Contemporary hand-blown glass pieces are taking over as glass blowers are creating everything from unique lighting fixtures to colorful vases.
Photo by Richard Waite for Soneva
Harmonizing perfectly with both modern and classic spaces, hand-blown glass pieces “bring life and atmosphere to any living area, regardless of the mood that you have created,” says Hassan El Maoula, the commercial director at Verrum.
Whether hanging from the ceiling or positioned on a dining room table, homeowners are increasingly craving a personalized look to their space. “The beauty of hand-blown glass pieces is that each one is unique and no two are exactly alike,” adds El Maoula.
Reviving traditional glass-making craftsmanship, Verreum produces vases, lamps, small furniture pieces and more in collaboration with international designers, including Sacha Walckhoff.
Fascinated by the hand-blown procedure, El Maoula says that “witnessing a magical process, watching a human being drafting and breathing life into an object or material and turning it into a living soul, is a fabulous creation process.”
Jonathan Rogers’ Filigrana Pendant Mesh
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Rogers
Verrum Double Jeu Large Vase, Bronze and Pink
Photo courtesy of Filip Beranek
Verrum Double Jeu Carafe and Tumbler
Photo Courtesy of Filip Beranek
Jonathan Rogers, who started blowing glass at the age of 16, also creates hand-crafted glass pieces. Launching exclusively with Heal’s, the Filigrana pendant explores texture and pattern using a traditional Venetian cane-work technique. Rogers meticulously handcrafts each glass pendant in his workshop to create truly one-of-a-kind designs.
Meanwhile the Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives is taking hand-blown glass to the next level. In addition to creating visually exciting pieces, Soneva now uses local recycled glass — collecting between 1,100 and 2,200 pounds of glass from neighboring islands each month.
In conjunction with the Soneva Art & Glass program, the glass is washed, crushed and delivered to Soneva’s Glass Studio, where it is melted down in the company’s glass furnace and blown into extraordinary pieces of art. “Every piece from the smallest and most simple to the largest and most complex is one of a kind,” says Evan Venaas, chief glass specialist at Soneva Fushi.
Venaas believes that Soneva has started some very important conversations following its decision to be eco-conscious. “The fragile ecosystem exists everywhere in the world but it is increasingly important that humans realize that we are part of it,” he explains, “and that we make conscious decisions in life and business that support that understanding.”
