Modern Wine Glass

The glass was purchased from the Etsy store ‘CM Personal Gifts’ as a gift for Nylah for Christmas in 2019. The hummingbird is Nylah’s favorite animal, hence the choice of the hummingbird design on the glass. The pattern was etched into the glass in the United states, and the glassware itself was designed and produced in Europe per the online shop’s description. The object is described as handmade, although it is unclear on the website if that refers to only the etching, or the glassware itself.

Nylah last used the in-tact glass to mix Emergen-C brand vitamin C powder in water to create a vitamin C drink, which she finished. She set the glass on her nightstand next to her bed. When moving something else on her nightstand she accidentally pushed the glass off and watched as it bounced between the front proper left nightstand leg and the side of the bed. It was the combination of multiple bounces and a critical hit where the glass is thinnest at the top that likely caused the glass to break into many fragments. The floor below the nightstand and bed is carpeted and would not have been the cause of the break.

Because the glass was a gift, Nylah wanted to repair the broken object. In her first year at WUDPAC she learned about kintsugi, a process of repairing broken ceramics by joining them with gold adhesive. Kintsugi translates to “gold joining” and is conceptually about honoring the flaws and imperfections of a piece. Pui Ying Kwan describes kintsugi as a way to personalize an object you own and increase the value of a cheap, mass produced object, creating another form of beauty (2012). Nylah thought that would be a beautiful way to honor her wine glass gift.

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There are two components to the design of this glass vessel: the vessel itself, and the etched design. Given the object is a modern, mass produced glass vessel that is very symmetrical, it is most likely machine made. The item description online mentions durability of the glass, and machine blown glass allows for thicker walls to make glass more durable. After the vessel has been manufactured, it can be etched. Etching is inexpensive and “can be done by anybody” according to the Design Mentor and Grow (DMG) School project around glass art.  It is likely that the “hand made” aspect of this object is the etching design.