Case Study 4: Groove

Goals: To create a bold new iconic collection for a global client, make a static wall become a waterfall of motion & explore the hot glass process in color, glass optics and internal structure.

Inspiration: “I saw this as a combination of fur, feathers, and dripping jewelry all in a watery flow.”

Started: March 2014 Introduced in September 2014

First Drawing:

I’m fascinated by the simplicity of an elegant sign curve, and how to place that into a rectilinear read. The grid/ sheet for Groove is based on three rows of 4” high chips, where an A chip and a B chip nest together, yielding a consistent grout joint.

Development, “Swirl”:

I judge my mosaics from 1M, 3M and 10M+ away. It needs to spark interest from close-up, from 10 feet away, and finally from across a room.

I worked closely with the production source to develop an intense swirl of multiple shades inside the molten glass, creating an effect we called “wild-fire”. It looks like a spool of multi colored raw yarn.

Development, Color:

Initially, we worked up numerous color combinations. Some sheets were a single color. Some were multiple colored chips combined on the same sheet. The final sheet combined multiple colors mixed into single chips, then combined with other colored glass chips.

We made up 40+ sheet combination, with variations ranging from calm
to wild.

Collection:

We concluded with three colorations:

- A sheet with a Blue swirl and a few reflective chips.
- A multi shade warm black and grey sheet.
- A wild/flaming coloration with swirling wildfire effects.

View on Dune

Post Script:

Groove was developed exclusively for Dune, ES. It was introduced in Italy, at Cersaie in 2014.

Im glad to say it is selling very well, and it is stocked on five continents and marketed globally.