabriel Soirez, had two sons and seven daughters, all of who have been involved in the business to varying degrees. One of the daughters married a Belgian who brought with him some of the techniques used in morano glass making. Other influence have been American and Scandinavian design of the 20’s
The recycled glass with its bold, simple forms is at home in both contemporary and traditional or rustic settings. The clear glass particularly is reminiscent of 16th century blown glass and looks great with antique furniture. All the recycled glassware is mouth blown and hand formed, using techniques that date back millennia. Bubbles and minor imperfections are an intrinsic part of the glass that echoes the making process.
|
