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Studio Glithero: Boisbuchet Workshop

Aug 2, 2017

Studio Glithero tell TLmag about the Ol-Factory Workshop held at Domaine de Boisbuchet during July, and why processes enthrall them

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Text by Nadine Botha
Photography by Zito Tseng

The relationship between scent and glass has been the focus of a workshop by Studio Glithero at Domaine de Boisbuchet in Lessac, France. From July 19 to 29, participants were tasked with creating a perfume vessel using Boisbuchet’s experimental wood-fired kiln. Assisted by two expert glassblowers from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, participants made prototypes to be used in an upcoming exhibition about perfume at mudac in Lausanne. TLmag spoke to London’s Studio Glithero –British designer Tim Simpson and Dutch designer Sarah van Gameren, who met while studying at the Royal College of Arts– about how process enthrals them.

TLmag: Your work has been characterised as trying to emphasise the magical moments of creation and transformation. How has this fascination affected your design process?
We are probably the most curious people in a factory tour. Our favourite thing to do is discovering how things are made in as much detail as possible. We spend a lot of time afterwards trying to pare down a process, and reduce it to its most perfect and simple form. We design both choreographies of making and end products that can be enjoyed and understood by a broad audience.

Have you worked with scent before? What do you think is the potential of combining perfume, glass and ceramics?
No never, but we can see the potential. Particularly because in this workshop we are thinking of a container that can capture scent and bring it to a wider audience to experience. We are designing the vessels and methods of smelling that will be used by the public in an exhibition about perfume at Mudac in two-years’ time.

What are some of your observations on the workshop so far?
We are working with a temperamental woodfire kiln and a limited range of glassblowing tools, but so far the best results have come from these very limitations. Keeping the kiln alive is a process that involves a physical commitment from us (we are feeding it logs of wood in shifts every few minutes through day and night) and this has made us very invested in the outcome.

How do workshops like these affect your own work and inspiration as designers?
It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to disconnect from our usual work environment and the internet, live outdoors and spend our time from sunrise until sunset creating interesting design proposals with a talented bunch of people. We feel charged up afterwards.

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Sarah van Gameren from Studio Glithero briefs the participants
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Hadrien Venat, the ceramics technician, works on the wheel, throwing pieces designed by the students
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Work by a participant, playing with ceramic pieces that look like food
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Works of shape and texture
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As the workshop was based around perfume, they decided to create their own scents, inspired by Boisbuchet’s surroundings, moments, and feelings.
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As the kiln reaches it’s highest temperature, technicians from the Corning Museum of Glass blow glass pieces designed by the students. They got excited and stayed blowing until late in the night.
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While the kiln cooled down, Tim Simpson and Sarah from Studio Glithero think together with the students on how to present the works.
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The kiln is opened and pieces are removed
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Student work: clay models and final one in glass, a piece that contains the perfume and when turned upside down can be smelt through the hole on the top.
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More vessels, made from clay and glass parts, to try scents removing the “cap”
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Presentation of the works was done around the kiln at night, as to “remove” or diminish other senses and empower the one of smell. A whole scenography and lighting was designed by the participants together with Glithero.
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