alain gilles creates chubby, the first upholstered glass stool for verreum

realized by belgian designer alain gilles, the chubby stool is the first of its kind — a furniture made out of glass which conveys real warmth and could be quite comfortable, hence its generous forms and friendly curves.

mixing materials not usually associated together to create the first upholstered glass furniture piece
image © boysplaynice

alain gilles‘ chubby collection plays on the iconic shape of a milk stool, while introducing an unusual combination of materials. developed for prague-based company verreum, the series combines fabric and glass — two materials never put together in a single product — to create an unexpected home object. the glass is mouth blown and silvered according to traditional techniques of czech republic, while the fabric consists of upholstered foam on which the person can comfortably sit — protecting them from the body of glass.

pink version of the alain gilles chubby glass stool
image © boysplaynice

the chubby stool collection has been showcased in october of this year, during the INTERIEUR KORTRIK biennale (BE) at the water bar as part of a curated selection done by lise coirier to commemorate the silver edition of the biennale.

generous curved shapes bring warmth to glass, a generally cold material

hand blown glass that has been silvered following a traditional technique from czech republic

the glass is hand blown with different colors / silver-like version

the making of: heating / melting process of the glass

applying white glass finish for the white stool to the underlying blown glass

 alain gilles chubby glass stool: the shaping process

finalizing the shape of the glass stool

the form is created using a wooden mold

finalizing the glass stool at the glassmaking workshop

project info: 

materials:  hand blown glass, silvering process, foam, upholstered fabric

dimensions: 30 x 48 cm  ( d x h )

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom