here's one I made earlier :: same same - confessions of a design geek

This article was published 12 years

Upcycling is everywhere, but I recently discovered a really interesting take on it – young designer Laura Jungmann works with artisanal glass blower, Cornelius Reer, to reform mass produced, but new, bottles into unique glass vessels, adding value in the process. I was keen to find out more, so I spoke to Laura about what inspired the project and how the end products are made…

“SAMESAME started with my diploma thesis in 2013, where I used old products/trash to produce new usable objects. A series of transformed bottles, made out of used empty glass vessels and bottles, emerged from this thesis. In the beginning of 2014 Cornelius Réer and I decided to found a company and we developed the objects further in order to be able to produce and sell them in small quantities,” says Laura.

“Today SAMESAME is less a recycling project – we still use old bottles for unique pieces and exhibitions – but for the buyable series of the five products that you’ll find on our shop, we buy bottles from industrial, european glass productions. The term upcycling is in this case not used for describing a recycling process, where you use waste products, it’s more the recycling of an industrial product which is considered as a low value object. By transforming the bottle into a new product, like a water or wine carafe, this disposable product increases in value and extends its ‘lifetime’.”

“For my diploma thesis in 2013, I was looking for traditional craftsmen in my region, Southern Germany, who would be open and “innovative” enough to help me to realise some new products, made out of waste. There are not a lot of glassblowers left in Germany, and Cornelius is certainly one of the most innovative and creative. He has his own glass workshop in Nuremberg, where he produces his own collection. He has a strong sense of colour and form and the expert knowledge to realise these in his workshop.”

“We spent some time in his workshop experimenting with old bottles for my diploma thesis, and then after my diploma presentation we decided to produce and sell a small series of products. We founded a company at the beginning of this year and the SAMESAME label was born.”

“Designing and making go hand in hand. I am the product designer and Cornelius is the glassblower, but the design of the bottle happens during the making. Cornelius Réer knows the constraints and challenges of the material and I am the one that had the idea of using bottles as basic material, but in the end we are both designing and deciding as we go.”

“Every single bottle is taken with the blowpipe and reheated inside and in front of the kiln. When the glass reaches the right temperature and viscosity, Cornelius uses traditional glassblowing tools to change the shape. The beer bottle is picked up at the neck and then re-inflated in several steps. The clear water bottle is picked up at the bottom and the neck is opened and transformed into a carafe.”

“We use only standard bottles that are not connected with a special company. And then we try to change the form without destroying the recognition value of the bottle’s industrial origin. With some simple and small transformations, we try to create a new object that has additional functional or aesthetic value.”

“My favourite part of the process is the moment when the first pieces leave the lehr, after 12 hours of slowly cooling down. The process of transformation has to be very rapid and after this you need a slow cooling down phase to avoid damages. Only the next day you can really see the results.”