Product news: these lamps by Nendo are made by pressing a glass tube to create a narrow gap that clamps the light source in place.

The glass tubes by Nendo for Lasvit look as if they have been pinched, and the simple fold in the material means that no additional structure is required to support the light fitting.

A suspension version hangs from the pinched section, while the light source of the floor lamp balances in the fold.

Each Press Lamp is unique, as the glass pieces are blown individually by artisans at Czech firm Lasvit's atelier. Photography is by Yoneo Kawabe.

In Milan earlier this year Japanese studio Nendo launched a series of glass vases with surfaces resembling patchwork quilts and teamed up with Italian designer Luca Nichetto to create a range of products including a scaly carpet and a knitted room divider.

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Here's a short description from Lasvit:

Press Lamps, created by Nendo for Lasvit in 2012 are pure and minimalistic and are all hand-blown by Lasvit’s glass masters. Each piece is uniquely formed, and represents a brand new and unusual technique in hand-blown glass.

Cylindrical swing lamps and free-standing lamps twisted at the light bulb’s entrance. The Press Lamp design is available in two types: a pendant lamp and a floor lamp.

In this design, glass tubes are pressed as though they have been pinched, and the light source is fitted into the narrowed space that results. Unusual in the fact that it does not rely on a metal form, the compression of the glass produces a soft, organic form and imbues each lamp with a singular appearance.

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for Lasvit appeared first on Dezeen.

Weber updated an object that has been largely unchanged for 2,000 years by adding a set of valves that enable the glassblower to influence the inner shape of the material by opening and closing different air streams.

"As I started out, the question was how could I work on the inner shaping of the glass – it was a technical approach," Weber told Dezeen. "The relation between the glassblower and his tool is very important, since it bridges his connection to the material," he adds. "What if I change the tool? Does it change the material?"

Strange Symphony was Philipp Weber's graduation project at Design Academy Eindhoven and was tested by Belgian glassblower Christophe Genard, who Weber says was enthusiastic about the new possibilities it offered him.

"I guess it was the playfulness it provoked in him; in the later stage he went wild on the glass," says Weber. "It was as if I was watching a jazz performance. I think and hope he gained another and different perspective on approaching glassmaking through this project."

The DMY International Design Festival Berlin is one of the stops on our Dezeen and MINI World Tour, and we'll be publishing more stories and videos from the event in the next few days.

Last week a glass pendant with a tiny brass chandelier inside it was presented at ICFF in New York, while Norwegian designers StokkeAustad and Andreas Engesvik created a series of blown-glass trees for Stockholm Design Week earlier this year – see all stories about glass.

Here are some more details about the project:

In 'Creation of a strange Symphony' Philipp Weber portrays the performance of a glassblower using a new and unusual tool.

Pivotal to this work was Weber's desire to discover the world of a glassblower. In Belgium he was able to watch glassblower Christophe Genard working with the hot material. The designer questioned himself, 'How can I inspire his interest to work with me?'.

Genard's most important tool, the blowing pipe, caught Weber's attention. In the past 2000 years only minor alterations have been made to the 1.5m long steel pipe, with no effect to the material. 'What would happen to the glass if the function of this tool radically changed? How would Christophe adapt to a new pipe?'.

And so, by manipulating the pipe, he took influence on the inner shaping of the glass.

Simultaneously to this process, Weber also sensed a strong rhythm and musicality in the way Genard was working on the glass. The pipe as a tool for glass production, appeared to be like a musical instrument to him.

He could not resist the idea to translate the mechanism of a trumpet into an application for blowing glass.

Together with an engineer and the knowledge from preceding experiments for a new tool, he worked on an 'instrument' – an allegoric bond of craft and music – inspiring Genard to 'improvise' the glass, to start a dialogue with the material.

Playing the valves, Genard would shape the glass from inside, activating different air streams. The transformation of the pipe into an instrument provoked a performance of glass making. A short-movie, several glass objects and the instrument itself communicate this dance with the fire.

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by Philipp Weber appeared first on Dezeen.

New York 2013: designers Young & Battaglia debuted a glass pendant lamp with a tiny chandelier inside for design brand Mineheart at ICCF last month.

A miniature brass chandelier sits within a hand-blown glass shade that is shaped like a light bulb but with an open bottom. Minute candles set on two tiers each give off a small glow.

Designed with chrome fittings, the lamp hangs from the ceiling on a two-metre-long braided cable. A longer cable can be supplied on request. The King Edison lamp is named after Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, and references regal chandeliers.

Young & Battaglia have also designed wallpaper to turn any room into an Italian palazzo for Mineheart. Dezeen's most recent stories about lamps include a chalice-shaped set with concrete bases and terracotta table lights with conical shades.

Other products launched in New York included a tap by Philippe Starck that uses half the water of a regular faucet and an elongated chair with a faceted back. We travelled to New York design week for our Dezeen and MINI World Tour. Watch Stephen Burks give a tour of the city's High Line park here and see all our coverage of the event here.

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Young & Battaglia for Mineheart appeared first on Dezeen.

The Leimu lamps have tapered concrete bottoms that continue upward as glass. A bulb is placed at the top of this stem so light emanates thought the bowl above.

Finnish glass company Iittala will release two sizes of Pettersen's lights in September this year. The lamps were on show during Clerkenwell Design Week, where lights made of cable ties and felt cocoons were also exhibited.

Last year Pettersen contributed a side table from his Locker furniture range to the Stepney Green Design Collection curated by Dezeen, and has also designed a set of concrete stationery.

Other lamps we've recently featured include terracotta pots with conical shades and lights based on glass vats found in a milking parlour.

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The following text is by Iitalla:

Iittala is proud to debut Leimu, a new lighting piece by young Norwegian-born designer, Magnus Pettersen. As its flame-evoking name suggests, the copper-brown Leimu creates a relaxed atmosphere for enjoyable moments in good company. With its strong concrete base, the impressive glass lamp portion, inspired by traditional lampshades, makes Leimu a brand-new lighting fixture where sensitivity encounters strength.

Concrete is a captivating material for Pettersen: “It has a raw and cold feel to it. The union of glass and concrete is well known in architecture, but it isn’t necessarily always beautiful. I wanted to smoothly combine opposites in a lamp and show that fierce and sensitive, cold and warm can work well together.”

Contrast fascinates Pettersen, whose studio is based in London. His style is referred to as "industrial luxury" because opposites are a recurring feature in his work. He looks at how well different materials or colours merge in an interesting and functional way without prejudice.

From a technical standpoint, harmonising the stem and glass portion was not easy. "Glass is a great material, but it is also very challenging because it is alive and it makes accurate dimensioning very difficult. However, through the know-how of and good communication with Iittala’s glass factory, we were able to combine concrete and glass into an elegant whole."

Magnus Pettersen Studio is a design studio creating furniture, lighting and home acces-sories. Norwegian Magnus has studied design at Kingston University and Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

He has worked as a product designer for various studios and clients in London. Mag-nus Pettersen Studio was set up in 2010, launching its first product, the Concrete Desk Set in April 2011. Since then the studio has developed a range of pieces of which some are being launched under the umbrella of internationally acclaimed brands and others being developed in-house.

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for Iittala appeared first on Dezeen.

The Jar RGB collection, for Czech glassware company Lasvit, comprises a series of bottle-shaped vessels designed to hang together in groups of three or seven.

Light is emitted through one translucent white glass lamp, while the coloured pieces made from clear glass hang alongside to create a form of RGB colour mixing.

Arik Levy unveiled the collection at Lasvit's exhibition at Via Stendhal 35 in the Tortona district of Milan last week. The designer also showed a collection of wooden furniture inspired by traditional Japanese footwear for British brand Modus at EDIT by Designjunction.

Other Lasvit products on show in Milan included a series of vases and lamps inspired by patchwork quilts by Japanese design studio Nendo.

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Here's a short description from Lasvit:

Jar RGB - Arik Levy

Jar RGB is a lighting project connecting thin colourful glass blowing techniques and the idea of RGB colour mixing. Using white glass for one of the hanging jars allows it to turn into a large light bulb generating the light for the entire fixture.

Above: photograph by Dezeen

Observing one jar through another and the space surrounding them gives one a unique and everlasting discovery of colour superimposition.

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for Lasvit appeared first on Dezeen.