Cloud vases by the Bouroullec brothers
fit together in clusters

French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have created a range of wavy-edged ceramic vases that nestle together as a group (+ slideshow).

The Bouroullec brothers designed the Cloud vases to accompany signed copies of their book Drawing, which features sketches of the duo’s designs and is published by JRP Ringier.

“In the context of a limited edition to accompany our Drawing book, we decided to make an object to be in keeping with our drawings,” Ronan Bouroullec told Dezeen.

Thirty sets of four vessels – each with a different height – were produced in black enamelled ceramic.

“We did some tests with different materials and we found ceramic, with its imperfect and vibrant character, to be the right answer,” said the brothers.

Each of the vases has the same plan and features eight tubes for holding flower stems.

The wavy edges, which create the outline of a cartoon cloud when viewed from above, are shaped so the pieces sit neatly together as an ensemble.

The shapes are based on a modular shelving system of the same name that the designers created as a concept in 2002. The Cloud storage units were put into production by Italian furniture brand Cappellini in 2004.

“It was difficult to associate a finished object with this profusion of drawings, but the principle of Clouds – based on the articulation of shapes and on the possibility of composition through these kind of organic black stains – turned out to be the best solution,” said Ronan Bouroullec.

Handmade in France, the vases will be presented during this year’s D’Days design festival in Paris, taking place from 1 to 7 June.

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