Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer "upcycle" glassware into new objects
Milan 2014: German designer Laura Jungmann has collaborated with glassmaker Cornelius Réer to reform mass-produced glass items into sculptural vessels.
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_4.jpg)
The bespoke Samesame glass objects are created by "upcycling" existing glassware using traditional glassblowing techniques.
"The term upcycling in this case is not used to describe a recycling process, where you use waste, it's the upcycling of a low-value industrial object," Jungmann told Dezeen. "By transforming a mass-produced bottle into a new product, like a water or wine carafe, these disposable products increase in value and you extend their lifetime."
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_6.jpg)
Shown at Largo Claudio Treves 5 in Milan's Brera district last month, the collection is an evolution of Laura Jungmann's Product Design diploma – titled "Same, Same. But Different" and completed in 2013 – for which she reformed glass waste products.
Samesame uses new industrially-produced glassware and increases its value with traditional skills and craftsmanship.
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_7.jpg)
The collection includes candle holders, carafes, decanters and vases all made from beer and wine bottles.
To reform the items, Réer holds each bottle with a blowpipe and reheats it using a typical glassblowing oven.
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_5.jpg)
When the glass reaches the right temperature and viscosity, he uses glassblowing tools and techniques to change the object's shape.
A beer bottle was picked up from the neck and re-inflated, while a clear water bottle was held from the bottom and the neck opened up, transforming it into a carafe.
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_3.jpg)
"Some of the products get new functions, like the water carafe, some gain a new quality just through the contradictory aesthetic of the industrial features combined with the handmade character," said Jungmann. "Samesame is an attempt to show an alternative concept of production - the collection is a tribute to an increasingly forgotten trade."
![Samesame glassware by Laura Jungmann and Cornelius Réer](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/05/Laura-Jungmann-and-Cornelius-Reer-upcycle-glassware-into-new-objects-_dezeen_8.jpg)
Photography is by Philip Radowitz.