Milan 2010: British brand Established & Sons have collaborated with Italian glass company Venini to lauch a collection of objects by designers including Konstantin Grcic, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Above: Blow High by Konstantin Grcic.

The Bouroullec design (top image) is called Lighthouse and features a glass shade balanced on an aluminium spike over a marble base.

Above: Audrey Vase by Michael Eden Audrey. Micheal Eden found inspiration for his Audrey lights and vase in Renato Giuseppe Bertelli’s ultra modern interpretation of portraiture with the sculpture Continuous Profile – Head of Mussolini, 1933. The idea of mirror imaging silhouettes resonates in Eden’s design. All the pieces of his vase are individually hand- blown, either free-blown where the form is controlled by the skill of the blower or blown into moulds where more complex shapes are required. The vase uses the contrast between the inside and outside components to juxatapose strong and subtle colours. The heads appear to the viewer inside the outer boundary of the vase.

Grcic created a table with a blown-glass base, while London designer Michael Eden designed vases and lamps with profiles that look like silhouettes of faces.

Above: Audrey Light by Michael Eden Audrey . The Audrey Light by Micheal Eden was designed in two forms, differing in dimension whilst remaining consistent in their portrayal of the designer’s initial inspiration, the Continuous Profile - Head of Mussolini. The main body of both lights is suspended from steel cables with its shape creating silhouettes of Bertelli’s mirrored faces. Hereby, Eden creates the designs’ contours following the same principles as he did in the creation of the silhouette of his vase for the Venini collection.

The collection is on show at La Pelota, Via Palermo 10, Milan, until 18 April.

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The text below is from Established & Sons:

Established & Sons is proud to announce their collaboration with Venini and will launch the glassware collection during the 2010 Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.

Above: Audrey Light by Michael Eden Audrey . Both suspension lights create the illusion of two faces filling the space around the solid glass form of the pieces. All components of the lights are hand-blown and together with art historical source of inspiration, enable the designer to portray age-old ideas and methods in a modern and exquisite form.

Above: Audrey Light by Michael Eden Audrey . Both suspension lights create the illusion of two faces filling the space around the solid glass form of the pieces. All components of the lights are hand-blown and together with art historical source of inspiration, enable the designer to portray age-old ideas and methods in a modern and exquisite form.

“Collaborating with Venini represents the first time Established & Sons has worked with another company on a collection. We are extremely protective over the Established & Sons brand and would only share it with a company of the highest quality and integrity. In choosing to work with Venini we are certainly working with a company that reflects those values in abundance,” says Alasdhair Willis, CEO Established & Sons.
Founded in 1921 on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon, Venini glassware is handmade using the same wooden and metal tools that were used centuries of years ago, with an incredible workshop of highly skilled artisan fifth generation glass blowers. From the outset, Venini broke away from the traditional production methods of glassware and design constraints, and embraced an avant-garde style, implementing high quality techniques and colour pallets that have become synonymous with the brand to date.

Above and top: Lighthouse by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. When designing for Established & Sons and Venini, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s idea was to light up a voluminous round glass structure that would be supported by a delicate aluminum stick. They worked on the precariousness of the equilibrium: there is one and only, sharp point of contact, no fixation, as if the glass was in its originate state, hanging insecurely from the blowing pipe. Ronan and Erwan wanted to work on the vulnerability of the object. What was also interesting to them was the mix of techniques to make the three elements that craft this lamp: the base and the stick are industrially made in opposition to the glass that has been blown using old tradition methods. The colour of the Lighthouse varies in function of the Murano glass colour palette, from light pink to vibrant orange. The base is marble.

Venini’s world famous techniques and use of colour are what initially attracted Established & Sons Design Development Director Sebastian Wrong when discussing collaboration. Established & Sons have combined their focus in producing innovative contemporary design with the mastery of Venini’s glass manufacturing for their ongoing partnership.

Above: Blow High by Konstantin Grcic. Konstantin Grcic’s Blow uses Venini’s artisan hand- blown glass to create a voluptuous organic form. Blow explores the physical boundaries of hand-blown glass. The main body of the table is conceived as a free form bubble onto which the table top of sheet glass is attached. The fascination of the piece lies in the large scale of blown glass as well as in the combination of translucent Venini colours.

Established & Sons have united existing designers from its stable including Sebastian Wrong and Ronan and Erwan Bourrollec and are introducing Michael Eden and Konstantin Grcic to the ensemble to design for the collaboration.

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