Hand-Blown Glass Fixtures

Have you ever had the pleasure of working with molten glass?  It is one of the coolest things I have ever done on this Earth.  I’ve only done it in the winter when the 2800° glass furnace helps to heat the place you’re working.  When I was in undergraduate school, I blew two glass shades for the scenic designer for a show called Picasso at the Lapin Agile.  They were just plain clear glass, but I rigged them into fixtures by hammer shaping steel strap around them and into a wooden form.  It was cool!  I wish I could find pictures.

Anyhow – I found a post that reminded me of that experience, talking about two handblown glass lamps offered.  Instead of focusing on the two models, I dug a bit deeper and found other works by these two glass artists – Alison Berger and Lindsey Adelman.

Alison Berger – a woman trained in both architecture and art, and describes her medium as light and her material as glass.  Some history on Alison, from an article interviewing her at Wallpaper:

‘Some little girls want to be ballerinas, I wanted to be a glassblower,’ states Alison Berger, explaining the origins of a life-long passion for the craft. Fascinated by the delicate material formed from such a dramatic and physically demanding process, Berger was determined to get involved from the first moment she saw it being carried out. ‘I was 15 and walking home from school when I peeked in through a fence to see two guys glassblowing. I immediately introduced myself, made myself useful round the workshop and in exchange they taught me how to do it,’ she says.

Alison Berger’s Handblown Crystal Pendants:

Bell Pendant:

Alison’s “Cylinder Sconce”

Beautiful work – the “Cylinder Pendant” goes for about $3540, and there’s a several week wait.  The handblown stuff is definitely not cheap – but often times you’re getting a one-of-a-kind piece.

Now look at Lindsay Adelman’s work – first, some background on Lindsey:

After Lindsey Adams Adelman completed her BA in English from Kenyon College, she worked for the Smithsonian Institution where she discovered Industrial Design when meeting an exhibition fabricator carving French fries out of foam. Inspired by the thought of an activity like this passing for a real job, she went on to earn her BFA in I.D. from the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduation, she worked for Resolute Lighting in Seattle before returning to her native New York to work for David Weeks Studio. In 2000, Weeks and Adelman founded Butter, a design studio focusing on affordable products for the home. In 2005, they said good-bye to Butter and Adelman set off to work on her own projects, including launching a successful line of hand-blown custom chandeliers as well as spending endless hours making intricate, meticulous drawings with human hair. The work has been included in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial and Design Miami and has received awards from the ICFF Editors, ID, Blueprint, and the Altoids Curiously Strong Designer Awards. It has been published in The New York Times, The World of Interiors, Met Home, Interior Design, Paper, Harper’s Bazaar, and American Craft, as well as in the books New Designers: Americas, Dish, and Brooklyn Design among others. Lindsey lives with her husband Ian and their son Finn in Brooklyn.

Most of these works are from the “Bubble” series – multiple globes branching out to form a unique shape.

Two different artists in the same medium – the contrast in styles is beautiful, but I refuse to pick one.  It’s beautiful work.  Check out Lindsey Adelman’s Glass Studio and Alison Berger‘s work.

Thanks, Plug Lighting and Remodelista!