hellène gaulier combines blown glass and brass to create unique vessels

‘les pitres’ is a fruit of a collaboration started in 2015 between designer hellène gaulier, the centre international d’art verrier of meisenthal (CIAV) and publisher bernard chauveau. for this research project, the designer and a team of glassmakers worked together around the idea of incorporating brass pieces into the hot glass making process. the result is playful vessels made of blown glass standing on thin brass legs.

all photos by gwenole gasnier – agence GG

the main challenge of this project has been to find solutions to combine hot glass and brass getting round the constraints and seeming incompatibility of these two materials. each piece of gaulier’s series required a specific plaster mold — the spaces left empty in the blown glass vessels allowed to insert the pre-machined brass pieces, which made possible the unlikely combination of metal and glass.

project info:

designer: hellène gaulier

advisor: bernard chauveau

with the centre international d’art verrier of meisenthal (CIAV)

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.