Glass-blowing + Willow branches = Spontaneous
Pilglas is a project by Jonas Larsen and Yuki Tango at Studio Trojka who wove together two old crafts that are still alive in the Skåne region, willow weaving and glass-blowing.
Wooden, metal and graphite moulds are most commonly used in glass manufacturing. The purpose is for all glass objects to have the same size and look. Jonas Larsen and Yuki Tango wanted to explore other materials and principles for making glass moulds, to create unique objects. Since their interest fell on basket weaving that is common in the region and willow is the material used, they decided to make mould from locally grown willow.
“When we blew hot glass into the mould, smoke and steam came out of the branches, and some of them burned away. The fresh branches hold the moisture just like a soft wooden mould. But our mould changes during production; some branch shrinks, changes direction, shape or burns away. Therefore, all vases become a little different even if they are produced in moulds. A unique shape but similar, ‘same, same – but different’. All manufacturing takes place in the Skåne region.”
For four years, they have developed unique vessel series, Pilglas, that received a design scholarship from region Skåne in 2019. The project has been shown in London, Tokyo, at several exhibitions in Sweden, including Utvalt and Den Nya Kartan. Pilglas has also been collaborating with the Swedish fashion label, Tiger of Sweden. They are now taking an entirely new step and are going to present light installations with their Pilglas technology during Southern Sweden Design Days.
Project website: pilglas.se
Instagram: @pilglas
