ANVI, Art glassware.
The ANVI art glassware in Valserhône: an educational legacy transformed into an artistic center.
In a picturesque setting steeped in history, the ANVI art glassworks in Valserhône is much more than justa workshop. It’s a place where educational past and creativity intertwine to give life to one-of-a-kind works of art. This building, once a school, is now the heart ofa demanding and passionate craft business. Through their passion and creativity, the founders have breathed new life into this former school, transformed into an artistic sanctuary where glass is both mastered and magnified.
A school turned art workshop.
The history of the building that now houses ANVI is fascinating. Built several decades ago, this building was first used for teaching, for training and passing on knowledge to children. Over the years, the school closed its doors, giving way to a dormant building. However, its educational vocation endures, as today it is the setting for the perpetuation of ancient know-how.
ANVI: the birth of a passion for glass.
ANVI is first and foremost a meeting of two designers , Vincent and Anne, driven by a shared passion for the art of glassmaking. They have combined their skills and their dreams to flourish on the national and even international markets. This passion was born of an encounter in Quebec, fascination with the magic of molten glass and the possibility of creating seemingly fragile material. Backed by their experience and training in glassmaking, they wanted to stand out from the crowd with unique, handmade creations imbued with a personal touch. This project has thus become a way for them to share their art, pass on their know-how and create works of rare quality.
The craft of art glass-making: challenges, constraints and satisfactions.
Glassmaking is a demanding profession, both physically and technically. Glass is a capricious material that requires total mastery and a thorough knowledge of temperatures, materials and blowing techniques, materials and blowing techniques. In this profession, training and apprenticeship are essential to support and encourage a vocation. This is the case for Marie, who accompanies Vincent and Anne through every stage of the project.
The creation of a part can take hours, between the various stages of melting, blowing, shaping and cooling. Concentration is total and the risk of accidents is ever present.
Working with glass requires a specific and often restrictive environment. The heat of the furnaces is close to 1.200°C, making the work physically demanding. Precision is essential, because the slightest wrong movement or can ruin an entire room. What’s more, materials, equipment and rising energy costs add further pressure on glassmakers, who have to reconcile artistic quality with economic viability.
The daily difficulties of glass makers.
Glassmakers face constant challenges: the techniques of blowing and modeling are difficult to master and require years of practice, and even more so when it comes to very small pieces such as jewelry.
The slightest imperfection, be it unwanted air bubbles or a flaw in the structure of the glass, can compromise the final quality of the work, altering its strength during cooling. As a result, artistic creativity is based on perfect knowledge of materials heating and cooling processes.
The satisfaction of artistic creation.
Despite the difficulties, the art of glassmaking is a source of unparalleled satisfaction. The opportunity to transform a raw material into a work of art, to fashion unique objects that arouse admiration, is a great reward for craftsmen. Each piece is a unique creation, the result of hard work and passion. Vincent and Anne see their work not just as objects, but as artistic expressions of their know-how and soul.
And so, this former school, steeped in history and transformed into an art glassworks, continues to live and reinvent itself. It has become a creative space where each piece of glass tells a story, is the result ofa specific technique. By highlighting the art of glassmaking, ANVI’s designers perpetuate ancestral know-how while adding a contemporary, personal touch to their creations. This marriage of tradition and modernity makes ANVI a strong symbol of local craftsmanship in Valserhône, where the art of transforming glass remains a craft of passion and precision.
Get in touch with ANVI: https://atelierdeverreanvi.com/
Valserhône (France) – December 2024
