Transglass

Hope in a bottle

By CHRISTINE LIU

del.ico.us | digg it! | reddit!

print | email | 0 Comments

On any given night in with friends, a few bottles of something swell are usually, inevitably, drained. Putting the bottles out with the rest of the glass recycling is enough to make one feel virtuous. However, the tranSglass line of glasswares (like vases, tumblers and carafes—but does anyone really own one of those?), designed by Tord Boontje and Emma Woffenden for Artecnica, manages to give reused glass a fancy step up.

With the help of "Aid to Artisans," a nonprofit organization providing assistance to artisans worldwide, Guatemalan craftsmen collaborate with Boontje and Woffenden to elevate the lowly bottle—wine and beer, specifically—to a work of minimalist design. Through a clever slicing, dicing and re-piecing together of the glass, new silhouettes emerge (in various finishes, from polished to a satiny matte). Does anyone remember calculus class when the conic sections were demonstrated on an actual dual-cone prop? It's slightly reminiscent of how the tranSglass shapes form, with minimal cuts and close ties to the bottle's original soul: A bottom segment easily becomes a drinking cup, or you can slice off the neck and invert it for an intriguing vessel.

Now imagine sipping organic vodka infused with local fruit from a sinuous cup of recycled design. That's some multifaceted eco-friendly highballin' going down right there.

[Various designs available at Fiddlehead, 292 Newbury St., Boston. 617.247.1120. fiddlehead.us]