Beyond the Pedestal: Living With Collectible Glass
Hand-blown glass isn’t just a precious object destined for a shelf—it’s the rhythm of my daily life and the heartbeat of our studio at ESQUE. Living with glass, to me, means letting color, light, and form shape the atmosphere and evolve right alongside your routine. It’s about using pieces often, learning their personalities, and letting them become part of the story of your home.
The Daily Pulse of Glass
Every piece of glass has its own bias, its own tiny variations, the telltale marks of hands and process. I notice them first thing in the morning when the light shifts colors through a Waterdrop Pendant or glances off the facets of a Geo Terrarium. By evening, a cluster of pendants diffuses warmth and makes dinner with friends feel celebratory in a way only glass can.
When I design or select glass for my own home, I lean into the immediacy—how fluid glass feels, how it’s never quite the same twice in a day. That’s the joy: a bowl of lemons casting golden glows in spring; that same bowl, empty for a week, revealing the ombré blush of its thick wall. Using glass isn’t preciousness—it’s presence.
Functional Beauty: Using Glass Every Day
I believe collectible glass should earn a spot in daily rituals. Our Chroma Bowls center a table, rotating with the seasons—sometimes bursting with fruit, sometimes standing alone as sculpture. Swell and Log Vases might hold wild blooms on one day, or stand empty, celebrating the play between their contours and the landscape behind.
Lighting, too, is about use and pleasure. I live for the days when a pendant is set low over my desk as I work, or when a frosted lamp glows beside me late into the night, the surface gently muting the light within. Choose glass you’ll touch. Move it with intention. Let the feeling of a heavy, polished lip or a sandblasted matte mouth remind you of how the piece was made.
Caring for Your Glass Collection
Hand-blown glass is both resilient and delicate. I always clean my pieces with a gentle microfiber cloth, warm water, and sometimes a little white vinegar to keep them sparkling and clear. No harsh chemicals, ever. I want the finish to mature naturally, picking up the subtle patina of genuine use. Handle by the base, especially when moving heavier vessels, and protect surfaces if you’re stacking or layering.
To display, I seek places where natural light will paint each surface—mirrored shelves for a double glow, deep wood for crisp, vibrant edges. Sometimes I use plate stands for slender vessels, or nest bowls to create a vertical story. Don’t be afraid to rotate pieces between rooms, or even lend them out to friends for special occasions. Glass comes alive with movement.
Mindful Living: Sustainability and Ethics
Glass as a material lasts. That’s why I design with longevity in mind, and why every ESQUE piece is made to endure, not to be replaced. We’re a small-batch studio, so nothing is disposable—each vessel is born from a commitment to sustainable practice and respect for raw materials.
Using glass in daily life is a small act of resistance against throwaway culture. You’ll find that your pieces will develop a history—subtle scratches, stories, and an attitude shaped by how they’re used. And when the time comes, they can be melted down and reborn.
Rituals of Enjoyment: The Personal Connection
My favorite part of living with glass is how it makes the ordinary feel extraordinary. I keep a vase on my nightstand for whatever I find outside—a stray branch, a cluster of garden herbs. I serve water in a pitcher I made, not because it matches the table, but because it feels good to hold and lifts a simple moment.
Glass for me isn’t just an object; it’s a companion, ever-adapting to my routines and spaces. It becomes meaningful not because of perfection, but because of the traces left by hands—mine, and yours.
From Pedestal to Everyday: A Philosophy of Use
At the studio, we try to create glass that is “unexpected but inevitable”—striking to look at and naturally fitting for daily life. The best glass is not reserved for a pedestal. It’s part of your conversation, touching your table, bringing beauty and function together—piece by piece.
If you’re drawn to glass, live with it. Let it blend into the soundtrack of daily life: serving, lighting, holding, and celebrating. That’s where the real magic—and modern luxury—begins.
Andi