Most speakers, no matter how expensive, are usually pretty ugly in my opinion and although these glass ones from Harman Kardon aren't exactly beautiful (I think they look like something out of an alien spacecraft) they certainly score points for being different and having a design that sets them apart from the herd. It's also fun to note that the cut glass exterior not only serves an aesthetic purpose but it also helps improve sound quality by reducing movement and vibration.
Sold in pairs in a limited edition of 3,000 units, the GLA-55 cut glass speakers will be available starting next month for about £500.
Rising fuel prices have some curious and wide-ranging consequences. The Financial Times reports it may be making your Champagne bottles thinner. Champagne bottles traditionally weigh more than a bottle of still wine in order to contain the pressure of sparkling wine. Bottles used to be smashed against ship bows for launching are thinned for easy breakage. But thinner bottles take less energy to create and are cheaper to ship.
G.H Mumm, the Champagne house owned by Pernod Ricard has completed a trial production run of bottle which weigh 835 grams (around 1.84 pounds which is a couple of ounces lighter than regular bottles which are 900 grams). The lighter bottles will be put in caves where the bottles will age.
The lighter bottles will save money on fuel because more of them can be loaded on each truck. Pommery, which already uses the bottles, says that if all the Champagne houses switched to lighter bottles there would be 3,000 fewer trucks on the road each year.
In March I mentioned that Corning was planning to put its Steuben Glass division up for sale. Now it looks like the deal is done. USA Today reports that the luxury crystal company has been bought by a private equity company. Corning will continue to maintain a 19.9% equity stake and the company intends to continue operations in upstate New York. Steuben will be part of the Schottenstein Luxury Group portfolio. The Ohio-based Schottenstein Stores has stakes in American Eagle Outfitters, Retail Ventures, which is the parent of DSW, and other stores.
Steuben has lost $30 million over the last five years and in March Corning had said the would consider shutting the factory if they couldn't find a buyer. The employees at the Steuben factory will get the same salary and benefits under the new ownership. Steuben Glass is currently the only luxury lead crystal still handcrafted in the United States.
Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass
Champagne is always considered a fairly luxurious drink (even when it's the cheap stuff) but any champagne, cheap or not, is sure to get a class upgrade when it gets served in one of these two glasses. Valued at $400,000 and blinged out with 1,700 white and pink diamonds the glasses were chiseled out of 8kg blocks of rock quartz crystal and it took 5 jewelers 3 months to put them all together.
These hand-crafted jars come in such vivid lollipop-like colors they seem almost lickable. They are created by Elizabeth Lyons of More Fire Glass Studio and have inflated stoppers that give them the look of game pieces. Each one measures 19" x 8", they come in green, orange, or ruby and sell for $775 each.
More Fire Glass Studio is located in Rochester, New York and they also offer classes in making glass beads, jewelry and more.
The seven deadly sins are now represented in wine glass form in a set created by Kacper Hamilton. Intended to "celebrate passion" and "encourage the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion," each sin (wrath, greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, and lust) has its own artistic interpretation that will have you drinking your wine in the most interesting ways (the aggressive and dangerous looking pointed rim on the glass above represents wrath). The "Deadly Glasses" come all together in a set, packaged neatly in a velvet-lined mahogany case.
I've never been a big fan of fake fruit as decor but these fruit sculptures of glass by Anthony Biancaniello are really beautiful. Each of Biancaniello's designs have a common theme, be it a uniform shape or color scheme, used throughout and he usually works with pairs or groups of objects to create the desired artistic effect. He also, apparently, really likes fruit.
These sculptures are a great way to have the classic beauty of a fruit still life in your home without the often associated tackiness. Prices range from $245 to $1150.
Gallery: Art Glass Sculptures by Anthony Biancaniello
Luxury collectible glass company, Steuben Glass has been put up for sale by longtime owner Corning. Corning has owned the business since 1918 and Steuben is now the only maker of luxury lead crystal left that is still handcrafted in the United States. Unfortunately, the company, which creates a variety of special edition pieces including a most recent partnership with artist Kiki Smith, has been unprofitable for a decade, losing around $30 million over the last five years. Corning has said that the company will be unloaded this year even if they have to shut the company down. Steuben Glass generates around $25 million in annual revenue and employs 150 people. Another option Corning is considering is selling the brand name but keeping the factory in operation. A move that I think would be a shame since part of the prestige of Steuben is its heritage and tradition. Sadly the beautiful glass collectibles aren't considered fashionable and appeal mostly to an older generation. Steuben has tried to attract younger consumers through collaborations with high-profile designers such as Smith and Ted Muehling but so far that hasn't been enough to generate profitability.
Gallery: Steuben Glass Fall 2007 Collection
Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass
Kiki Smith and Steuben Glass have come together in a collection of 5 beautiful glass creations for home. Inspired by her long-standing relationship with tattoos, Kiki Smith incorporated her own personal interpretation of classic tattoo symbols like snakes, butterflies, moths, stars, birds...
The collection includes this grand scale mouth-blown vase (shown, $60,000), plus 4 smaller sculptures that incorporate silver accents that double as jewelry -- i.e. there's a snake with three silver rings on its tail that can be removed and worn, and a cat playing with a silver flower that doubles as a brooch.
Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass
Here's a unique idea: diamonds that are suspended in glass. Natascha Marx and glass artist Tobias Berger have partnered up to create Diamonds in Glass. The concept has a lot of applications including luxurious stemware, caviar dishes, napkin rings and ashtrays as well as jewelry items like rings and bracelets. There are two main types: the pure, which has the diamond in clear glass, or the black edition, where the backside of the diamonds is embedded in black colored glass and the diamond has the diamonds against black velvet effect.
The pieces are made of borosilicate glass which has a melting point of around 1200 ºC, (diamonds burn at a temperature of about 800 ºC). The glass blower introduces the diamond into the viscous glass mass and places it in the desired position. The Diamonds in Glass website has a video of the process. Prices start at around 1620 euros for a small glass. Check out the gallery below for examples including the most expensive Champagne glass I have ever seen.
Matthew Buechner of Thames Glass in Newport, Rhode Island has been a glassblower for over 20 years. At Thames Glass he designs all the prototypes and trains a team glassmakers in the art of handcrafted glass. This gift box ornament is just one of the beautiful and delicate ornaments that comes out of the Thames Glass studio. This ruby ornament with gold leaf sells for $44.
Not only is this faucet beautiful but it also appeals to the whimsical child inside of me that still secretly gets a kick out of using silly straws. Bright vibrant color combines with the natural beauty of glass for a unique visual impact. Standing tall above the vanity the James McKelvey collection of glass faucets feature a ribbed hand-blown design in lead-free crystal that is easy to clean and bacteria resistant. And they're not only beautiful to look at, but to use also as the water will stream down from such a high vantage point. Available in a variety of heights, colors, and single or double-twist designs, you can easily fit it into almost any color and decorating scheme.
Don't take olives in your martini? Well then this is definitely not the glass for you, because this martini glass by to22 can't do without at least one olive. When designing this glass the thought was that "the olive has become the signature element of a martini, and yet it is treated almost as an afterthought." Now when to22 went to give the olive greater importance they weren't messing around! The olive is so important to a drink in this glass that you can't have one without it, literally. The olive is used to plug a hole in the bottom of the glass.
Great idea and I love it! But I will say this: this is not a glass I'll hold over my lap or walk around with...you know, just in case.
The vase shown here won't be sitting on your table anytime soon unless your table is very very sturdy. This heavy glass vase from esque design was made by layering thin veils of color-including greenish uranium glass amidst clear glass and it weighs a hefty 40 pounds. The exterior has a rough surface created through careful carving and polishing. The vase sells for $6,400.
Some things just make me smile to look at them, and this nerdy-looking little owlet is one of them. It's part of a whole collection of owls, and I really think I want more than just one. Each piece is individually mouth-blown and hand-crafted of glass in Finland, with obvious great attention to detail. Would make a great gift for bird lovers and art lovers alike, with each owl catching the essence of its corresponding inspiration amazingly well. This owlet, for example, really does look like a young baby bird! And the others, the Barn Owl and Little Barn Owl, are just as detailed. £60-£153 each.
