Blowing bubbles: Designer brings musicality to glass craft

Eindhoven – Fascinated by the connection between glassblowers and the material they create, designer Philipp Weber remodelled the classic blowpipe with trumpet-style accoutrements.

The reinvented pipe has three openings, as opposed to the traditional one, allowing the user to choose which valve to open, how to control his breath and how the molten glass forms. It was used in a performance, Strange Symphony, featuring Belgian glassblower Christophe Gerard.

In the video, Gerard moves as if he were a musician, creating fluid bubbled pieces. The accompanying soundtrack by Berlin-based Johannes Arolt was added later, using music from clarinets, a trumpet and saxophone recorded in the glassblowing factory.

‘The soundtrack supports the musicality and the rhythm, which I saw hidden in the craft,’ Weber tells LS:N Global. ‘During the process, a real performance of glassblowing developed. Christophe Gerard began to improvise with the glass like a jazz musician.’

We are seeing a growing use of sound as an interactive tool, harnessed by brands to create immersive experiences. To see how your brand can use sound, read our Soundscapes macrotrend.