Hypnotising glass light constellations from BOMMA

A starry blend of vision, talent, craft and technical know-how aligns for BOMMA. The glass-lighting producer, based in the Czech Republic, fuses centuries of glassmaking tradition as hand-blown, monumental-sized designs take shape and form through the use of unconventional materials, daring colours and modern technological advancements. These combinations characterise each of BOMMA’s seventeen collections, five of which can be arranged into otherworldly constellations. To expand the artistry further, designers and architects are invited to project their boldest creative visions of space through several of the brand’s collections.

BOMMA brings stellar magic indoors, as the glass-lighting manufacturer transforms free-form blown products into extremely precise jewels. The brand is solely focused on production by hand which preserves traditional craftsmanship. With the support of its makers, high-precision technology and top-quality materials in modern facilities are a given. From small to oversized, in public or private interiors, the projects are designed to bring emotion to traditional and modern spaces. Thanks to the manual process of the craft, each piece is an original, thus individual products may vary in hue or colour intensity.

‘Every manager says they are proud of their team, and all glassmaking is fascinating to watch. But seeing our craftsmen handle oversized pieces or cut glass with extreme precision is an otherworldly experience. You never get used to it,’ explains owner of BOMMA, Martin Wichterle.

Like distant stars, the brand’s lighted objects shine stronger when installed in groups. BOMMA’s main five collections are specifically made to enable the arrangement of individual lighting elements that best suit any aesthetic intent. In the corner of the room, as a centrepiece or to fill an entire space, architects and designers worldwide are invited to make changes to existing lights or create bespoke designs.

Placed within a mouth-blown piece, the light source of the Dark & Bright Star collection shines from the centre of a precisely cut crystal star. Dechem Studio envisions the products in two different ways: Clear glass with an opaque finish for the lighter version, and fully coloured glass for the darker one. The designers put their creative touch also on the Pyrite collection. As the name suggests, the lights were inspired by the golden firestone, reflecting the salt crystals. The hand-blown gleaming surface is enclosed from three sides by a polished metal component in silver or gold.

The magical quality of iridescence shines with the Soap Mini collection. Designer Oto Svoboda imagines tingling varied colours and transparencies changing shapes, just like bubbles. When lighted, the metallic sheen on the product’s surface transforms into a translucent state, exposing in this way its crystal character. In seemingly uniform droplets of molten glass, a mesmerising colour spectrum diffuses.

In a complicated cut pattern, Metamorphosis is inspired by a line of regular structures reminiscent of a snake’s skin, as well as the crystal lattice patterns or the architectural gothic arches. From the originally glossy surfaces, the cutters give the lights their matte finish. The collection is the result of a collaboration with designer Rony Plesl from glassmaking brand rückl, and BOMMA. The hand-blown details come through as the crafts light up, showing their amber and smoke-coloured details.

Studio deFORM finds creativity in the way light is refracted through the principle of optics. As the idea turns into hanging crystals, the Lens collection takes shape. Two lenses encapsulate their interior source as clear crystal is offset by a single colour that highlights its refraction. In various compositions, hypnotic constellations of blue-grey, clear, white, smoke or amber brushed shades fill the room.

The Stellar Dust customised constellation brings the endless night sky indoors as 727 mouth-blown crystal droplets complemented by 2476 components hang individually from the ceiling of J&T bank’s entrance hall in Prague. The hand-crafted elements that sweep organically took form following a collaboration with Studio deFORM and CMC architects and studio.

‘The architects came up with the initial concepts and the overall shape of the installation, as we were focused on the individual components and lights,’ says Václav Mlynář, art director of BOMMA.

All images courtesy of BOMMA

© Architonic