BLOWING
SUPŠS ŽELEZNÝ BROD
This project was a personal dream. If there’s one material Czech design is internationally recognized for, it’s glass. I’ve always been fascinated by it, and as a Czech design student, I felt almost a responsibility to learn more about it. Throughout my past projects, I’ve learned best by doing—going through every stage from idea to concept, design, prototyping, and final production. So, I approached glass in the same way, attending hot shop lessons for a semester and experimenting intuitively.
The result is a series of small collections, each exploring different aspects of working with glass. The only restriction I set for myself was to use clear glass and to create something I could execute on my own, based on what I had learned - so I focused on drinking glasses. In the beginning, I was drawn to proportions and material distribution, exploring the balance between solid glass and empty space and how it influences our perception of an object.
Later, my attention shifted towards structure and imperfections—how light interacts with the texture of clear glass that isn’t perfectly smooth, giving each piece a distinct character. One of the most fascinating discoveries was the process of burning wooden molds. The difference between using cooler or extremely hot glass is striking, resulting in way different textures. I wanted to capture this in a collection, showing the evolution from smooth transparency to deep, matte textures.
During last semester, I also visited Japan, which was an eye-opening experience. What struck me most was the way craftsmen embrace subtle differences, details, and even imperfections. While I was most drawn to their ceramics and woodworking rather than glass that I saw there, their philosophy resonated with me deeply. It made so much sense to trust my intuition - to either refine imperfections or let them play a central role in the piece.
These pictures are just a few examples, but they reflect the approach and philosophy that shaped this project.