Bottles Collection
Are there any irregularities in mass production?
How simple mass-produced bottles of green glass can become unique objects? Klaas Kuiken was intrigued by the question whether mass-produced items can show some kind of irregularities. It appeared to be the case with these bottles and Klaas turned their 'flaws' into something beautiful, re-forming them by using his own technique of glass-blowing.
The thickness of the glass was found to be different each time he cut one in half
Despite being mass-produced, Klaas discovered irregularities in the green glass bottles. The thickness of the glass was found to be different each time he cut one in half. In order to emphasize those differences, Klaas built his own glass-blowing installation consisting a modified oven and a compressor.
By first heating the bottles in the oven and then gently blowing some air in with the compressor, the glass bulges more on the thinner spots and less where it's thicker. This is how the bottles get their new, unique shape. Through a lot of experimenting with heat and pressure differences (and countless explosions and cracked bottles later), Klaas finally mastered the technique of creating a coherent family of individually shaped green bottles.
The glass bulges more on the thinner spots and less where it's thicker
The Bottles Collection consists of no less than 17 different models, all equally good-looking. They are available in our online shop, where you can peek at each and every one of them. That's going to be a tough decision!
* This collection was nominated for the 'New Materials Award'(2010)
