If you like to enjoy a hot drink on your journey to work in the morning, take a look at these stunning double-walled glass bottles. Aquaovo specifically thought of tea drinkers when developing their flask. Simply place your tea in the space under the lid, and add boiling water to the container. When you are ready for a fresh brew, just invert the bottle to mix the water with the tea leaves. Stylish, practical and brewed perfectly to your taste!
The double-wall of glass helps to insulate the liquids inside, keeping them warmer (or colder) for longer than containers made from other materials. The outer layer of glass stays at room temperature, ensuring the bottle is easy to hold and preventing condensation from forming. And as they are made of glass, the contents are not tainted by the packaging.
The bottles produced by Silodesign are designed more for the table. Cold drinks, hot sauces, or even soup can be stylishly served from these beautiful containers. And the contents will taste just as the chef intended!
“Anyone can do anything with a million dollars. Look at Disney. But it takes more than money to make something out of nothing, and look at the fun I have doing it,” Grandma Prisbrey.
Despite her hard life, it is easy to suspect that Tressa ‘Grandma’ Prisbrey must have been a lot of fun. In 1956, at the age of 60, Prisbrey began to construct a structure to house her collection of pencils in Simi Valley California. Made of glass bottles which she found at the local dump, the small building she constructed eventually housed more than 17,000 pencils.
That was just the beginning. Over the following three years Prisbrey constructed another 12 colourful bottle houses to contain her various collections (including one containing dolls’ heads). The result is now known as Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village. Prisbrey continued constructing with empty bottles, adding walls, wishing wells, sculptures and planters.
Grandma Prisbrey was enormously proud of the Bottle Village and happily escorted visitors on tours. She also began to find recognition as an artist and her works featured in a number of exhibitions. The Village remained Grandma Prisbrey’s home until 1982, when at the age of 86 she moved to live with her daughter.
In the early 1980s, the Village was declared a Californian state landmark. However, in early 1994 the Village was struck by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake which caused serious damage. Despite being added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1996, funding for repairs has been limited and the future of the village remains uncertain. Yet it remains as a testament to the courage and willpower of an amazing lady who made something truly beautiful with nothing more than recycled glass.
If you’re around California over the holidays we recommend it as a must-see. Maybe you will hear Grandma Prisbrey whistling as the wind passes over the open bottles!
In a bid to set itself apart in the crowded Australian beer market, Carlton United Brewers has adopted a revolutionary embossed bottle for the company’s Victoria Pale Lager. It is currently Australia’s only beer with a fully-embossed label.
The technology used to create the embossing was also behind an internally embossed ‘vortex’ bottle developed for Miller Lite in the US and for New Zealand brewer Tui. MillerCoors believes the innovative bottle design was behind a 6% increase in sales of Miller Lite. Gage Roads Brewing from Australia is also now using the internal vortex on its Wahoo line.
Carlton United’s marketing team were so excited by prototypes of the new design, they accepted it immediately. The company believes that the striking glass packaging will provide consumers with an impression of premium quality, at little additional expense for the beer maker.
What do you think of this new invention? Share your opinion on our Facebook page.
Each year Evian releases a new collectible glass bottle in time for the holiday season. This year’s edition has been designed by the French fashion label Courrèges to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company’s founding.
The elegant and stylish limited-edition bottle will really add class to any festive table. Inspired by a playful white and pink dress, originally designed by Courrèges in the 1960s, the bottle has been deliberately styled to show the transparency and purity of the water inside.
Evian were so impressed with the result that they agreed to change the colour of their logo on the bottle to the hot pink selected by Courrèges.
The 2012 bottle joins previous bottle designs by Paul Smith, Issey Miyake, Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier. All are now highly collectible, but which one is your favourite?
2008: Christian Lacroix
2009: Jean-Paul Gaultier
2010: Paul Smith
2011: Issey Miyake
2012: Courrèges
We still love the Issey Miyake. We drank the water but now we fill it with pretty flowers instead! And how about you?
Over the summer we hope many of you have been gathering sea glass as you stroll along the beach. But how to display your collection? While we might not all have the patience and skills of Alison Goyette (see our story on Boston Sea Glass) to turn them into jewellery, it is easy to create a sea-glass mobile as you can see in this video from Martha Stewart.
You just need sea glass, pieces of driftwood, cement glue and some fishing line. You can also include other objects such as stones or beads.
Wrap the string around the sea glass and tie into a double knot. Secure with a dab of cement glue. Continue until you have a string of the desired length and then attach to a piece of driftwood. You can add pieces of driftwood to create branches for the mobile or just runall the lengths of sea glass off one branch.
Hang your creation in front of a window to illuminate the glass and it will also tinkle beautifully in a breeze. Don’t forget to share your creations on the Friends of Glass Facebook page!
As part of New York Design Week, the Japan Premium Beef store in the NoHo area of Manhatten displayed this glass sculpture by Sam Baron. Originally from France, Baron is now Creative Director at Fabrica, an international communications research centre.
The delicate installation was hung in the window of the store, combining the beauty of glass with the beauty of a good handmade sausage.
Water towers are a common feature of our built environments. But many have reached the end of their lives and new uses have to be found for the buildings. Take this example on the outskirts of Antwerp, Belgium. Using glass, the owners have transformed this six-storey derelict tower into a fabulous home with stunning views over the Braaschaat forest. Opaque glass is used to provide privacy on the public sides of the building, while clear glass provides amazing views over the forest on the other two sides. There are more photos of the building at Inhabitat.
Do you have a glass building in your neighbourhood? Why not share it on our Facebook page?
New York artist Mark Reigelman has delved back into his childhood to recreate the living room he grew up in. The main difference though is that each piece of furniture in the new version is covered in broken glass. At first glance it looks as though each piece could be taken out of the gallery and utilised. While fun and thought provoking, we’re not sure it would be that comfortable! The exhibition is on at New York’s Heller Gallery where you can order items from the collection.
Alison Goyette grew up near the beach where she now collects the main raw material for her beautiful jewellery creations – sea glass. Marketed as Boston Sea Glass, each jewel is unique as it is created by the action of salt and sand on the glass over many years.
Alison combines the sea glass with metals and other materials such as beads and pearls to create necklaces, earrings and even cards. Bespoke pieces are popular with brides who want something unique for their big day or a special gift for their bridesmaids. Pieces for summer beach weddings are very popular!
Have you collected any sea glass on holidays this year? We’d love to see the shapes and colours – why not share them on the Friends of Glass Facebook page.
Whether you are creating a dinner party extravaganza for friends or just a simple dinner for the family, nothing livens up your cooking more than fresh herbs. But growing fresh herbs takes time and a lot of space doesn’t it?
Not any more with this wonderful idea for a window-ledge herb garden from our friends at Design Sponge. Using discarded bottles, you can create a self-watering herb garden that will be the envy of your neighbours. You will need at least one wine bottle, a small piece of mesh, some string and your favourite herbs. Take a look at the easy instructions on Design Sponge and share your results with us on our Facebook page.
If you like to enjoy a hot drink on your journey to work in the morning, take a look at these stunning double-walled glass bottles. Aquaovo specifically thought of tea drinkers when developing their flask. Simply place your tea in the space under the lid, and add boiling water to the container. When you are ready for a fresh brew, just invert the bottle to mix the water with the tea leaves. Stylish, practical and brewed perfectly to your taste! 
