From its delicately cracked appearance and its tiny roughness, the brilliance of light emanates. Blown glass – whose method’s origin is often attributed to the Near East in the 1st century BC – has conquered many cultures in the four corners of Europe and across generations.

In the lagoon of Venice, the island of Murano has perpetuated this tradition since the 13th century, when the first master glassmakers settled there. Their top-notch work was quickly noticed and contributed to the reputation of the island and especially of this art.

Breath of creativity

Primarily composed of silica - that famous sand which, at low temperatures, becomes molten and malleable - glass can then be worked and shaped. The blowing process involves melting a mass of glass in a high-temperature furnace, which is then gathered on a blowing pipe. Through this technique, glassblowers breathe new life into the material, offering endless possibilities of shapes and colors, that make each creation unique.

From vases, lamps, sculptures, mirrors, and hooks to carafes and glasses - blown glass dazzles in all its splendor. This is evident in the lighting fixtures designed by the Maison Bomma, crafted in Svetla, Czech Republic. Whether transparent, colored, or gradient, blown glass bewitches, through its beauty and brings a distinctly contemporary touch to our interiors.

Between design and craftsmanship

Today, designers rely on this ancestral know-how to design unique pieces, at the crossroads of art and design. Like the blown glass vases by Swedish artist Hanna Hansdotter. Painted in a glass factory, her works clashes with their moving pictoriality, representing the fluidity of man. Or the creations of the artist Laetitia Jacquetton, decorative vases with organic shapes. Here, the glass embraces the rock and creates a perfect osmosis between the elements of nature.

As for the designer Vanessa Mitrani, she has been exploring the complexity of blown glass for twenty years, which she regularly combines with other materials such as leather, marble, and porcelain. After collaborating with major furniture designers such as Roche Bobois, Ligne Roset, or Habitat, she created her own eponymous brand in 2002.