The Magical Beauty of Mouth-Blown Glass

• Posted on 22 January 2020
• By Susannah
• Posted in On Our Shelves
• 0

Call us eternal optimists, but when our shelves are full of gorgeous glassware—even when our glasses are all completely empty—our hearts feel full.

Your favorite glass is the one you want to reach for again and again (and again). You like the feel of the rim, the heft in the hand, the way it sits on the table, how it catches the light. We've noticed that our current go-to favorites have a perfectly imperfect vibe to them. Their wavery, watery beauty—complete with tiny organic bubbles—comes from the ancient art of mouth-blowing glass. Pioneered in Rome (literally) thousands of years ago, the practice of individually mouth-blowing glassware is a slow and beautiful process. And, as with most everything that takes time and human intention, the resulting pieces are staggeringly beautiful.

The super-subtle organic differences in shape? That comes from the touch of humanity and we absolutely love that.

We carry several collections of mouth-blown glassware and each has its own distinct vibe and sensibility.

Our Mexican Glassware is made in a second-generation woman-run furnace in a small town in Jalisco called Tonala, a region long renowned for its glassblowing history. Each piece is individually crafted by a team of three glass blowers working in an open air studio using only recycled glass stock. Picture bougainvillea hanging over the finishing kiln. From the Foundry-favorite Roli Poli glasses to their sangria-ready hand-shaped carafes, these pieces are both elegant and bohemian, simple and classic, made to be used, cheersed, and loved.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Sebastian and Valentina Nobile (he’s a glassblower, she’s an artist), La Soufflerie's everyday pieces are inspired by ancient Roman and Gallic silhouettes and made from recycled glass in their Paris-based workshop. "We are a group of artisans now," says Valentina. "We use ancien forms and techniques—we blow mainly sitting down using a clay oven—to make utilitarian everyday objects." If the resulting subtly organic pieces look like something you'd find in an effortlessly chic, airy garret apartment in the 7eme in Paris after waking up from a fabulous absinthe dream...it's because that's totally what they are.

Whereas La Soufflerie and our Mexican Glassware are both free-blown (where the artisan forms the shapes by hand), glassware from Henry Dean—a second-generation glassblowing studio in Belgium—is mold-blown using wooden forms, in the Roman way. Every time the mold is used, the heat of the molten glass burns out the wood just a little bit, giving each subsequent piece an ever-so-slightly different character. The repetition of form paired with the subtle variations in pretty palettes and tiny bubbles is a wonder to behold (especially when backlit by a flickering candle—one of our favorite applications for their signature Mary and Clovis vessels).

Iconic glassware from Dibbern is also mold-blown and hand cut, but with a classically refined European sensibility to the pieces and palettes. The glasses are impossibly elegant and airy-light, with elevated, streamlined silhouettes paired with timeless finishing techniques—like the striking watery optical Rotondo glasses or the subtle ombre intensity of their colored pieces.

Whichever one speaks to you, calling out to be filled with morning OJ, midday frizzante, or evening cocktail, we hope your glasses (and your hearts) are always full.