Kinderbal - double set of handmade glasses in CMYK and RGB variants
Kinderbal are simple glasses, which design is focused on the detail of a single relief migrating at three heights, allowing the glasses to be stacked.
Colors taken from contemporary color spaces - CMYK and RGB - were created based on the receiving properties of the human eye. By stacking the glasses, the user can create full color palettes and play with mixing the reflected colors.
Kinderbal is made by hand, blown into wooden molds, while glass in tinted in glass mass, not spray painted.
Regional
Poland
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
The glasses are a prototyped product, made by hand by blowing glass into wooden molds. Each glass has a diameter of 55 mm, a height of 100 mm and a capacity of 200 ml. The entire set consists of 6 glasses (3 glasses in CMYK set and 3 in RGB).
Kinderbal is the result of human labor and specific skills, which are being replaced by mechanized high-volume production. The glass is tinted in the mass, which will become an exception on a European scale within the next few years, given that there are already literally a few glass factories in Poland, that tint glass instead of painting. Painting is a much cheaper technology, but mass tinting is long-lasting and provides a unique visual effect.
The cylindrical shapes refer to the geometric, compact forms of vases and jugs and the predilection for the colorful, gradient Polish glass of the 1960s and 1970s.
Kinderbal reinterprets these assumptions, responding to contemporary challenges:
- the simple, utilitarian form of the glasses, focusing on the detail of a single relief that migrates at three heights, allowing the glasses to be stacked
- the reinterpretation of gradients is to isolate single, pure colors, which I took from contemporary color spaces - CMYK and RGB, created based on the perceptual properties of the human eye. One set consists of glasses of cyan, magenta and yellow (CMYK), and the other of red, green and blue (RGB). By stacking the glasses, the user can create full color palettes and play with mixing the reflected colors
- Glass of the 1960s and 1970s was often exclusively decorative. In modern times of overproduction, I was keen to design objects that were primarily utilitarian, hence the decision to make glasses that would find their way into both everyday and cocktail situations.
cultural belonging through references on glass design history
maintenance of glass crafts and high quality solutions
supporting a vanishing profession by combining the manual work of the craftsman with the digitalized work of the designer
opportunity for broad development thanks to the expressive visual plasticity of glass
emotional attachment due to the durability of the product
The project involves making glasses from a material of natural origin, namely glass smelted from Polish sand. Each batch of mined sand has subtly different parameters, which bring out a slight variation in the final visual effect. The same is true of glass tinting in the mass, which is used instead of surface painting. It's a manual process that comes with a higher execution price, but also an extraordinary visual value. Any glass that does not meet the set requirements is re-melted. Glasses dyed in the mass are, in a way, eternal, because their colors will never fade or rub off. On the other hand, their aesthetic value engages users, who attach an emotional value to a apparently ordinary object. This results in attachment and care for the object, which is then passed down from generation to generation.
Kinderbal draws inspiration from Polish design of the 1960s and 1970s, recalling an outstanding era in Polish functional glass design. The retro inspiration is enriched by contemporary knowledge of the human eye's color perception, referring to CMYK and RGB color palettes. The design refers both to the distinctive shapes and details of the glass solids, but also to the color scheme. The most important thing about the project, however, is the fresh, contemporary look at what a seemingly ordinary everyday object can be. Once the user becomes attached to the object, the glass stops being just a glass - it becomes an object of favorite use. Something that everyone wants to take care of, brag about, admire and use for many years. The aesthetic value of the design influences its perception and creates an emotional bond.
The execution of the Kinderbal project takes into account the needs of several social groups, at different stages of production. First, it draws attention to the vanishing profession of glassmakers and the need to involve them in new projects that sustain the sense of existence of their profession. Employing glassblowers to tint glass and form it by hand puts their work beyond the capabilities of sophisticated machinery. In addition, glassblowers are currently mostly older people who have a great passion for their work. The glassware produced then becomes a product for anyone who appreciates slowly maturing design. Kinderbal responds to the needs of those who want to surround themselves with glass objects produced locally, from Polish raw materials. The timeless design does not exclude anyone based on age or gender, encouraging everyone to choose local items for everyday use.
Kinderbal glasses are an everyday item. An item that is used repeatedly, in everyday as well as festive situations. I wanted a thing as down-to-earth as a glass to be a symbol of everyday change, thanks to its high-end workmanship and distinctive design. Kinderbal glasses are an item designed for both children and adults to use. By choosing a Kinderbal glass, the user chooses to transform their daily life into a sustainable ritual, based on aesthetics and functionality. There is also the other face of the design, which is the entire process of making Kinderbal in the glassworks. It involves specialists who perform a vanishing profession. Currently, glassworks in Poland that want to tint glass in the mass can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Rising energy prices are discouraging glassworks from making the effort to make glass using this technique, so they opt for painting. In my opinion, this is a huge loss, which I want to fight against, because of the unique history of Polish glass.
Making everyday glass requires the involvement of a designer, that is me, and glassmakers who specialize in glass molded in wooden molds. Currently, it is very difficult to find such a glass factory, because the dynamic situation on the market, the war in Ukraine and the dramatic increase in energy prices are causing factories that have been working with glass for decades to close down. During the development of the prototype, I cooperated with a glassworks in the Polish region of Pomorze, which is more than 400 km from where I live. Currently I am looking for another glassworks to cooperate with, and I am considering any glassworks in Poland that deals with glass colored in the mass. I am also in contact with glassworks from Ukraine.
1. designer: visualizing the design concept from idea, through sketch, 3D model and prototype in 3D printing. Creating an idea of what design for an everyday object will not turn out to be waste in the long run.
2. wood turner: making a wooden mold for blowing glass
3. glassblower: specializing in blowing colored glass into wooden molds. This work requires special accuracy, years of experience and teamwork.
Each of these stages of creating the Kinderbal project, influenced each other. The project is innovative, but it had to be realized with technology, which has its limitations. I participated in every execution stage, supervised every detail of the Kinderbal glasses, choosing the thickness of the bottom, the walls, the type of finish or the intensity of the colors.
First of all, the Kinderbal design uses the disappearing technology of glass tinting in the mass. This is a unique quality of glass making that has a long and beautiful history in Polish functional glass design. Examples of colored glass in the mass are also seen in Czech, Slovak, German, French, Italian design, among others. I can say with certainty that if projects such as Kinderbal do not start a global change, all examples of mass-colored everyday objects may disappear from the market within the next few years. They will be replaced by paint glass, which is devoid of a soul, because the colors are chosen from the RAL palette. In my opinion, it is the visual effect and quality of the mass-colored glass that is unique and worthwhile. I believe that in times of overproduction, it is an art to make such items that will prove their quality by using them for decades.
My dream is to establish cooperation with glassworks from all over Europe to test technological possibilities, as well as to establish international collaborations. The Kinderbal project could be the beginning of an international glassmaking collaboration to preserve and care for the handmade glass techniques that are unique and different for each country in Europe. I would like to collect disappearing knowledge by realizing Kinderbal in different countries. Such cooperation would have a positive impact on glass design throughout Europe, and could result in international collaborations of exchanges and workshops.
The problem of making tinted glass is one that affects all of Europe. The history of making colored glass using human manual skills is being systematically supplanted by mechanical solutions. If I am successful in continuing the development of Kinderball I will be able to contact glassworks from all over Europe to establish collaborations to keep the culture of handmade glass alive. I believe that Kinderball's design is so timeless that it would find its way into any country and provide an excuse for a global conversation about the disappearing craft of glassmaking.
