Alissa Volchkova’s ‘Sand Crack Frost’ shatters the boundaries of glassware

French-Russian designer Alissa Volchkova's work looks to alter preconceived material narratives by using her design process as a medium and catalyst. Her product designs poetically investigate numerous production processes, highlighting their distinctiveness, and extending the potential of the materials by modifying the user's expectations of the same. Volchkova’s recent project, Sand Crack Frost, employs glass in an unconventional manner, to create playful home decor objects. The product designer dispels misconceptions about the medium's potential, often perceived as a muted, clear, and reflecting material, by revealing its unpredictable character.

Volchkova proposes a distinctive method for this glass design that differs from conventional glass-making techniques, and recreates a sand-like texture to produce intriguing surface cracks. It is interesting to note that sand is one of the main ingredients used to create glass. The designer plays around with its many textures and 'frit,' or glass-crushed granules, to reveal and embrace its peculiar and complicated qualities. “I want to break our habits and preconceived ideas about glass and show how extraordinary, unpredictable, and magical this material can be. This project was inspired by the famous ‘ice glass’—also referred to as crackled glass—but here, the fissures in the surface are made using a different process than the one that was originally developed by the Venetian makers of the 16th century,” shares Volchkova, who leads a multidisciplinary studio based in Paris.

Volchkova adds a new depth to the collection by simulating touch and colour, striking inquisition about its basic characteristics. The complex heating procedure used to fuse the granules together while preventing their complete melting, as well as their sparkling surface, is essential to Sand Crack Frost. To ensure that each shape and texture had the desired impact, a delicate balance had to be struck between various firing temperatures. Volchkova elaborated on the secret of this collection saying, “Glass can be found in many forms in the natural world. For this experimental project, I want to come back to its origin in its natural state as sand and put forward its unusual and complex characteristics. The play with different textures and granules made from crushed glass (recycled scrap of glass, also called 'frit'), the sense of touch, and colours, bring another dimension to the materiality of glass, disturbing our expectations about it, and making us question it. The secret of this project lies in the heating program to make the granules stick together, avoiding their complete melting, and the usual shiny aspect of glass."

Utilising crushed, recycled glass, all the objects from the collection embody a distinct personality, owing to the use of refractory moulds that can be used only once. Sand Crack Frost by Alissa Volchkova redefines the usage of glass in homeware objects, assigning it an unconventional aesthetic and a fresh perspective.

Text by Ria Jha