Individual mass

Klaas Kuiken's "Bottles" use the archetypal green glass bottle to ask if there are any irregularities in mass production.

“Are there any irregularities in mass production?” With this question Dutch designer Klaas Kuiken set about exploring how mass production can be individualised.

As starting point, Kuiken used the archetypal green glass bottles, an already mass-produced product, and blew them into unique objects, one by one.

In fact, when Kuiken started analysing the mass-produced glass bottles he found noticeable differences in the thickness of the glass. Kuiken wanted to emphasise these differences and so he developed his own technique for glassblowing. Rather than using an oven, Kuiken uses a compressor. He explains that by blowing up the bottle the glass bulges more at places where the thickness of the walls are thinner, and less at places where it is thicker.

The end result is the Bottles collection, a series of unique bottles that all have the same origin.

More on Product Design