I am Stéphane Pelletier. I am a glassmaker.
I make the Coperni Mini Swipe bag piece
from blowing to finishing
the glass piece.
I start by sticking a small piece
of black horehound in my heated furnace
and then adhering it to the end of my blowing rod to blow it
a first time.
Then I will cover it with clear glass as many times
as necessary to get the right thickness
for the piece.
I then cover with colored glass,
this time in powder.
It is an iridescent purple that will give
the piece a mirror effect
I use the furnace to keep
the material malleable.
I start shaping the piece.
And I blow.
I use centrifugal force to flare the piece
and gravity to elongate the piece,
for example.
The assistant's main role
is doing everything for the blower,
preparing the tools.
Opening the furnace doors, protecting the piece,
making sure everything is running smoothly
and staying vigilant so the glassblower
can maintain a rhythm.
For this piece specifically, I drilled my glass gob
on both sides and I am starting to set the shape
of the Mini Swipe's handle.
I continue to widen the handle's form.
For technical reasons,
for this piece, I need to rotate
the axis of the piece in order to work on
the bottom.
And then reverse that axis to finish
the handle.
Afterward, I start the sheening step.
Now, the shaping step is completely finished.
The heat and pressure from my flame,
will add sheen to the purple pigment
that I applied on the surface.
This is the part when the bag has a reflection, and it
almost looks like a mirror.
To detach the glass piece from my tool,
It just needs a little tap to create
a breakpoint.
I put it in the kiln at 950°F.
And allow the temperature to gradually drop down
over the course of ten hours.
The little flowers are shaped
by adding small pieces of glass for each petal.
These are six-leaf lilies.
The Coperni brand is engraved on the bag
by the process of sandblasting.
This is done with a sandblasting machine
that shoots sand at a high pressure.
The logo eventually appears through the applied force
of the sand.
Finally, the flowers are cut.
and I attach the two with glue.
The glass-blown piece is now officially finished.